Aquarium Related Article
Wild Thing
Author: Jacob Schertz
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Mt first discus fish were three cultivated ones, bought from a local breeder. They were acclimatized and introduced into my CO2 boosted, planted aquarium. The fish were beautiful and my aquarium became much more impressive
But something was missing and I couldn't put my finger on it. Until one day I visited this store in which I saw some wild discus fish and Suddenly it was clear to me what it was.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" but that was more than just beauty. They were different, not only looked different but also acted and "felt" different.
Cultivated discus fish are much more colorful than the wild. The color of the wild, on the other hand, is genuine and natural, less "expected"; It is much more interesting and unique. At least, it is how nature meant it to be.
Many of the "low cost" cultivated discus fish look have so many different shapes. Usually sold to fresh hobbyists, these different shapes are the results of discus fish breeders trying to produce an award winning, perfect shape discus. Among the wild fish one can find more rounded or more elongated fish, depends on the species and origin of the discus, but in general, the differentiation (the spectrum of different shapes) is lesser than in the cultivated fish. And yet, don't get me wrong. There are some awesome cultivated discus fish that righteously won the title: 'king of the freshwater aquarium'.
Needles to say, the wild discus has sharper instincts. It is much more 'alive' than the cultivated one, even a little bit more aggressive. A wild discus will reach his food faster. (Make sense if you consider that the cultivated fish found its food on the bottom of the fish tank, from day one.) His courting behavior can become quite aggressive sometimes. (As you can see in the short video). In one word: wild.
sThere are both amazing wild and cultivated discus fish alike. As for me, what brought me to favor the wild discus is the fact that it has shortened the distance to nature and made me focus on the behavior of the fish, rather on its color or shape.