Black patches / specks on Discus

[cbong]

I am new to this Discus hobby. A very basic question .... why is it that my Golden discus developed black patches / specks on its body? Water quality bad?? Wat should I do?

Noticed this when I was keeping my Jing Kang Luo Han too.

[loupgarou]

some fish are genetically prone to do this. usually those with pidgeon blood strain in them.

once the black specks develop, its almost impossible to go away. its caused by poor water quality.
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species I know don't exhibit this:
blue diamond, pure snow whites (ie: not redwhite/yellowwhites), san merah, rose red.

[bigjohnstud]

Nearly all discus breed with the pigeon gene in them will exhibit black pepper specks on their foreheads and some even on the bodies when they are subjected to stressful environments including bright lights, sudden changes in water parameters, competition etc. These discus are usually not recommended for planted tanks due to the higher lighting requirements.

[magic1980]

actually can keep discus in planted tank.
its ok.
the black specks is becos its pigeon blood.
and it shows cos of stress or other factors.
if u keeping discus in planted, try not to keep less than 2.
give it some time, if it is still eating,
then its ok.

the black speck will eventually go off when the discus settle down in the new environment.

[cbong]

Magic,
you are giving some hope on their recovery.Thanks

[kunner]

Golden discus do have pigeon gene in them and the black pigement is due to the water condition. When there are slight changes in water parameter or the water is not suitable to these discus, they will exhibit these black pigement. But once your fish get use to your water, these black pigement will evenutally disappear.

[loupgarou]

in that case, in the 1 year plus I kept discus in planted, those that stayed with blackspecks never got used to the tank.

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I'm almost certain these don't have the black speck problem
pure snow white, blue diamond, cobalt blue, san merah, rose red.