Tuesday, September 30, 2014

It's time to demystify the varied discus fish types available in today's market

By Randy Green


Purchasing discus for the 1st time can be rather puzzling because there are now lots of phenotypic strains being sold around the planet. Discus fish are bred not merely in the U. S. , but also in places like HK and Malaysia.

You don't need to learn by heart all the strains, but a working understanding of how these strains came about in the first place will be beneficial in figuring out what you need at the moment. Many of us ask me about the original convict fish. Should you be looking for the ma of all discus fish, then you're talking about the wild Heckel discus strain.

The Heckel discus, or Symphysodon discus, is named after J. Heckel, a Viennese ichthyologist who was able to identify, describe, and formally catalogue the discus fish. The true wild Heckel discus strain found in the Amazon Basin. It has got a light yellow-brown body with 2 thick and prominent stripes: one that crosses the centre of the body, and another one that crosses the centre of the fishs face.

The black stripe that crosses the face is often referred to as the fifth stripe, and is characteristic of a genuine Symphysodon discus. The Heckel discus is offered as the hardest strain to keep and breed, as it is awfully particular with water pH levels and tank temperature.

However , do not let this frighten you. I invite newbs to have a go in raising a wild strain because this is going to help you understand discus fish in total. If you succeed in keeping and perhaps even breeding wild discus fish, you are in a prime position to raise any phenotypic strain from any bit of the world!

Now, unless stated otherwise, most, or all of the colorful phenotypic subspecies you will be seeing pet stores is a derivative of Symphysodon Aequifasciatus Axelrod, or the brown discus. According to many private breeders, Symphysodon Aequifasciatus Axelrod and its compounds are way easier to keep than Symphysodon discus. However , this is not to say that you can just plop this strain of discus in just any tank. You still have 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 that you can decide what kind of discus fish you want for your tank at home:

Green discus One of the first 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 primal blue hue against a rusty orange backdrop. The 5th stripe exists , but less prominent compared to the Heckel discus and green discus. The head-to-tail streaks or striations are white mingled with blue.

Red discus.Red discus are generally deep orange in color, with very little striation and virtually invisible stripes. The fins are white tipped, with extremely deep orange or red.

White leopard discus. White leopard discus don't have the stripes of the wild strain. It is deep orange in colour, 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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