These fishes are the first choice of most people wanting to have an aquarium at home or office. They are not fussy eaters and do not require much maintenance except consistent and ambient water temperature. There are mainly two types of discus fish: natural and cultivated. Let us take a look at the various discus fish types

Natural Discus

Johan Heckel first discovered this fish in the amazon backwaters. The common types are:

Heckle: Named after its discoverer, Heckle, is one type that is red or blue in color. It has a dark brown stripe running in the middle.

Green: From a pale green -yellow color to the bright and vibrant green, green discus fishes cover the whole spectrum of green. They also have bright red spots, and dark stripes on the sides of their body.

Brown: Most commonly found are brown one. They are usually very dull brown in color but you might find some with faded stripe or some color on the fins.

Blue: These are same as the brown discus but have a bright blue hue surrounding them, which makes them very attractive.

Cultivated discus fish

Cultivated are inter-breed natural fish. Selective features like colors of various natural discus fish are used to cultivate it in various colors. These colors make them very attractive to fish collectors. Some common colors are:

Leopard snakeskin: These have a blue body that is covered with red striations all over.

Turquoise: These are available in two popular colors: red and blue. These are most – in -demand discus fish among the cultivated discus. The blue fish are blue in color with red speckles and dark vertical stripes whereas the red ones have a white body covered with horizontal red patterns.

Albino: As the name suggests albino are bread with albinism. They are a fairly new breed (2000). They have white body which appears transparent and bright red eyes.

Pigeon blood: Unveiled in the year 1991, these fish have a bright white body with bright red striations that makes them stand out.

Golden: Gold glitters and these royal gold have dim white stripes and semi translucent fins that bring out the gold. These are also a new variety of discus fish.

Blue diamond: These have a white body with a deep blue hue all over. Their body is more flexible and fins are thinner than other. Some blue diamond fishes have yellow color under eyes and fins.

There are many hundred types of discus fish that you can select from but make sure that you keep them in neat and clean water at specified temperature.