discus fish - help!!

Question
heya, i set up a discus fish tank around 2 months ago, i could only afford a
tank large enough for a pair, but did not want a breeding pair. i went out and
bought everything, cycled it, put in the fish, and for the last two months
everything has gone.. swimmingly! ha ha, but, not, things are going a little
too well, and i appear to have discus eggs. i have a red turk, and a pigeon
blood, in a well planted 26 gallon aquarium, but had no intention of breeding
them. it appears to be the pigeon blood that is caring for the eggs, she is
cleaning them off and wont leave the amazonian sword plant that shes laid
them on.. ive had a quick look, and there are a fair few eggs, all an orange
colour, all stuck to the leaf. is it possible for these two to have bred? or is it
more likely the pigeon blood is the mother and the father was left at the
aquarium i bought her from? i have been doing research on how to raise
them, but tomorro i will have to ask the aquarium if they will take the fry off
my hands once they are old enough to be moved.. do you think the fry will be
asthetically pleasing enough for the pet shop to be able to sell? i dont know
what a cross between these two would make.. please reply soon! ive found
out i basically have 5 days.. ha ha, cheers! josh

Answer
Hi Josh,
  The father has to be in the tank.  The eggs are fertilized externally after they are laid.

  The fact that there are eggs is no guarantee that they were fertilized.  Watch and see if they develop and hatch.  If so, then they were fertilized.  It is very common for females to lay eggs that do not get properly fertilized.  

  As the saying goes, don't count your cichlids until they hatch (and grow much larger).  Cichlids lay LOTS of eggs, very few survive for even a few months, so I wouldn't worry about how to get rid of the kids quite yet.  They won't be large enough to get rid of for at least 6 months to a year.  

  The different "types" of discus are all the same ultimately, so a pigeon blood can definitely breed with a turquoise, etc.  Whether they are aesthetically pleasing is entirely up to the beholder (personally I most like wild type discus).  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>