What is the must. emblematic Hormone in Discus Fish ?

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I would like to share with you this detailed information about the endocrine system of discus fish (Symphysodon), which plays a fascinating and unique role among fish. The release and action of its hormones are crucial for parental care, reproduction, social communication, and stress response. But I'll start by talking about Prolactin. It sounds like a complicated word, but this extremely important hormone exists in both humans and Discus.

Prolactin is just one of many hormones. Being an emblematic hormone in Discus fish, I'll talk a little about it in a practical way so everyone can understand.

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In mammals, its function is not very different from that of Discus. It stimulates milk production in mammals. This hormone is known in Discus as the "Parental Feeding Hormone". The most curious thing is that in Discus, both males and females, prolactin stimulates the production of a massive amount of nutritive mucus through the skin glands. 

We often observe a pair of Discus with eggs and very dark skin, just as when the fry cling to their parents. This is the moment when the hormone, in this case prolactin, is producing this mucus rich in proteins and immunoglobulins, serving as the first source of food for the fry during the first weeks of life. This causes an excess thickening of the epidermis, which we usually call mucus, or a phenomenon known as macrotrophy.