Small wild-caught fish
Discus cichlids, like all cichlids, only develop their full coloration when they are largely mature (i.e. approx. 15 cm long in the case of discus). This is generally known and one of the reasons for the popularity of Asian color breeds, as they already show their full color at lengths of 7-9 cm. But wild-caught specimens of this size are also very attractive! We are proving this with a small series in which we show wild forms that we currently have in stock from Brazil.
Discus Green 7-9 cm
The green discus is considered by many enthusiasts to be the most beautiful wild form, especially when many red spots are already visible at a young age. The red spots in the area of the anal fin (vs. stripes in brown/blue discus) is the surest way to distinguish between green and brown/blue discus. The two species do not occur together in nature, but it often happens in young animals to accidentally become a mix when exported.
The classic fishing area for green discus is the Rio Tefe and its extended lake region, Lago Tefe. There is no real difference between river and lake fish in terms of color, with many royals and specimens with many or few red spots on the flanks occurring in both. Depending on their color, the fish are sorted where they are found and classified into different price categories. The most important difference between lake and river fish is the shape. The discus from Lago Tefe are generally higher-backed than their river counterparts.
Such differences and also some color differences are not yet very pronounced in juveniles. This means that you can buy many a piece of jewelry at a reasonable price, for which you would have to dig much deeper into your pockets in the adult stage. But there are also green discus that show very strong colors even in the small size of 8-11 cm: the Royal Green Tefe. More about that another time…
For our customers: the Green Discus 7-9 cm have code 733003 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
You can read about the scientific names of discus here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fisharchive/the-scientific-species-name-of-discus-cichlids-an-open-question/
Text & photos: FRank Schäfer
