''Symphysodon discus'', the red discus or Heckel discus, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...

native to the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

, where found in the lower Rio Negro, upper Uatumã,

Nhamundá Nhamundá is the easternmost municipality in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 21,443 (2020) and its area is 14,106 km².IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e ...

Trombetas The Trombetas is a large river on the northern side of the Amazon River. Course The Trombetas is long, and is navigable by 500 ton vessels for a stretch of . The Trombetas river gives birth to very many rivers, including the Anamu river. It is ...

and Abacaxis. This species is essentially restricted to blackwater habitats with a high temperature of and low pH of 4.2–5.2. This species grows to a length of SL. This species can also be found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade.

Parental care

Small fry of this fish feed on the mucus secreted by their parents.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q920640 Cichlid fish of South America Fish described in 1840 Mucous feeding fish discus