17 : Until Death Do Us Part - Something Blue ...

Changing Partners

 The new pair (hiding) ...

Blue Turquoise female and Marlboro Red male

 Red Turquoise male with Blue Turquoise female

(pairing up as juveniles)

 First pairing (mature)

Marlboro Red male and Snow Leopard female... guarding eggs together

 Blue Turquoise female (mature) tending to eggs

Red Turquoise male (mature) taking his turn guarding eggs

Relationships are fickle in the fish world, even more so in an enclosed tank where you only have so many choices...  Many discus will pair for life, which is what the Red and Blue Turquoise discus in my tank did. However, with the recent death of the Red Turquoise male the newly widowed female Blue Turquoise has found a new friendship. The Red Marlboro discus originally tried pairing with the Snow Leopard female and managed several batches of eggs, however, they decided to part as friends quite some time ago and have been part of the general school since.  Quietly watching from afar, as the Turquoise pair successfully had batch after batch of eggs, the Red Marlboro male waited.  

Unfortunately life got the better of me recently and I had not been as diligent as I should have been about tank maintenance.  The high nitrate levels that resulted sadly caused the death of the magnificent Red Turquoise male and resulted in the ending of the pairing.  I felt awful on many levels, however, it has been some relief to see the Marlboro Red male take over where the Red Turquoise left off; becoming firm friends with the grieving widow.  It will be an interesting relationship to watch, I wonder if they will both try again for eggs or if they will just swim together and be apart from the others.  Either way it has certainly gone a long way toward making me feel better about my lapse in maintenance.  The tank is back in excellent condition with pristine waters and stable levels, with a new pair forming a bond that may well last for their lifetimes.

The new pair separate and hiding at the left end of tank...