Red wild Discus ( Symphysodon aequifasciata haraldi 1960 )
The basic background color of the body is brown and sometimes brown to red brown. This fish has longitudinal blue striations that runs from the head to the back of the dorsal fin. The head and cheeks are adorned with blue lines. The color of the eyes vary from yellow-gold to red. The anal fin shows blue lines in between with red and also the dorsal fin. Some blues have the black band around the dorsal and anal fin.
Some blues have the striations running across all the body and these are called "Royal Blue." Some of them have these striations running just 2/3 of the body, close to the anal and dorsal fin and therefore, these are called "Semi-Royal Blue".
Green Discus ( Symphysodon aequifasciata aequifasciata 1903) The background of this discus is yellowish-brown to green-blue. The color of the eyes can vary from gold to red and the face and cheeks are adorned with blue green stripes. Longitudinal blue green wide lines run from the forehead to part of the body and to the dorsal area and in some cases the longitudinal blue green stripes run all across the body. Nine black vertical bars cross the body starting in the eyes, seven more through the body and finishing in the caudal peduncle. The dorsal and anal fin is blue-green, enclosed with a black band, is bordered with strong blue-green stripes. Sometimes the anal fin is adorned with red spots. The ventral fins are usually orange with a blue green stripe. The Red Spotted Green (RSG) have all the same characteristics as the green discus but additionally, they have red spots on the green-blue background. Sometimes the red spots can cover almost all the body creating a colorful contrast with the green background and the spots. These discus come from the following rivers: Rio Nanay (Peru), Rio Putumayo ( Peru-Colombia), Rio and Lago Tefe (Brasil), and Rio Japura (Brasil). The Royal Green Discus is the same as the green discus but has an intense metallic shine all over the body. Sometimes blue green striations runs all over t  Heckel Discus Symphysodon Discus - Found in mostly Brazil's Rio Negro, this fish has a distinguishing dark "fifth" stripe and has both red and blue varieties. It's named after ichthyologist Johann Jacob Heckel and is the most difficult discus to keep, because it likes somewhat softer (and lower pH) and warmer water than the other species. It has two subspecies, the Blue Head Symphysodon Discus Discus - which has a blue head (obviously!), and the Symphysodon Discus Willischwartzi. Dis  Brown Discus Symphysodon Aequifasciatus Axelrodi - Found near Belem and Rio Urubu, this fish used to be the most common discus species available to hobbyists. It has a nice brown body with the brown ranging from a yellowy-brown to a rusty reddish-brown and it has colorful streaks in it's fins and often times on it's head too. Many hobbyists believe the Brown discus is the easiest to keep and breed in captivity. | ||
