Buying discus for the first time can often be rather confusing because there are now masses of phenotypic strains being sold around the world. Discus fish are bred not just in the US, but also in places such as Hong Kong and Malaysia.
You don't need to learn by heart all of the strains, but a working awareness of how these strains came about to start with will be beneficial in deciding what you need at the moment. Many people ask me about the original convict fish. If you are looking for the ma of all discus fish, then you are talking about the wild Heckel discus strain.
The Heckel discus, or Symphysodon discus, is named after J. Heckel, a Viennese ichthyologist who was ready to identify, describe, and formally catalog the discus fish. The true wild Heckel discus strain found in the Amazon Basin. It's got a light yellow-brown body with 2 thick and notable stripes: one that crosses the center of the body, and another one that crosses the centre of the fishs face.
The black stripe that crosses the face is commonly referred to as the 5th stripe, and is characteristic of a genuine Symphysodon discus. The Heckel discus is hailed as the most challenging strain to keep and breed, as it is awfully particular with water pH levels and tank temperature.
But do not let this scare you. I invite newbs to try their hand in raising a wild strain because this will help you understand discus fish in total. If you are successful in keeping and maybe even breeding wild discus fish, you are in a prime position to raise any phenotypic strain from any part of the world!
Now, unless stated otherwise, most, if not all of the colorful phenotypic subspecies you'll be seeing pet stores is a derivative of Symphysodon Aequifasciatus Axelrod, or the brown discus. According to several private breeders, Symphysodon Aequifasciatus Axelrod and its compounds are much easier to keep than Symphysodon discus. Nonetheless this isn't to assert that you can just plop this strain of discus in just any tank. You still need to be knowledgeable about water quality wants, or else your discus fish will submit and die.
Now that we are done with the preliminaries of identifying discus fish, let us look at some common phenotypic subspecies so you can decide what kind of discus fish you would like for your tank at home:
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Green discus One of the original subspecies of Symphysodon Aequifasciatus, the green discus also has a 5th stripe across its face. The body has a characteristic light green coloration, and brownish horizontal streaks from head to tail.
Blue discus. The blue discus has a predominant blue hue against a rusty orange background. The 5th stripe is present , but less prominent compared to the Heckel discus and green discus. The head-to-tail streaks or striations are white mixed with blue.
Red discus.Red discus are sometimes deep orange in colour, with very little striation and virtually invisible stripes. The fins are white tipped, with very deep orange or red.
White leopard discus. White leopard discus don't have the stripes of the wild strain. It is deep orange in color, with characteristic white leopard-like spots from head to tail.
Blue diamond discus. The blue diamond discus is blue all over! It doesn't have stripes, streaks, or striations, save for the brownish tail.
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