What are Pigeonblood Discus Fish

Return To: Why Are Discus Fish Called Pigeonblood

 In the early 1990’s Pigeonblood Discus fish were introduced to the world and our aquariums. In the beginning this new Discus fish when entered into Asian fish shows, was accused of being highly hormone, or unreal and was therefore disqualified from competitions. In time, due to its unique look these new Discus fish, which began from morphed Red Turquoise originating in Thailand, quickly exploded, spreading around the world and became the basis for many new colors found today. In fact, the Pigeonblood Discus lineage is responsible for brighter Yellow’s, Red’s, Orange’s, and to a lesser degree Blue’s and White’s that are found in today’s aquariums. Soon after their introduction breeders selling to an international audience, of this era quickly added their own spin to market this new Discus fish with trade names, such as Panda or Dragon Discus. This further added to confuse Discus enthusiast as to what are, “Pigeonblood Discus fish”? Bringing us to the present, and adding into the confusion many different colors, and new names since its introduction. It’s impossible to tell by the name, if the fish is a Pigeonblood or came from Pigeonblood lineage.

One can always be certain that a Discus which displays freckles on either the face, nose, or the body of the fish has a sooty appearance, like black freckles air brushed onto it, these Discus fish are of Pigeonblood decent. The freckles can give the Discus a darker appearance and will fade in and out depending on the mood, and aquarium decorations.

Over the year’s selective breeding has resulted in the development of so-called, “clean” forms of Pigeonblood Discus, whereas the black freckles are limited to only the face or nose. The goal of this type of breeding is to brighten the color of the Discus fish, which an overwhelming majority of customers are looking for. In the years to come I can certainly predict that many more colors and names be developed and introduced from the Pigeonblood Discus fish strain.

Read More: Why Do Discus Fish Have Black Spots (Peppering)