Males or females?

Chat about all things related to Discus, from purchasing to breeding and everything in between. One of the most beautiful species in the hobby
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Luckyo
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Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2022 5:25 am

Males or females?

Post by Luckyo »

I stopped by the local fish store and these two caught my eye - the girl said they're Marlboros, but I thought those were red, so maybe they're actually Pigeon Blood.
They came from Hans, since the store buys all their discus from him. I mentioned to Hans I was thinking of buying them, and he gave me the thumbs up, trusting the store.
Now they're in my new 75, solo for now, and going through Al's quarantine protocol. They're eating great - freeze-dried black worms and pellets - and producing some nice black poop.
So, what's your take - male, female, or one of each?

Here are the pics
WiseLynx
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Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2022 9:08 am

Re: Males or females?

Post by WiseLynx »

Re: Males or females?

Honestly, I'm no expert, but based on what I'm seeing, I think you've got two males on your hands. The one at the bottom, to me, is definitely a male.
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wilde
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Re: Males or females?

Post by wilde »

Re: Males or females?

To me, the top one looks like a female, while the bottom one appears to be a male. Marlboros are usually orange in color, which matches these fish. Their color can deepen to red depending on their diet or hormonal changes, but since Stendker doesn't use hormones, it's likely just their natural color. I've found that VibraBites can really help bring out the red tones in them.
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Luckyo
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Re: Males or females?

Post by Luckyo »

Re: Males or females?

I agree with my initial thoughts - top one's a female, bottom's a male. Marlboros, as we know, are usually orange, like these. Their color can change with diet or hormones, but Stendker doesn't use hormones. I've had success with VibraBites in bringing out the reds.
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FairyFish
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Re: Males or females?

Post by FairyFish »

Re: Males or females?

I've been wondering, are Stendker Fire Red and Marlboro Red essentially the same thing, both being from the Pigeon Blood line?
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FishNe
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Re: Males or females?

Post by FishNe »

Re: Males or females?

I think so, Stendker Fire Red and Marlboro Red are from the same Pigeon blood line.
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Luckyo
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Re: Males or females?

Post by Luckyo »

Re: Males or females?

I got in touch with Hans, sent him the pics. He thinks they're a pair, female and male.
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knight
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Re: Males or females?

Post by knight »

Re: Males or females?

Originally posted by wilde

To my eye, top is female, bottom is male. Marlboros are typically orange, as these are. They can get redder with feeding or hormones, except Stendker doesn't use hormone. I find VibraBites work very well to bring out the reds.

Vibrabites are already part of their diet, I also thought the same - top's a female, bottom's a male, but I could be wrong.
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Luckyo
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Re: Males or females?

Post by Luckyo »

Re: Males or females?

Thanks for all the input, they're doing great in their QT stay tank and loving the freeze dried black worms. Sunday, I'll start deworming with Wormer X (levemisole) if all goes well.
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BoldOne
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Re: Males or females?

Post by BoldOne »

Re: Males or females?

I'm curious to know what gives away the gender in these fish. What specific characteristics do you look for when determining male or female? I'd love to learn from those with experience.
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