Discus fish of the genus Symphysodon

PD Photo: Blue Discus fish (Symphysodon aequifasciata)

PD Photo: Discus fish, variuos, in the home aquarium

PD Photo: Red Turquoise Discus Fish

PD Photo: Discuss Fish, Symphysodon hybrid from Beijing, China

Discuss fish, a native of the Amazon River

PD Photo: Blue discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus) with color variation

Discus fish (Symphysodon genus) are a genus of three species of cichlid freshwater fishes native to the Amazon River basin. They are popular as aquarium fish and in aquaculture. Discus fish belong to the genus Symphysodon, which includes three species: the Common Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus), the Heckel Discus (Symphysodon discus) and Symphysodon tarzoo.

Like cichlids, all Symphysodon species have a laterally compressed body shape, and rounded shape from which their name discus is derived. The sides of the fish are patterned in shades of green, red, brown, and blue.

Banded coral shrimp - Stenopus hispidus

PD photo: Stenopus hispidus (banded cleaner shrimp) from ‘The Coral Kingdom Collection’, University of Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, credited to Photo Collection of Dr. James P. McVey, NOAA Sea Grant Program.

Banded coral shrimp, also known as banded boxer shrimp, banded prawn, coral banded shrimp and barber-pole shrimp having the scientific name Stenopus hispidus, is a shrimp-like decapod (ten footed) crustacean. Though this invertebrate is commonly known as a shrimp, it is not a true shrimp. They are commonly found in anchialine pools which are landlocked water bodies with a subterranean connection to the ocean, and on coral reefs.

The banded coral shrimp grows to a few centimeters in length and has red bands around its body and antennae. Its body is covered with short spines for defense from other creatures. Stenopus hispidus is used as a common aquarium pet because of its bright colors and it is a cleaner that removes dead tissues, algae and parasites from larger fish.

Indian Glassfish

PD Photo: Indian Glassfish (Parambassis ranga) in an aquarium

The Indian glassy fish, Parambassis ranga (earlier classified as Chanda ranga), aka Indian glassfish, Indian glass perch and Siamese glassfish, is a species of freshwater fish of the Asiatic glassfish family native to south Asia in an area extending from Pakistan to Malaysia.

The Asiatic glass fishes are freshwater and marine water fishes of the family ‘Ambassidae’ of the order ‘Perciformes’. These are native to freshwater bodies in Asia and Oceania and the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. The family Ambassidae includes eight genera (Ambassis, Chanda, Denariusa, Gymnochanda, Paradoxodacna, Parambassis, Pseudambassis, and Tetracentrum) and about fifty species in these eight genera.

The Indian glassfish has a strikingly transparent body revealing its bones and internal organs. The male glassfish develops a dark edge to the dorsal fin. The fish grows to a length of 8 centimeters (3.1 inches).

Indian glassfish prefer to swim at the middle and lower levels of the aquarium tank and it will eat most small live and frozen foods. Generally they do not prefer dried foods such as flakes. The fish reproduce young ones by females laying eggs and males fertilizing the eggs.

PD Photo: ‘Painted’ Indian Glassfish (Parambassis ranga), color injected by sellers of aquarium fishes

Indian glassfish, Parambassis ranga, is a popular species of aquarium fish noted for their transparent bodies. They are sometimes injected with colored dyes by aquarium fish dealers, using an artificial fish coloring process known as fish painting, fish dyeing or fish juicing.

Dyed glassfish, also known as disco fish, are sold to home aquarium hobbyists often after fish painting by injecting dyes into the fish's transparent tissues to make them more attractive to hobbyists. The artificial coloration fades away within a short time. Healthy, non-painted glassfish may live three to four years in captivity.

In their natural habitats, glassfish are found in still water bodies and it breeds prolifically during the rainy season. They feed on crustaceans, annelid worms, and other invertebrates.

PD Photo: Indian Glassfish in an aquarium, exact species unknown; both the photos show the same species, and are in the same aquarium.