background

[lpiasente]

What is the best colour background for a discus tank. If I put dark blue or black will that add to my fish peppering?

[iro11a]

i have dark blue background and it wont add to peppering,you mainly getting peppering from the foods you feed.have a bare bottom tank you should notice less peppering from experiences

[lpiasente]

Great, thanks for that. I have 2 of my babies that are starting to pepper up so I don't want to add to it. What foods can cause peppering? I tried to find the link with the article on it but no luck. They are in a bb.

[Hollowman]

i have dark blue background and it wont add to peppering,you mainly getting peppering from the foods you feed.

THIS IS COMPLETELY WRONG !!! :shock:

Peppering or colour changing in discus will depend on the environment. Ok, let us look at the Pigeon Blood (PB) first. The first PB was a mutation, a genetic freak that was first discovered between 1987 and 1990 airing in Thailand. This mutation had none of the 9 or 14 vertical bars of normal varieties of the time, but was found to have black speckles, these black speckles were thought to be the mutation's remains of the vertical bars, but are visable over the whole body and fins.
In nature and in captive breeding, regular non PB discus use the vertical bars as camouflage, they can also be used to indicate enviromental conditions, mood and general health.

I do not know which fish you are keeping, but the colour of your background will have a direct effect on the colour of your fish. If you keep your fish in a dark coloured tank, it will have the effect of making your fish darken to blend in with their environment, fact. If you have a planted tank, you will also find that the fish try to blend in, often either showing vertical bars or showing more peppering than normal.
Now, take the same fish, put them in a light painted tank and within less than 2 weeks you will see a major difference. I have used both a very pale blue and white painted tanks, ie bottom, back and sides, and seen fish change (lighten) to an almost unrecognisable colour. All the time I feed the SAME FOOD!!! BeefHeart, Blood worms, White worms, brine shrimp and various granular foods.
Breeders will also keep fish in light coloured tanks to lift the tone of the fish, it does help to inhibit peppering in PBs' and lighten the colours of solids strains of fish. If you have Andrew Soh's book, take a look at page 53 where he describes this when keeping Albino strains.

Basically, food will not change your fish's colour, only enhance it. Tank colour will change your fish's colour by forcing the fish to try to blend in.

HTH

Hollowman

[Hollowman]

Here are photos of one of my fish. A Pigeon Blood, one taken in a decorated tank, with dark bogwood, the other in a light painted bare bottom tank, fed the same foods, just a different environment. Even though this fish does not carry too much peppering, you can see it in the pic, note the caudal (tail fin) colour and the bottom edge of the anal fin. Compare to the other photo.

H

[lpiasente]

Ok, I did put the dark background on and the fish looked awsome. I will take it off and find a light blue one. :)

[Hollowman]

lpiasente,

I am not saying put a light background on your tank at all. In fact it can really enhance the look of some fish. BUT, it will with many strains change a fish's colour.

The choice is yours, I was just giving you the correct info on colour change and backgrounds as the comment by iro11a was incorrect.

H :)

[iro11a]

Hollowman

I was commenting on my experiences and you agreeded with what i was saying you have a bare bottom light tank peppering will fade away also since feeding my discus colour bits more colours came out was that because i changed my enviroment.........NO its always been the same.so food does play part role in colours of discus you feed them crap flake they never going to show the best colours but feed BS and mix's talked about on this forum would noticed changes i know i did..

Jono

[iro11a]

i have dark blue background and it wont add to peppering,you mainly getting peppering from the foods you feed.



Peppering or colour changing in discus will depend on the environment.

Exactly what i meant bare bottom tank they will loose peppering

Hollowman :roll:

[waitaki]

nice fish you have there hollowman (as if that is a surprise!!) ... lpiasente, I have a light blue back ground with my melons and golden albino - the only time I notice peppering on the melons is when they spawn, and it is minimal. What colour are your fish?

[lpiasente]

marlbro red, red leopard blue turk and a snakeskin, red I think. I will get a light blue background just in case.

[waitaki]

nice fish you have there hollowman (as if that is a surprise!!) ... lpiasente, I have a light blue back ground with my melons and golden albino - the only time I notice peppering on the melons is when they spawn, and it is minimal. What colour are your fish?

[waitaki]

sorry didn't mean to post that twice!!

[Hollowman]

Waitaki,

'sorry didn't mean to post that twice!!' hey buddy, I don't mind a double complement :lol:

Ok, Jono,

I don't think you really understood my reply.

You said, 'i have dark blue background and it wont add to peppering'

I wrote 'If you keep your fish in a dark coloured tank, it will have the effect of making your fish darken to blend in with their environment, fact. If you have a planted tank, you will also find that the fish try to blend in, often either showing vertical bars or showing more peppering than normal. '
I think that was quite clear, dark environments will add to peppering.

You said, 'you mainly getting peppering from the foods you feed'

I wrote, 'food will not change your fish's colour, only enhance it.'

I am not saying that you have not experienced colour changing, but you need to understand that it happens in different ways.

Peppering is a genetic trait, there is nothing we can do about it, we can reduce the look of it by using a light background.
Food will enhance the colour (depending on type of food or additives) but cannot reduce peppering.

Steve