# Discus Spots



## tkfishgeek (Oct 8, 2007)

I have seen about a month ago that my 2 discus started to get some sliver spots on them. They are about a year old. I have seen today that the spots have turned black & there tail is now black. Any ideas on whats going on in my 8 month old 90gal planted tank?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I think we'll need more info to better help you, would you post pictures?

What are the water parameters in your tank? (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, hardness)

What's the tank temperature?

What do you feed, how often?

How often are you doing water changes, what percent, and what type of water (tap, RO, etc)?

What else is in the tank (other livestock, decor, plants...) What filtration & lighting?


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## tkfishgeek (Oct 8, 2007)

Pictures are below. Tank Has 
ammonia 0 
NO2(Nitrite) 0
NO3(Nitrate) 5
PH 6.6
KH 2
GH 3.5
Temp. 84.2F But around 82.3 to 85.1 is norm in a week.
I feed 2 times a day with discus flake, blood worms, brine shrimp.
Do 50% water change everyweek (50gal) Tap water with Aqusafe. Also 2 times a week 10 gal RO water change with auto RO top off.
I have Many plants as you can see. If you need to know everyone let me know.
FIsh: 4 Rummyrose, 6 cardinals, 1 angel, 3 SAE's, 2 Angelicus Botia Loach, and then the 2 White Dragon discus.

























































































...


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## tkfishgeek (Oct 8, 2007)

For lighting I have 2 150Watt HQI. Filter is a sump with media & CO2.


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## pinkertd (Jun 17, 2007)

Are you talking about these type of spots? If so, it is called peppering. Some peppering is normal in the type of discus you have which is pigeon blood based. The black tail just looks normal. Your discus is coloring up with adult colors now so you're seeing changes.


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## pandapr (Nov 10, 2008)

+1 on what she says


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## tkfishgeek (Oct 8, 2007)

That right. That is the black spots that I am talking about. I have seen changes in them as I know as thay are getting more white as need to be what there parents where.
Here is a photo of the pair that made the 2 that I have.










Do you think that peppering will go away over time or take over its color over time?


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## pinkertd (Jun 17, 2007)

Your pair is beautiful! I think the peppering is there to stay as is the black tail. It's in the genes. Sometimes the fish pepper more in planted tanks with dark substrate. I have a big white butterfly male who started to pepper up when he first started to spawn and his slime coat thickened in preparation for feeding fry. The more they spawned, the darker he got. He's got a lot of pepper now.


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## evallarta1 (Sep 3, 2009)

Peppering is a result of of your black substrate and your black background. It may get worse or it may not. Basically your discus are trying to blend in with their surroundings (this is normal in discus). Its a defense thing. The only real way to make sure it wont get worse is to lighten your substrate to something like sand, and change your background to something light.


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## pinkertd (Jun 17, 2007)

Dark backgrounds and substrate do not cause it, but will bring it out as will stress. Peppering is a result of genetics. It is a characteristic shared by all Pigeon Blood discus. It is a dominant trait and first generation crosses will all look like pigeons. Pigeon Blood discus do not have the black vertical bars on them like some other discus do. Instead of being aligned in bars, the black pigment is spread throughout the body, which is why the fish have little black spots or "pepper" all over them. The pepper becomes more prominent when the fish are excited or stressed just like bars on non-pigeon blood discus show during these times. Lightening up the background and substrate may lighten the peppering but it will not all disappear. If a PB has pepper then it has it permanently, however there are things that can be done to reduce this, and in some cases to almost non existent amounts. First and foremost high water quality, second a light background and substrate, and third a proper diet. Bright lights can even be enough of a stressor to bring more of the peppering out.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Ah, pics made all the difference! roud:

Gorgeous fish, and I'm glad the news is that they appear to be healthy!


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## LS6 Tommy (May 13, 2006)

pinkertd said:


> Are you talking about these type of spots? If so, it is called peppering. Some peppering is normal in the type of discus you have which is pigeon blood based. The black tail just looks normal. Your discus is coloring up with adult colors now so you're seeing changes.



X2. Their coloring, posture & general condition tells me they're doing just fine. A lighter substrate may help their coloring stay lighter, too.

Tommy


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

pinkertd just said it all... This is natural to pigeon blood line genes... Though you'll see some images without the peppering, this is because of proper/careful breeding/culling of good pigeon blood genes... Mostly, the light (specially strong light intensity) make this more prominent... So if you're still into planted discus tank, I suggest planting tall plants that will cover a little bit of your lighting (for shade too!)...

Just to compare, here's a pic (from last year) with my pigeon blood discus in my planted tank (with lights) vs breding tank w/ room and outside light... Sorry for the low-end cam...









Peppering here is obvious on her back and head part... A family shot with the babies!









Only few peppering... Sorry about the flash...


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## tkfishgeek (Oct 8, 2007)

I am waiting for my plants to get taller but that may take a month or 2 till thay get to the top & cover. I am also about to get a nice size drift wood that will help them hide & will go from top to bottem of tank with still giving all my fish room to move around easy. When I comes to fish I am waiting on some new discus but they are not ready yet. I just really hope that the 2 I have now will not darken up to much.


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