(Symphysodon discus)
Origin
The discus originates from the Amazon area, more precisely from an area between some of its tributaries: Rio Negro, Rio Madeira, Rio Trombetas, Rio Urubu, Rio Purus, Rio Albacaxis. Discus are shy fish, even in the natural biotope.
They live in fairly deep places, at least 2 m, with quiet water, and the place must be well protected with abundant vegetation, which allows them to find places for hiding.
These places are never in the riverbed, but in the lagoons (igarape). During the day the discus sit on the bottom of the water and only at night climb to the surface.
The water in the native habitat of the discus is acidic, the pH value being between 6.0-6.5, also having a very low hardness, 0-3 dH. It is considered by many the king of the aquarium because of its shape, size, color or behavior.
Discus were first introduced to aquaristics in the 1920s and are still considered to be some of the most beautiful aquarium fish. They are relatively demanding to care and difficult to reproduce, but nevertheless their popularity has remained quite high.
Red Discus Feed
Food is also an important element in the growth of the discus, and here we have at our disposal a wide and varied range of foods, but it should not be forgotten that most of the intestinal diseases that the discus suffers from have their origin in food.
The most common and well appreciated are artemia hatched for newly "weaned" chicks, tubifex (although it presents the greatest danger of disease for fish, if properly treated it is probably the most nutritious) for brood 1-3 months, mixtrua from beef heart for all fish from 3-4 months up, as additional meal various fixes specially created for discus.
The brood should be fed with 5 meals a day, then with its growth will be reduced to 3 meals a day, adults are enough 1 or 2 meals a day. Feed should be given in small quantities (as much as the fish can eat in 10-15 min), so that after feeding it does not remain on the bottom of the aquarium. Having a small mouth compared to the body, the discus needs a well-crumbled food.
Features and description Red Discus
The aquarium should be large enough, minimum 200 liters and should be populated with dense plants that grow at high temperatures. Discus is a shy fish that hides through plants. This species lives in groups of at least 4 to 6 fish. If there are few discus fish in an aquarium, they feed little, refuse to eat and are very scared.
They can also cohabit with species such as Corydoras or neon fish. Healthy fish are very quickly recognized: they are nimble, swim fast, are curious and permanently hungry.
All discus are almost circular in shape. It shows a strong lateral grip and large dorsal fins. The Discus has a flat forehead and small mouth. The iris of the eyes is usually blood-red in color. The color of the body, fins and "drawing" differ greatly depending on the species, habitat and food.
For example, the red tint increases when the fish is fed shrimp. In the Great Amazon basin, different populations developed and differences in color and pattern were formed. Adult discus can eat smaller fish. Be careful that discus cannot compete for food with fish such as scalars. They can have as companions, for example, the following species of fish: Catfish (Loricarids, Corydoras), caracins (tetra, hatchetfish, pencilfish), cichlids (Apistogramma, Uaru).
Discus prefers large spaces, the water should be clean and well aerated. The aquarium will be arranged as far as possible in dark colors and with floating plants to create a diffused light. Discus can remain hidden all day if bright lighting is used.
Dry roots, rocks, rock faults cut after the cleavage plane, and rich vegetation are needed to provide them with hiding places, but open places for feeding and swimming must also be created. A good filter is essential in maintaining water quality.
Reproduction Discus Red
Probably discus breeding is one of the most interesting and difficult things to do in aquarisitics (viewed as a hobby). The discus takes care of its young in a way that other fish don't.
Discus normally reaches sexual maturity at the age of 15 months, but there are also cases in which females of 7-9 months are fit for reproduction. As we know, sexual dimorphism is almost nonexistent, and until reproduction we can only Intuit which is the male and which is the female.
The more vigorous the pair is, and the larger the sizes the two have, the greater the number of spawns will be. To form a pair requires several adults in a common aquarium, and over time the pair or pairs will form alone, this we can observe by the fact that the two will separate from the group and will stay more secluded, trying to defend a certain territory in the aquarium.
For starters, they should be allowed to deposit a few times in the common aquarium, even if these deposits will not survive any chicks, or maybe they will not even get to hatch eggs. You should not be alarmed or despair if the pair will eat the eggs during the deposition or a few days after the deposition. It's normal for young and inexperienced couples.
After a few deposits in the common pool you can prepare a breeding pool 45x45x45, in which to move the pair preparing for spawning. The aquarium is good to be placed in a sheltered place, without artificial light (natural light in that room is enough), without filter, with a heater adjusted to 29-30 degrees Celsius, and with a fine bubble air stone, adjusted close to the minimum, so that the water is as quiet as possible. During this period it is good not to feed the pair and avoid intervention at that pool.
Mating has an extremely interesting ritual, the two will begin by a” dance", shaking past each other, displaying the true colors, then, choose a place to deposit, and begin to clean that place.
The mating game can last several days, and during this period the sexual organs become visible (conical spermiduct in the male and cone-shaped oviduct in the female), the female will begin to lay eggs on the chosen surface, sticking with the abdomen to that surface and leaving behind 6-10 eggs at each turn, the male will make the same route, thus fertilizing the eggs.
Usually spawning lasts about 2 hours, during which time the female will lay between 200 and 350 eggs, which the male will fertilize. Immediately after spawning, the pair will guard the site and continuously ventilate the spawns.
After 48 hours the eggs begin to blacken, which means that they have been fertilized and inside are the embryos, besides the dark-colored eggs can appear and white caviar, they are unfecundated and will be eaten by the parents. After another 52 hours the eggs hatch, now each spawn will have a tail visible, is when one of the parents, usually the female, will move them from that place to another that has been cleaned beforehand.
If some alvians fall out of the nest, the female will pick them up and reposition them in the nest. After another 24 hours the chicks will break out of the nest and swim freely in the aquarium. Now is the time for them to stick to their parents, here they will spend the next two weeks of their lives, feeding on the mucus produced by the epidermis of their parents. After the 2 weeks the puppies can be weaned and can be switched to other types of food.
It will start with naupli of artemia, and after another 2-3 weeks can be given frozen artemia, then to introduce in the diet and tubi well washed and properly treated before Administration. After 20-25 days after hatching the eggs it is good to move the parents back to the common pool, and rest the male.
