Assorted Discus

Assorted discus (Symphysodon spp.) are mixed young fish drawn from whatever strains arrived in the most recent shipment, so a group bought together will usually carry several different patterns and colours. Discus are laterally compressed cichlids from the slow, warm blackwater tributaries of the Amazon basin, and the flattened disc shape that gives them their name lets them hold position among sunken branches and root tangles. Buying assorted is the usual way keepers build a first group without committing to single-strain prices.

Aquarium care

• Tall tank with real depth front to back rather than a long, shallow one.
• Warm water at the upper end of the tropical range, held steady day to day.
• High water quality and a disciplined, regular water change routine.
• Social fish. Keep five or more so a pecking order can spread out.
• Unhurried feeders: quality discus granules, frozen bloodworm and beefheart preparations.
• Consistency matters more than hitting any particular pH or hardness number.

Assorted groups suit keepers who have already run a stable tropical tank and want to start with discus without committing to one strain. Calm, warm-tolerant companions such as cardinal tetras, rummy nose tetras and sterbai corydoras work well; fast or greedy fish will take the food before the discus reach it.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is sold for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. See what is in at the moment in the discus collection.