Red discus varieties question...

[mtchye]

Hi guys,

I am new to the world of discus. I'm a little confused over the large variety of different red discus on offer here. Whats the differences between a San Merah, Bunga Raya, Red Alenquer, etc Many of these look similar as adults to my uneducated eye. If someone could explain discus genetics a little to me it would be much appreciated or point me towards a good website to research from.

Also I was thinking of buying the golden pigeon snakeskin pair advertised in the classifieds (if not sold by saturday)...

If they bred, would they probably breed true or would a large number of varieties come out?

Sorry for so many newbie questions, and thanks for your time :)

Cheers
Vincent

[kevkoi]

There are pictures of them....
Bunga Raya aka Super Red Melon.... selected from the Red melon lines which are originally from Pigeon blood stock. Although they are selected for minimal speckling, I find that it still does occur and it is very hard to get one that is spotless.


San Merah originally comes from a crossing between the Ghost discus as Malboro Reds. These fellas don't speckle....

Super Red Alenquer are bred from Red Alenquer lines and selected for their red colouration (possibly also crossed with the malboro lines to get the reds). These fish have a tendency to also get striations (like the Alenquers they come from) on their head and fins. I tend to select and prefer the Super Red Alenquers without striations. :wink: (just personal preference.)

[mtchye]

Thanks Kev, that really explains a lot. I am not a big fan of pigeon like speckling but the red on that first pic you posted is awesome! The alenquers are very nice also but I really like the deep red in the first super red melon... No wonder you guys can't pick and keep so many varieties lol

[kevkoi]

Best person to give you an unbiased opinion about which "red" discus is best would be Ladyred.... She's got all 3 varieties to oggle at in her tanks. :wink:

[flukes]

All good things come with a negative and a pigeon blood is one of them, some of the best strains but those dots are ugly.!

[Merrilyn]

In my opinion the most beautiful of the reds would be the super san merah. The colour is just breathtaking. Mine are an intense blood red, not at all like the pic here, but then mine came from SLS so the quality was always going to be good :wink: . My second favourite is the Super Red Alenquer, a deep rich brown red, again deeper and more dramatic than in the pic (also hand picked by Kev 8) ). And then you have the Bunga Rayas :shock: . If you like an extreme colour then this the one for you. The colour is true as depicted in the photo. Just stunning and also the one visitors always mention. You may get some speckling but nothing will take away from that "in ya face" colour.

So there you have it. IMHO there is nothing more beautiful than a red discus.

[mtchye]

So what you're saying is, they're all good? lol Yes I do like the 'in your face' red of the super red melon/bunga raya depicted. Are the Super San Merahs that red as well, or do they get a different hue of red? THanks for explaining the subtleties, much appreciated, and alleviates alot of my confusion.

Another question I had was, are any of these discus more or less expensive/difficult to keep/difficult to spawn than any other variety? I hear mixed reports on different strains of discus having different hardiness etc.

TIA
Vince

[Merrilyn]

Yeah Vince - I guess I am saying that I just love red fish! The super san merahs are a deep, dark red while the bunga raya is more a flourescent red - both intense but one darker than the other.
If all three fish were a similar size and quality, then the bunga raya would be the more expensive. No difference in hardiness or degree of difficulty in keeping. They all demand clean water and a good varied diet. Mine are young fish and yet to pair off, so can't help you with breeding differences. Perhaps Kev can give you more detail.

[kevkoi]

I would say that the Red melons would be a little bit more tricky to breed... just like a lot of pigeon blood based fish.

The other 2 should be as easy as any regular turq pair to breed.

[mtchye]

Thanks guys. So i take it a bunga raya is an improved version of a red melon?

When are you guys next bringing in more bunga rayas Kev?

[mtchye]

*sigh* another question, sorry.. are mandarin passions another form of red melon again?