Project Description

Marlboro Red Discus

Marlboro Red is the strains of discus which are sometimes confused with rafflesia. In Marlboro Red, Usually, the face is covered with some beautiful short white lines just like the fins and it might cover the body sides but near the fins only. However, a bigger share of the body is a solid color of orange or red. When grown up the tail turns black and they have 1stress bar near the tail.
  • QUICK LOOK:
  • Recommended for: beginners or higher
  • Price Range: or higher
  • Growth Speed:
  • Strength:
  • From Pairing of: Pigeon Blood / Red Brown
  • Design: solid-pattern
  • Best Food: foods high in krill or such
  • Water Condition: TDS 200 to 300, PH: 7

Care and Breeding Information

General care for Marlboro Red

Marlboro Red caring tips are almost the same with pigeon blood, it’s an easy-to-keep discus fish for most beginners and other discus lovers and they’ll live up to 8 to 9 years in aquariums. This strain is usually in a mid-range price for discus, however, some are found to be cheaper. if kept in low-quality water, stressed out or ill, black pigmentations will appear easily on this fish.
Best food:
Foods with a higher amount of krill, paprika or such are the best for a Red Marlboro discus which intensifies their red coloration in a natural way. One of the specifically produced foods for this strain is Sera Discus Color red. Like most other strains It’s best to use our appropriate discus feeding plan for Marlboro Red as it helps you not only to have a growing and healthier discus but also a cleaner tank as well. to learn more about what are the best foods for discus click here!
Appropriate water and tank condition:
Conditioning water is always an important factor for every fish and it seems to be even more important when it comes to Discus. Almost every discus will do just fine with waters TDS of 250-300 or less, and the water temperature of 29.5 -30.5 °C in order to showcase their the best coloration, expanded fins, eating habits and in general to show you how a happy discus look like. But for Marlboro Red, like other red-strains of discus, I suggest softer water, something around TDS of 200ppm, And again 1°C lower water temperature, something around 28.5°C, you’ll have happier discus (red) based on my personal experience . to learn more about how to maintain well-conditioned water for discus click here.
The best tank condition for Marlboro red can be tanks with woods and plants if you are not a fan of bare bottom tanks but it’s better to avoid high-density planting as it makes it difficult to clean the tank up to its cleanest. You can always use pots or plant on woods if you love having plants but a clean tank at the same time to learn more about the best tank conditions for discus click here.
A healthy Marlboro red should look like:
I can’t stress it enough, Buying healthy discus and from a reliable source is like the MOST IMPORTANT step of every discus lover which will save you a lot of headache and money. There are common signs of a healthy and quality discus but talking about Marlboro Red, First, you’ll need to pay attention to their skin, as their skin is a reflection of their health. Less pigmentation on the body, open fins, and the gills need to look normal and healthy. looking at their poop tells a lot, No white poop! the size of their eyes should be medium, not too big and not very small! In addition, the dorsal fin and anal fin needs to look symmetrical.  click here to learn more about how to buy a quality discus!
Marlboro Red Discus is often confused with:
Red Dragon Discus, Red Melon Discus

General Breeding information

Marlboro Red was first bred by a Thai breeder,  in 1994. He paired up pigeon blood and red-brown to breed Marlboro Red and they continued breeding Marlboro red afterward.  It’s great to know that many of the famous and popular strains of discus were produces using Marlboro Red, such as red melon (possible), ruby red, ruby spotted and etc. Breeding Marlboro Red is not so difficult in case you ever wanted to know and their babies will show up their real coloration almost when they get to 2 inches as they are considered in the solid group.
Pairs Preparations For Breeding Discus
If you want quality eggs, you’ll need a healthy pair. So one thing I found vital in successful breeding is to prepare the pair for breeding at least 15 days before laying the eggs you are planning to work on. using Chloramine-T on Flubendazole every 5 days and for 3 cycles. click on here to learn how to use chloramine-T or Flubendazole!
Water Condition for Breeding Marlboro Red
The water you put in the breeding tank first is usually the water of the bigger tank where your pair fell in love! Remember, your matured discus could be stronger in some various water conditions but that might not be the case for their eggs. If you want a high rate of discus eggs hatching, apart from using methylene blue you’ll need soft water, TDS from 30 to 70 is fine and my favorite number is 50. You just take care of this number and the rest of the parameters will simply adjust to it’s best (Such as the PH and etc).
Tank and filtration system for Breeding Discus
To explain it briefly and based on my experience, I think The best size for a breeding tank is 50cm * 50cm * 50cm Which ends up holding 125 Liters of water. It is best to choose a similar size for the Lenght, width, and height of the breeding tank. but none of them should be less than 40 cm while holding 125 Liters of water.
Then for filtration set up, you’ll need a simple, and easy to use a sponge filter.  We’ll want to remove the sponge filter when the eggs are hatched and to replace it back after the fry are better swimmers. read more here!
Next is the heater, for such tank, you’ll need a 150W or 200W to maintain a temperature of 28°C – 28.5°C. Here is a trick I use all the time, as 30% to 50% water change is recommended daily and it helps to soften the water. I purposely choose to add enough water of 25°C until I can decrease the tank temperature by 1°C or 1.5°C suddenly, and the heater works to bring it back to the beginning temperature of 28°C or 28.5°C. This happens to lead the pairs into temptation and desire for sex.
lastly, we’ll need to have a breeding cone or anything else like ceramics, Pvc pipes to provide a surface for laying the eggs although they might still decide to lay their eggs anywhere else they like!
Marlboro Red Discus pairs up well with:
Best with the Reds such as red melon, ruby red, virgin red. but basically, Marlboro red pairs up with any other strains.

Other types of Discus you can learn about: