| I am not very observant, at least that's what I | | | | not included here. |
| have been told... by my wife. | | | | Discus fish are native to the Amazon River in |
| But I have to admit, I was really surprised when I | | | | South America (that's the only place they can be |
| observed some beautiful fish in the tank at my | | | | found naturally). They are a subset of the giant |
| doctor's office recently. I know that the more | | | | animal group known as Cichlids. Cichlids are the |
| attractive fish tanks contain saltwater, and the | | | | largest group of vertebrates in the animal |
| saltwater fish are much more colorful than | | | | kingdom with over 1500 species of fish, most of |
| freshwater inhabitants. | | | | which are freshwater. |
| But on this particular visit, I discovered some live | | | | These beautiful creatures are pretty much round |
| discus fish that were not only freshwater | | | | in shape and flat, kind of like an angelfish, but not |
| creatures, but they were quite beautiful and | | | | exactly. By the way, angelfish are also cichlids, but |
| colorful, too. I had a conversation with the | | | | I found out that you shouldn't combine these two |
| receptionist about the discus aquarium fish, and | | | | species in the same tank, because angelfish are |
| she told me that it was not saltwater. But I did | | | | more aggressive eaters than discus and might |
| not believe her and she had to get someone else | | | | deprive them of their nutrition. Now, who would |
| to confirm that it was a freshwater setup before | | | | have thunk that? |
| I would accept that what she said was indeed | | | | There are only four types of naturally spawned |
| true. | | | | discus fish. These are Heckel, Brown, Blue, and |
| That's when I decided to do a little research. See, | | | | Green. How in the world "Heckel" got in there |
| the reason I have not had an aquarium is that I | | | | instead of another color, I have no idea. |
| thought they were too dull. Kind of like all black | | | | But now that guys like me are popping up all over |
| and white photos and no color. But this discovery | | | | the globe with an interest in these gorgeous |
| reignited my thoughts of getting into the hobby. | | | | animals, they are being bred by discus breeders. |
| I had neither the money or the experience to do | | | | Not only that, but they are being cross-bred (like |
| a saltwater setup. An aquarium with saltwater is | | | | roses) using scientific selection to get even more |
| very complicated and requires someone who is | | | | varieties... hundreds of different colors and |
| fairly expert with water conditions, not to mention | | | | patterns. |
| much more expensive equipment. | | | | This is what I saw at the doctor's office - |
| So, here is some of the stuff I found out. But | | | | artificially bred varieties. Discus fish are cool. |
| believe me, there is a ton of information that is | | | | |