Discus

Where it lives

Wild discus haunt the slow tributaries, flooded forests, and oxbow lakes of the Amazon Basin, especially the blackwater and clearwater systems of the Rio Negro and Tapajos. They prefer warm (28–30 C), soft, slightly acidic water among submerged tree roots and leaf litter.

How to recognise it

A nearly circular, highly compressed body — a disc, hence the name. Wild forms come in brown, green, blue, and red color types with vertical dark bars. Captive strains range across solid red, snake-skin patterned, pigeon-blood, and high-fin varieties. The mouth and head are small relative to the body.

Diet & behavior

Discus eat insect larvae, small crustaceans, plant detritus, and bits of fruit in the wild. Both parents secrete a nutritious skin mucus on which fry feed for their first weeks — a behavior unique among aquarium cichlids.

Fisheries & Conservation

Globally Least Concern as a species, though some local populations face habitat pressure. The aquarium trade is now largely supplied by selective breeding in Asia and Europe.