Biological and reproduction characteristics of Discus fish (Symphysodon discus Heckel, 1840)

Discus is a beautiful freshwater fish belonging to Cichlidae family and native speciesof the Amazon River. Broodstocks chose their partner from their herd. Due to thepopularity of this fish, Aquarists prefer to breed this species. This fish is oviparoushard to breed in compared to other oviparous aquarium species. This fish in theaquarium is quiet, peaceful, and is partly timid. Also, it can not be kept with the anyother aquarium fishes, therefore, should be kept with other quiet fish. Discus areclassified into two groups wild Discus (Heckel, Bluehead, Green and Braune) andhybrid. The main difficulty of this fish is larval mortality and non-proper larvalgrowth during its early development. In nature the larvae feed the body mucus oftheir parents as the initial food that in artificial conditions is not sufficient. Animportant goal in artificial breeding of Discus is developing of a starter larval foodthat has not been developed yet. Hence, it is an expensive fish in aquarium fishindustry. This article reviews the history of intruding this fish to the aquarium, itsrearing conditions, sex determination, reproduction and feeding behaviors.

Keywords:

Discus , Reproduction , Larval , Mucus , Feeding