question about small black spots on discus????

[mbunakeith]

i am fairly new to discus and i got a couple discus from a fellow hobbyist this weekend. one is a gorgeous turquoise. looks stunning and covershot quality. i also got a pigeonblood from him and it is covered in black spots. i have seen this on many fish at petstores etc.. question is...will these black spots every go away? is there anything i can do to prevent more? will they spread to my other discus? the pigeonblood's fins are pretty much blacked out and there iare some variable spots on his head and body. thanks for any help.
Keith

[wickedglass]

not to worry, the black marks are a prevalent characteristic of a lot of pigeon blood strains, however they may also come without the black ... "clean" pigeon blood discus (such as white butterflies). the black spots aren't a disease, it's how the fish looks, they're caused by melanin, a colour pigment produced by the fish. if the black is there in a small fish, it will stay through adulthood. the name "pigeon blood" refers to the exceptionally red eyes this strain is said to have.

here's some links to pigeon bloods

http://users.bigpond.net.au/discusoz...ISCUS%2003.jpg
http://www.zoo-rohleder.de/images/di...lood_gross.JPG
http://www.aquaflight.co.uk/Photos/D...on%20blood.jpg
http://thediscus.online.fr/photos/ga...igeonblood.jpg
also here
http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/...us/index.shtml


hope that helps a little

[mbunakeith]

mine looks exactly like the one in the picture (i swear it is the same fish!!)at the link to www.thediscusonline.com.
thanks for the info.

[wickedglass]

no worries,
welcome to the forum, Keith

[mbunakeith]

thanks

[dntx5b9]

Hey, you found this place as well. Remember seeing you few times over at the CF. Good luck with your discus. I currently have three in my tank. 1 almost a year and 2 just two weeks. Here is what my pigeon blood looks like. He has some black markings around the fin. Unfortunately, he is not doing well. Hope he makes it. Good luck with yours!

[mbunakeith]

right on! i still head over to CF every once in a while. i have 3 in my tank as well. good luck and i hope he makes it. that fish of yours looks a lot like mine! i will try to get some pictures soon.