Discus

[Friendly]

I am thinking about getting some discus in the future and I was just wondering, what is the color of discus in the wild? I know they are selectively bred to show different colors but I want to get a school of "natural" looking discus.

 

[JDogg]

Aren't there different species/sub-species of discus that look different?

Symphysodon discus discus-Heckel Discus

Symphysodon discus willischwartzi-Blue Faced Heckel Discus

Symphysodon aequifasciata aequifasciata-Green Discus

Symphysodon aequifasciata haraldi-Blue Discus

Symphysodon aequifasciata axelrodi-Brown Discus

 

[Friendly]

But are those the discus's natural colors? I thought there was just only one color in the wild.

 

[Zagz]

I may be wrong on this but I believe discus in the wild are brown. Or at least it is the most common natural color.

 

[JDogg]

according to wikipedia the wild forms are

Wild forms:

Brown: The most common color form in the wild; these fish have a brownish base color with minimal stripes of secondary color only along the head and fins.
Blue/Green: Similar to the Brown, but with more secondary color (either bluish or greenish.)
Royal Blue: The secondary color forms stripes across the entire body, with a golden base color. These splendid fish are the basis of many of the developed color strains, and are primarily responsible for the early fame of discus. Royal Blues can usually be readily distinguished from selectively bred color forms by their less even base color, with the golden color becoming a brighter yellow around the breast area.
Red Spotted Green: A reddish base color with greenish secondary color with 'holes' in it (producing spots of the red base color showing through.) This handsome color form is extremely rare in the wild, but is produced by several breeders.
Heckel: Possibly a separate species, Heckels are identifiable by two vertical black bars that are much thicker than the others.

I am by no means a discus expert, i have never kept them so i realy should stay out of this thread LOL

 

[goalorientation]

what's min tank size req? how big they get? jus curious i saw some being sold on ebay at like 50 a pop.

 

[Thebluyak]

you need to keep atleast 5, they are a group fish, minimum would be 55 gallons, they need alot of room to swim, check out discusforums.com, it will answer all of your questions, also if they are juvy's they need to be bare bottem tank because they eat like 6 times a day and make quite a mess. in theory you can grow them out in a planted tank but it will take alot of work and dedication. its easier and safer for the fish to get 5-6 juvy's, grow them out in a barebottem tank and once they reach adult hood, transform it to a planted tank. A good filter is a must and also a good heater as they like it around 84-86 degrees F. Discus are AMAZING but they do require lots of love and care to make them as beautiful as they can be. Also dont buy discus that should have been culled, exe sunken face, pinched face, not very active and not very interested in food. Check out that forum as its a breed specific and it will help you answer alot of your questions. I was getting discus until I couldnt bring my big tank to my apt so I researched for along time. Def research before you drop the few hundred it will cost to get everything set up.

 

[goalorientation]

good advice there thanks bluyak

 

[hc8719]

friendly discus range from $20-$80 a fish, if i was thinking about getting one, i sure wouldnt blow off that money on natural brown ones, also dont they need their water changed like every day?

 

[Thebluyak]

no not everyday, but they do need to have their tank vaccumed alot, be it every day or every other day depends on tank size and bio load and fish count. The general rule of thumb is the cleaner the water the happier/healthier/faster growing the fish will be, especially true with discus as they grow pretty fast when juvys because they eat like 6 times a day.

 

[hulkamaniac]

Discus are billed as "The King of Freshwater Fish." Personally, I'd love nothing more than keeping one and have given serious thought to moving some of my fish around so I could make the discus the centerpiece fish in my 75 gallon. I'm not sure how I would manage it though.