界： 動物界 Animalia
門： 脊索動物門 Chordata
綱： 輻鰭魚綱 Actinopterygii
目： 鱸形目 Perciformes
亞目： 隆頭魚亞目 Labroidei
科： 慈鯛科 Cichlidae
屬： 盤麗魚屬 Symphysodon
最大尺寸：8“
最低槽尺寸：55加侖
水條件：78-86°F28-30攝氏度，KH 1-3，pH值6.0-7.5
Discus are a very peaceful fish and should be kept with other peaceful fish like some of the S. American dwarf cichlid species and tetras. They do best when kept as a group of 6 or more.
Juvenile and wild F1 Discus generally require softer water and a lower pH than tank raised Discus. The best thing is to simulate the conditions your Discus were raised in. Wild Discus require pH 6.0 – 6.5 while tank raised Discus can go all the way up to 8.0 pH.
The Leopard Skin Discus is less man-made than many of the other strains of discus, as it is a direct result of selective breeding from two naturally occuring variants of wild red spotted green discus originating from different areas of the Amazon and not through genetic mutation. This breeding work was performed by breeders in Hong Kong, who over the course of about a decade were able to selectively breed the discus to achieve what we now call the Leopard Skin Discus. They became available within the aquarium hobby in 1993, and since then multiple variations of the Leopard Skin Discus have risen that have differenet size of the spots, some with red rings within rings in the pattern and those with blue highlights within the red rings.
Discus originate from the Amazon River Systems of South America, where they were first imported into the aquarium hobby in the early 1930s. Ever since their introduction into the hobby to this day, Discus are considered one of the most colorful, demanding, rewarding and expensive of all tropical freshwater aquarium fish species. Due to their popularity and the high price tag that they command, Discus are very popular with fish breeders. Over the years breeders have not only raised enough tank-bred specimens to largely fulfill the demand from the aquarium hobby, but have developed completely new color strains and patterns as well. Discus are very popular amongst intermediate to advanced fish keepers, and are widely considered to be one of the most rewarding and challenging to keep of the freshwater tropical community fish species available within the hobby.
In the wild, Discus are found living in the upper tributaries of the Rio Negro and Rio Madiera along with the surrounding lakes and flood plains. The water is very low in mineral content, which makes it "soft" water with a low pH ranging from 4.0 to 7.0. The water also maintains very stable and consistent water parameters year round, including water temperatures that range between 80 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit both during the day and night. When keeping Leopard Skin Discus in the home aquarium, it is extremely important to replicate their natural surroundings and water parameters as closely as possible. It is also very important to maintain very consistent water parameters that have very little pH, temperature and dissolved mineral fluctuations.
Leopard Skin Discus aquariums should closely resemble their natural Amazonian habitat with plenty of plants and branching root. Water parameters should be very consistent with a pH near 6.8 to 7.2, temperature between 82° to 86° Fahrenheit with low to medium water currents. Discus can thrive in a wider range of water parameters as long as the changes are not sudden and the fish has adequate time to adjust to changing parameters. Leopard Skin Discus should not be housed with aggressive or boisterous fish species or in aquariums with intense lighting or strong water currents. If strong aquarium lighting is used for plant growth, be sure that the density of the plant life is great enough to provide shaded areas for the Leopard Skin Discus to retreat to when needed. Strong biological and mechanical filtration along with weekly partial water changes are required to keep water quality high and water parameters consistent. When keeping Discus with live plants, it is best to keep the aquarium pH between 6.0 to 6.8 and a lower water hardness of 150 PPM or less. Lastly, be sure to maintain excellent water quality at all times as Discus do not leave a lot of room for error when it comes to water quality and consistency. Recommended tank mates include: most Tetra species, loaches, cory catfish, smaller Plecostomus species, Siamese Algae Eaters, Ottocinclus, Rams, peaceful Rasbora species, Rainbow fish, Hatchet fish and Pencilfish.
Being closely related to the freshwater Amazonian Angelfish, it was assumed that Discus breeding requirements would be the same. Early hobbyists removed the eggs, attempted to hatch them in a separate tank and grow the fry on. We now know this is not possible with Discus because fry consume the mucus excreted from the sides of the parents. Discus were not successfully spawned until the late fifties with Jack Wattley in America and Eduard Schmidt-Focke in Germany doing the pioneering work.
