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In the fishkeeping hobby, discus is one of the most popular & colorful fish breeds. Most aquarists want to keep this colorful species in their tank. 

Now, if you are one of them, you have to recognize their types or strains before purchasing the right one for your tank. Hundreds of types of discus fish out there in the world. From those types, you must know about the most popular & colorful discus fish. 

So, this article is fully focused on this topic to help you to purchase the right discus fish for your tank. This article is going to tell you the top 11 Most Popular Discus Fish which are extremely colorful & eye-catching. Without wasting time let’s dive deep into the topic.

Top 11 most popular & colorful discus fish for a freshwater aquarium

Keeping discus fish healthy & happy is quite tough. It is not recommended to keep discus fish for very beginner fish keepers. Every type of discus is very sophisticated so they must be chosen carefully. 

You can find lots of discus fish of the same color. It may create confusion. To remove that we selected these 11 discus fish that you must know about. 

1. Red Turquoise Discus

Various types of turquoise discus you can find in the market. Among them, the red turquoise discus is the most popular one. 

The appearance of the red turquoise discus is very interesting. It generally comes with red blood lines on a light-colored base. 

However, this can be differentiated well. There are various types of red turquoise discus too. Some of these are high-bodied red turquoise discus, straight-line red turquoise discus (white base), straight-line red turquoise discus (blue base), German red turquoise discus, etc. 

2. Pigeon Blood Discus

Pigeon blood discus is slightly different from the red turquoise discus. The main difference between these two types is the pigeon blood discus are man-made species whereas red turquoise isn’t. 

The appearance of pigeon blood discus is quite similar to red turquoise. The base color of this fish is slightly creamy yellow. This base color is highlighted by red stripes & red eyes. They have black-colored fins too. 

They are very open to black peppering disease. However, it is observed that if pigeon blood discus grows in a bright aquarium then there is a high chance of low black peppering on the body of discus fish.

3. Cobalt Discus

Cobalt discus is one of the unique discus fish. There are mainly two types. One is a cobalt discus fish with deep blue genes and another is striated cobalt discus. However, green cobalt discus also can be found in the market. 

They are highly hybridized fish. Keeping cobalt discus is extremely hard. So aquarists must have knowledge of fishkeeping. They grow up to 10 inches long. 

The striated cobalt discus has a pattern on its body. The black straight markings are noticeable on its blue body. These add an extra sheen to their body. They have translucent fins.  

4. Blue Diamond Discus

Like cobalt discus, blue diamond discus also has different types. These are common blue diamond discus, high-bodied blue diamond discus with deep blue gene, classic deep blue diamond discus, and blue diamond discus with red-eye gene. 

All types of blue diamond discus are based on blue iridescent color. Their body is oval-shaped & they have well-decorated fins. 

Blue diamond discus is a widely purchased strain around the world. They are popular because of their solid colors & patterns. Most aquarists prefer buying 2.5-3 inches sized blue diamond discus. 

5. Snakeskin Discus

Snakeskin discus fish is another common type of discus. This type of discus fish was discovered in 1994. Two Malaysian breeders first noticed a type of discus that is showing 14 bars instead of 9 bars. 

This discus fish type is more expensive than other types. This is pricey because of its unique body colors and patterns. They appear with a blue color against a red base color. 

They are difficult to take care of. During the spawning season, they show territorial & aggressive nature. 

Different types of snakeskin discus are available in the market nowadays. Some of these are ocean green snakeskin discus, high bodied red pigeon snakeskin discus, golden pearl pigeon snakeskin discus, blue tiger snakeskin discus, high bodied blue snakeskin discus, etc. 

Read More: – Top 9 Most Expensive Fish For Aquarium With Price Range

6. Ring Leopard Discus

Ring leopard discus is another type of unique discus fish. They are unique because of the dark bands on their body. This is why they are called leopard discus. 

Ring leopard discus has one special dark band across their eyes. It makes them recognizable easily. Generally, their bodies are covered by red patterns. 

Ring leopard discus is classified as large pattern discus branches. They come under the leopard discus phenotype. 

7. Marlboro Red Discus

Marlboro discus is famous for its bright & vibrant coloration. They are one of the bright red-colored fish with light yellow color on their face. 

Marlboro red discus & rafflesia are similar types of discus. So sometimes aquarists are confused with both of these fish. The body sides of Marlboro red discus are covered with some type of light color (white, cream, yellow, etc.) The rest of the body of this fish appears solid red or orange. 

Marlboro red discus is not super hard to take care of. Pigeon discus & Marlboro discus need a similar type of care level. They are comparatively cheaper too. So beginners can start trying to keep discus fish with this Marlboro red. 

Read More: – Top 7 Friendliest Fish Breeds For Your Aquarium

8. Tangerine Discus

The tangerine discus is one of the brightest & prettiest fish in an aquarium. They appear with a bright orange color & that’s why they are named tangerine discus. 

Their orange body color is similar to the creamsicle color which is the base body color of pigeon blood discus fish. However there you can find several color morphs in their body. Some tangerine discus fish appear with bright yellow color on both sides of their face & fins. 

Tangerine discus fish are very peaceful species. To keep this cichlid healthy, you need a low current in the water. You must add driftwoods and vertical woods to the tank. A discus-only tank is the most preferable for tangerine discus fish.  

9. Checkerboard Discus

 

Checkerboard discus fish is similar to the turquoise discus. This type of discus fish appears with red blood lines on a light-colored body. 

The pattern of body color of the checkerboard discus is ‘crisscross’. It means red-blooded lines interconnect with each other and then these resemble checkerboards on their body. It is the main difference between checkerboard discus & turquoise discus. 

Checkerboard discus have dark red eyes which is the significance of this cichlid. The head of this fish appears with an orange color. The tails of the checkerboard discus appear with transparent white color.

10. Ghost Discus

Ghost discus fish is not so significant for fishkeepers just because of its simple appearance. However, discus breeders admire ghost discus fish the most due to not having any extreme complex color variations & patterns. 

Ghost discus fish appear with white or gray color. This solid color does not have any stripes, bars, dots, etc. Their genes play a very significant role in discus fish breeding. 

Ghost discus is not popular outside the Asia continent. Due to lack of popularity, they are not super expensive. However, they need proper care to be healthy and happy in captivity. 

Read More: – 9 Best Aquarium Fish To Breed For Profit

11. Golden Discus

The golden discus is one of the eye-catching cichlids. They appear with a bright yellow color. They are often called yellow discus fish too. 

The face of the golden discus fish appears with a whitish-yellow color. The fins & tails of this fish are translucent. These are some of the fish that are being kept by unprofessional fish keepers around the world. This is really very unfortunate. 

Golden discus fish need proper care & proper food. Without the right quality food, they can’t live a longer period of time. They should always be kept in a discus-only fish tank. If golden discus gets proper care then they can easily live up to 8-9 years. 

Read More: – Is Discus Turning Black? Don’t Make These Horrible Mistakes 

Final thoughts

This article has discussed the 11 most popular discus fish. All of these are popular around the world due to their coloration, patterns, breeding activity, genes, etc. 

Now, it’s your call which discus fish is suitable for you. If you want to be a discus fish breeder then you must choose ghost discus. Otherwise, you can go for red turquoise discus, cobalt discus, or tangerine discus. All of these appear with bright & vibrant body colors. So choose a couple of discus fish from this list & make your tank colorful. 

Best of luck & happy fish keeping. 

Read More: – 11 Most Popular Freshwater Aquarium Fish With A Recommendation