Discus

Discus

.Symphysodon, colloquially known as discus, is a genus of cichlids native to the Amazon river basin. Due to their distinctive shape and bright colors, discus are popular as freshwater aquarium fish, and their aquaculture in several countries in Asia is a major industry. They are sometimes referred to as pompadour fish.

Species

There are currently three recognized species in this genus:

• Symphysodon aequifasciatus Pellegrin, 1904 (Blue discus)
• Symphysodon discus Heckel, 1840 (Red discus or Heckel discus)
• Symphysodon tarzoo E. Lyons, 1959

Location and habitat[edit]

A map of the range (orange shading) ofSymphysodon

Symphysodon species inhabit the margins of floodplain lakes and rivers in the Amazon Basin of lowlandAmazonia,^[11] where it is part of the highly diverse Neotropical fish fauna.

The three species of Symphysodon have different geographic distributions. S. aequifasciatus occurs in the Rio Solimões, Rio Amazonas and the Río Putumayo-Içá in Brazil, Colombia and Peru. In contrast the distribution of S. discus appears to be limited to the lower reaches of the Abacaxis, Rio Negro and Trombetas rivers. S. tarzoo occurs upstream of Manaus in the western Amazon.