The red melon discus is a solid orange-red fish with no bars or striations. It is peaceful but not a beginner's fish.
Did you know
A pigeon-derived red melon discus will still throw black specks when unhappy. The pigeon trait never removed the black cells, only most of the pattern they make. Pepper on a red melon works better as a stress gauge than as a fault of the fish.
Caring for the red melon discus
Give a group of red melon discus a tall tank of at least 65 gal (245 L). Add driftwood, keep the flow gentle and hold the water very clean, since these fish are demanding about water quality.
The water should be hot and soft, at 79 to 90°F (26 to 32°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Keep conditions stable, because heat and stability matter most. Feed quality flake, pellet and frozen foods, often more than once a day.
Keep six or more, since a lone fish gets bullied and stressed. Red melon discus are peaceful and get along in a community tank. Like other cichlids, they are devoted parents, and the fry feed on a mucus from the parents' flanks for their first days.
Grading turns on evenness and on how little pepper shows, since pepper is the usual fault in this pigeon-derived line. Full color takes many months, so juveniles ship pale.
Good to know
The red melon discus is sold as red melon, melon red or super red melon. Its solid color means the melanin patterning is suppressed almost completely, leaving carotenoid and pteridine reds over a pale ground. Face color differs by line, with some fish red through the head and others keeping a pale yellow face. Spawns are not uniform, and fish with heavy dusting get culled or sold under other names.
In the wild
The red melon discus is a farm line that Asian breeders worked up from pigeon blood stock. Hobbyist accounts trace the usual route through marlboro red, itself pigeon blood crossed to red brown. Further selection against black dusting gave a clearer fish, which was renamed red melon. The same accounts note that some later show fish came out of other red families, and no breeder or year is on record. Nothing like it swims in the Amazon.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
The red melon discus is a peaceful, shoaling species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.
Is a red melon discus a different species from the discus?
No. A red melon discus is a variety of the discus, Symphysodon aequifasciatus, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.
What size tank does a red melon discus need?
A red melon discus needs at least 65 gal (245 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What does a red melon discus eat?
A red melon discus eats quality flake, pellet and frozen foods, often more than once a day.
How big does a red melon discus get?
An adult red melon discus reaches about 5.9 in (15 cm).
Does a red melon discus need a group?
Yes. A red melon discus is a shoaling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.
How does a red melon discus breed?
Red melon discus look after their young as a pair, like other cichlids. For the first days, the fry feed on a mucus the parents secrete on their flanks.
5.9 in (15 cm)65 gal (245 L)81–88°F (27–31°C)
7.1 in (18 cm)75 gal (284 L)82–88°F (28–31°C)
5.9 in (15 cm)79 gal (300 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
5.9 in (15 cm)37 gal (140 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
6.3 in (16 cm)26 gal (100 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)
4.7 in (12 cm)53 gal (200 L)68–86°F (20–30°C)