Discus -Symphysodon aequifasciata

This is a write up of what I have learned in my research of these fish. If you have anything to add go ahead.

Found in: the Rio Solimões, Rio Amazonas and the Río Putumayo-Içá in Brazil. Also can be found in Colombia and Peru.

Size: 5-8" round

Temp: 78-89F depending on where the fish is from.

ph: 5-7.5 this also depends on where the fish were raised.

Tank size: 4 Foot 55 gal for 5 discus larger for more fish.

Sex: Some breeders say they can. But it is VERY hard to do unless you have a trained eye and are looking at adults. Most of the time you need to wait till you see them spawn and get fry to know if you have a pair. Remember just because you get eggs does not mean you have pair it could be 2 females. There are a few ideas as to how to sex but none are a sure way. Males will have trails on the fins and be larger once mature.

Look at the breeding tubes when spawning to tell. I have one pair and here are the breeding tubes.
Male. Tubes will be smaller and pointed.

Female tubes are big and blunt


Breeding: They can pair up at 3-4" but might not be fertiel or keep them long enough to hatch. At 5" you can have a good breeding pair they like to lay eggs on a up right smooth surface they sell breeding cones for this. They might lay eggs on the glass or some wood maybe the filter intake. Both parents tend to the eggs and fry. They are great parents. It takes 48 hours to hatch might be longer in cooler water 82F is perfect. Once they hatch they will stay with the parents not moving much for 12 hours. Then they will swim Very close to the parents side for a week. After a week they are free swimming around the tank going a little farther from the parents side. They will still eat off the parents so no need for any extra food for them. At 2 week if the fry are no longer eatting from the parents you can seperate them. The slime the parents produce is very important and is why you can not take the new fry from the parents too early. Where like with other fish you can raise them from egg with out parents around.

If you raise them right they can be 2" in 12 weeks. keeping the water perfect 80% wc daily feeding a lot 6 -8 times a day. this will help them grow fast
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/grangediscus/index.html

Habitat: These fish are found in deep Calm water among falling trees and roots. Not many rocks are around. Water is almost always the color of Tea due to the tannins from wood. Not many plants are found deep among the branches because it tends to be dark with sandy bottoms. Fish found around the discus. Severums, Festivum, Geos, Uaru, and other larger fish. Not often are small tetras found around them.

Needs. Young fish are need more care to keep them from getting stunted. feeding 3-6 times a day is best. Due to extra feeding you will need to do more water changes. daily water changes of 25% are good. You could get away with 50% WC every other day or 80% weekly wc. Feed a high quality food beefhearts, bloodworms, and a good flake or food pellets. I like to feed mine Veggie flakes too because in the wild they eat mainly bugs and other stuff like that but have been found with plant matter in the stomach. Verity is key to fish health.

Quality fish:
Discus people and breeders are always looking for the best of the best. A high quality disucs or show Discus will be as round as a ball. With small RED eyes, a good chin, and a smooth head lump free. They should also have a healthy thick body with well shaped fins and strong color with even pattern depending on the strain.

Tank mates: Smaller fish that will not be aggressive at feeding time. In larger tanks Peaceful Geos can be good tank mates for adult discus. Rams, tetras, corys, and BN plecos make for good tankmates. But best of all are other Discus. They should be kept in groups of 5+ unless its a breeding pair. The more the better it is to spread out the pecking order so not one fish gets picked on.

Temperament: Social and peaceful. Discus are still cichlids so when most are peaceful there are a few that can be just down right mean. They set up a pecking order where there is a leader of the school and all other tend to follow or leave this fish alone. There can also be a bottom fish one that might get picked on more then others. Discus can be good with other fish that are not too active or nippy. An adjusted Discus should be outgoing and always begging for food. They do spook easy so try not to keep them in a area of high traffic.

Types:
There are Domestics most are bred in Asia or Germany some are in the USA but not on a large scale. These are the main places our imported domestics come from. These fish do just fine in treated tap water with a ph of 7.5. These domestic discus are also kept in warmer water of 86-89F this is to help keep them from getting parasites.

There are 4 types of Wilds. And some Hybrids between these have been found in the wild.
The Brown disucs , S. aequifasciata axelrodi
The easy wild. These are not as picky and most our domestics came from these guys. They are also pretty commonly found or imported into the aquarium trade. Found near Belem and Rio Urubu, this fish used to be the most common discus species available to hobbyists. They tend to be a brown red base color.

The Blue Discus, S.Aequifasciatus Haraldi
These fish are also not too hard to keep and tend to be hardy. Found near Manaus, the Purus River, Manacapuru in Brazil, Leticia, and parts of Peru. A wildly spread disucs living in a slightly different areas. They are like the Brown but with more blue color yet still have a brown base color. The largest of the wilds 8" is average for an adult wild. Some can get larger then that.

The Green Discus, Symphysodon Aequifasciatus Aequifasciatus
These fish are found in Lake Tefe', the Coari' , Nanay, the Japura regions of the Peruvian, and Brazilian Amazon. They come in a wide range of color but the base color is more of a yellow. They have more of a green shine to them some with spots. These fish are a big more picky about water softness in aquariums

The Heckels discus, Symphysodon Discus Found in mostly Brazil's Rio Negro. Seeing that they are found in a more spacific area they tend to be the mose picky when it comes to aquarium water. Needing a ph of 5-6. This fish has a distinguishing dark "fifth" stripe on both red and blue varieties. also the smallest of the wilds only getting to be 5" in the wild.


Here are some great discus links.
Good info about wilds.
http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/discus/strains/index.html

Great site about the different color strains.
http://www.discusnada.org/discus/classification.html

Temperature for wilds.
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=89

Great info one where discus come from.
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=2724

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=2927

And one of my fish only 3". This guy has a great shape very round ok chin nice color. but his eyes are too dark and a little big.


This guy is 3" with GREAT color but her eyes are too big. she also has a nice shape head.
.

If you have some great looking adults please post some photos

PS I did not proff read this so sorry it a little rough.

Great search snowflake!!, thanks for sharing..

awesome this is great info. def will put it into good use for my little new ones that im getting. i should send ya a pic of my little red turq. shes very pretty and got really good comformation, as wat u just said.

Very nice.

Awesome entry! Thank you so much

Glad you all like it.

Great info!!!

yes very good info thanks so much

Here is my pigeon who is 3" growing so fast and I think is a good example of good eye size for a young fish. But he has a weak chin. None of my fish are perfect.



I also would like to add that many Asia bred fish not all have the chanse that were were given hormones to show adult colors at young ages. I'm pretty sure the discus in the first 2 pics had hormones. Because when I got them they were very bright and had an orange nose but now they look more natrual. Hormones can effect the fertility of the fish and is said to shorten the life span. But it all depends on how long they were exposed to it and how much.

very cute little guy, i hav some pics but my firefox is being a pian and internet explorar wont let me send pics,ugh but ill get her up wen i can fix this problem.

here's some of mine

nice discus tex n snowflake

Great info snow. And love the pics from both of you.

Tx nice fish the pairs look good I like the red cover. I did bot wright up anything about breeding and spawning. If you want to add some info go ahead.

very nice tex!!! luv ur discus.