HISTORY
Discus fish are native to Brazil, though have become a favorite among many home aquarium owners. In the year 1840, Dr. Johann Jacob Heckel wrote about a certain type of discus fish that was native to the Rio Negro area of central Brazil. After his writing went public, many different varieties of discus fish were discovered by scientists. The first discus fish was imported to Europe in 1921, though the fish did not survive long enough to be bred. In 1928, another attempt was made to bring Discus fish to Europe without success. It wasn’t until 1932 that a successful import of a Discus fish was accomplished by a man called H. Hartel. However, the first published story that documents successful discus breeding and hatching wasn’t written until 1960. A controversy arose about the certain types of discus fish, and if there was in reality only one species of discus fish with genetic mutation possibilities. This controversy is still under debate, and is currently being researched by many fish pet care specialists.
APPEARANCE
The discus fish is aptly named, due to its flat, laterally compressed body shape. The eyes of a disculs fish are fairly large, mostly red or orange in color. Unlike some of the other fish species in the same family, Discus fish do not have excessively elongated fins, which contributes to giving them their more ‘rounded’ shape, similar to that of a discus. Most discus fish may be of many color variations, mostly in patterns of blue, brown, red and green. The average discus fish grows to be about 8 – 10 inches long.
BEHAVIOR
Discus fish are well known for their variable behavior, though are cited by most pet care behavioral specialists as having a significant amount of personality. Though discus fish may sometimes display aggressive behavior, this usually only occurs when mating or territory issues arise. If these situations do not occur, discus fish tend to be relatively mild in behavior. It’s best to keep discus fish in groups of four or more, ideally having six discus fish in a single tank. This helps to prevent ‘bullying’ behavior, which can result in injury or death to a smaller fish in a discus fish group. In a larger group, discus fish tend to increase in confidence, making them much less prone to displaying aggressive or defensive behavior.
FEEDING
Though discus fish are able to eat a variety of foods, it’s best to feed them a varied diet consisting of different ingredients. When feeding discus fish a commercially dried food, it’s best for this food to only make up from 50% to 60% of a discus fish’s total diet. The remainder of the diet should consist of either live or frozen proteins, which can be in the form of mosquito larvae, brine shrimp, sliced earthworms, blood worms, prawns or other organisms. Since discus fish are particularly susceptible to developing internal parasitic infections, it’s very important that any live or frozen food only be purchased from a reputable source.