Can anyone answer my question ?

i just noticed 2 of my discus lip-locking , i think they were 2 pigeon blood
is this a sign of pairing ? or what is it otherwise ?


would my discus be worth much ,
i have 4 :
5-5.5""

2 x 4-4.5" (kissing in the image)

3" (its alot more orange in colour now )


thanks

Im not sure what the behaviour is but in a shop the fish might go for €30 or €35 each. If you are selling yourself maybe €20 to €25.

...Possibly a touch more.

i seen a smaller version of the larger one i have in my lfs for 60euro and it was only around 3.5-4" :?

Depends on the shop and/or the quality, origin and type of the fish. Size doesn't come into the equation too much.

Ever watch Antiques Roadshow?... A grandfather clock could be worth ten grand or ten quid I'm afraid!

Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay, it's tough but it's the truth, wait till you try to sell a Car !!

Kev.

hmmmmm .....
so what would you say id get at a stretch for the 4 ?

does anyone know about the lip locking ?
thanks

Lip locking is usually a male male thing. Testing strength to gauge supremacy or pecking order.

Kev.

ejgibbo wrote:

hmmmmm .....
so what would you say id get at a stretch for the 4 ?

does anyone know about the lip locking ?
thanks

Possibly €100?

Would I be assuming that the query on 'how much they are worth?' be based upon whether or not there may be a so called 'mated pair'?

im not sure but i think the 2 pigeon bloods may be a pair , but i dont really know .. they always stay and swim together , kiss like the picture and lip lock the odd time

I dont know much about discus but I had 2 male Oscars in a tank not nearly big enough for one and the two males used to lip lock, so I'd say its a "I'm in charge thing" but I could be wrong.

Cheers
R2

My Clown Loaches do it sometimes, but I can't be certain as I have never kept discus muself. It should be fairly apparent if they are indeed testing the auld muscle power and will.


Mark

i think 120 give or take a few quid would be a fair price, i'm not sure on their behaviour but could this be young male discus learning the trade?

In the early stages of 'pairing-up', Discus may test their potential mate with a locking jaws and body slapping.
But that doesn't always happen, and is not a sign of pairing-up as male-to-male and female-to-female agression will involve locking jaws.

However, Discus will also bully without any physical contact (often I find that the non-physical bully has a much more damaging effect that two fish have a physical battle).

It is not easy to tell from your pictures the sex of the two fish....and I find that the man-made discus are not always to sex when young anyway unless you get close to the genital region to sex them.

In the early stages of pairing, you may also find that the 'pair' will tend to ward-off other fish.

Ultimately, a 'mated pair' is one who have layed some viable eggs.

How's about waiting to see if these breed, and then see if you can raise some quality babies for sale.

ian

ejgibbo wrote:

i seen a smaller version of the larger one i have in my lfs for 60euro and it was only around 3.5-4" :?

What does really get me about this hobby is this.
Fish in an lfs can come from anywhere be left in by anybody or are half starved and poisoned to be caught
but it is ok to pay their prices. Fair enough. I have no problem with that.

But a fish that has been cared for and well fed and has grown, (which in case of loaches certainly increaese the price 5 fold, time taken to grow to the a certain size is a factor certainly with fish that take a very long time to reach adulthood) and we expect it as cheap as chips fro each other. Got some silly offers for my adult upsidedowners, €10, oh i laughed.

If tyou can wait till someone is looking for Discus you may get a better deal mate.

Mark

okay i understands ,
but this behaviour doesnt seem to be aggresive at all its more relaxed and slow ...
is there anyway on knowing the sex ?
igmillichip and mark they seem like good plans ill have a think about it
thanks

Sexing discus can be tricky; as the animals become more mature it does become easier.
The man-made strains/hybrids or whatever can sometimes make things a little more difficult.
Fish that are stunted will need a closer examination in sme cases as the general morphology may give visual relative mis-measurements.

Behaviour is not really a good sign.....females can be as aggressive and defensive as males.
Size....not an indicator at all as that depends on so many things.
Colour....of little in Discus.
Fins....of little use as any difference in fin shape may only show when the fish is very large (some males may show a slight pointing of the top fin...but even then it is quite small)

Possible methods....
Head shape......(not applicable to stunted, young, or bad-stock)....the distance between the eye and the front of the forehead may be relatively (to the eye size) longer in males than in females. This may give a slight bull-head shape. Not always a defo method.

Pelvic to anal fin distance and angle......females will tend to show a longer distance and less sloped angle between pelvic and anal fin. But, this is very tentative in small or stunted fish.

A bright light behind the fish will reveal internal organs.....look for differences in internal sex organs. But, not really useful in small fish (or ones of bad-stock and bad internal morphology).

The external sex organs are a good sign.....you need to be pretty close (and would need a magnifying glass).....if viewed from below, the genitals will look like 2 concentric ovals.
The concentric ovals are closer in the females than they are in a male. This effect, when viewed from the side, looks like the male gentital is more 'pointy' than the feamles....but you'd only see that when the genitals are protruding somewhat.

When actually spawning....it is easier to see which is male and which is female.

Ian

and hey, as I finished that last post, I turned around and noticed that some young(ish) discus of mine have just decided to lay some eggs on the front of the tank......this is actually their first time to lay.....and in that pair, the male/female genital region is as expected (as in my post above), but the female has all the classic fins and head-shape that some people describe as male!!

Just thought I'd add that....but alas, they are laying over an area that has some nice brown-"algae" else I'd do some pictures to show the sex differences.

your very lucky igmillichip ,
thanks for the info , you really know your stuff
ill take a look in the morning ..
thanks

hi, an established breeding pair is generally worth more, re lip locking would agree with one of the replys you got its a dominance\challenge thing have seen two females do it to, wouldnt worry about it unless it becomes aggressive. hope that helps.

tina.