Hi all,
In Crampton's 2008 paper <"
In volumetric terms, Symphysodon haraldi appeared to feed predominantly on a mixture of algal periphyton, fine organic detritus and green plant matter. These three categories were combined into a single category because of practical difficulties in separating them. Nonetheless, green plant matter in the form of triturated leaves probably represented no more than 15% of the total volume (a crude estimate). Of the remaining material, it was hard to distinguish between partially digested periphyton and fine organic detritus - which comprises mainly decomposing plant residues.
Ecology and life history of an Amazon floodplain cichlid: the discus fish Symphysodon (Perciformes: Cichlidae)">, it says that their lives are basically on hold at low water until the water rises again.
I know there aren't any plants (other than floating ones) in the areas where Discus are collected at low water, but I think they will see plenty of plants when they are foraging in the flooded forest during high water.F... the plants , especially for wild caught discus , they've never seen any !
In Crampton's 2008 paper <"
In volumetric terms, Symphysodon haraldi appeared to feed predominantly on a mixture of algal periphyton, fine organic detritus and green plant matter. These three categories were combined into a single category because of practical difficulties in separating them. Nonetheless, green plant matter in the form of triturated leaves probably represented no more than 15% of the total volume (a crude estimate). Of the remaining material, it was hard to distinguish between partially digested periphyton and fine organic detritus - which comprises mainly decomposing plant residues.
Ecology and life history of an Amazon floodplain cichlid: the discus fish Symphysodon (Perciformes: Cichlidae)">, it says that their lives are basically on hold at low water until the water rises again.
...During the low water period, discus in Uxi Bay and lago Urini were only captured in galhadas or flooded shore scrub. None were found on muddy or sandy beaches (48 seine nets), on beaches vegetated with wild rice (Oryza) (20 seine nets), in patches of Cyperus (55 m2 with seine net), or in open lake water (210 m2 gill net x 10 nights)....
...At high water, discus colonies dispersed into flooded forests and dense shore scrub. Samples of the galhadas containing the single large discus aggregation in Uxi Bay were conducted on 1 December 1998, 2 weeks (and a 2.5 m water level rise) after the colony was last sampled. No discus were encountered, even though the net was still able to reach the bottom and efficiently sample the galhada. During nightly observations in flooded forests during the high water period, discus were often seen alone or in groups of up to six, but never in larger groups. During the peak of the flood season 82% (237/289) of discus were seen in dense shore scrub or in forests with trees of moderate height (< 15 m). The remaining 18% were found in more shaded igapó forests dominated by high trees (15 - 25 m)....
cheers Darrel......Periphyton comprises multi-species filamentous algal communities covering the branches and leaves of flooded forests. Periphyton represents a major form of primary production, and an important source of energy for floodplain fish populations...