subject: Discus Fish - Freshwater Aquarium Beauty [print this page] Being really observant is not one of my strengths, if you know what I mean .
But, "observe, I did" when I noticed my first discus aquarium fish at my physician's office. This life changing event happened when I was in for my annual physical. It's usually true that freshwater aquariums are dull and drab in contrast to saltwater tanks, which are more colorful and attractive.
But on this particular visit, I found out some live discus fish that were not only freshwater creatures, but they were quite colorful and beautiful, too. The fact that it was not a saltwater tank was revealed to me by the receptionist. At first I could not believe her. In fact, she had to get someone else to affirm her assertion that it was not saltwater before I was assured.
At that point I decided to do some investigation. Previously I did not have an aquarium since I thought the fish were too boring. My notion of a freshwater tank was sort of "black and white" with no color. But this discovery reignited my thoughts of getting into the hobby.
I had neither the money nor the experience to do a saltwater setup. An aquarium with saltwater is very involved and requires somebody who is moderately experienced with water conditions, not to mention much more expensive equipment.
So, the following is some of the stuff I found out during my inquiry. But believe me, there is a ton of information that is not included here.
You would have to be somewhere on the Amazon River in South America in order to see a discus fish of any kind in its natural habitat. They can be found nowhere else on the planet (naturally, that is). Cichlids, that's what they are. Discus fish fit into this scientific group. Cichlids are the largest group of vertebrates in the animal kingdom with over 1500 species of fish, most of which are freshwater.
The shape of discus fish is round and flat. They look somewhat like angelfish, but not really. I mean, you will know that it is not an angelfish when you see it. They are rounder and obviously more colorful. By the way, angelfish are also cichlids, but I found out that you shouldn't combine these two species in the same tank, because angelfish are more aggressive eaters than discus and might deprive them of their nutrition. Quite a "fish story", huh?
As far as species go, there are only four discus species existing in nature. These are Heckel, Brown, Blue, and Green.
But now that guys like me are popping up all over the globe with an interest in these gorgeous animals, they are being bred by discus breeders. Not only that, but they are being cross-bred (like roses) using scientific selection to get even more strains... hundreds of different colors and patterns.
When I was at the doctor's office, that's what I saw - man-made discus fish. Freshwater Discus fish R cool.
I am so enthralled with this whole idea of keeping live discus fish, I have created a website about them. You can see it at www.LiveDiscusFish.com. Check it out.
by: Wayne Rasku
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