The snakeskin discus is covered in fine, dense striations over the whole fish, head and fins included, with narrow bars behind them. It suits an experienced keeper with a tall, warm tank.
Did you know
A real snakeskin discus can be told from a fish merely sold as one by counting its vertical bars. A normal discus has nine, and a snakeskin about fourteen. The bar count is one of the few discus traits a buyer can verify.
Caring for the snakeskin discus
Give a group of snakeskin discus a tall tank of at least 65 gal (245 L). Furnish it with driftwood and keep the flow gentle.
Heat the water to 79 to 90°F (26 to 32°C) and keep it soft and acidic, at a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. These fish are demanding about water quality, so keep it very clean and stable. 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. Snakeskin discus are peaceful and safe in a community tank. Like other cichlids, they are devoted parents. Both parents take turns letting the newly hatched fry graze on a slime they produce on their bodies.
Judge a line by how fine and unbroken the striations stay as they run onto the face. Fish ship small, and the pattern tightens as they grow.
Good to know
The snakeskin discus combines extra vertical bars with striation broken into a fine net. Bar number is heritable, and snakeskin parents pass the count on. Spawns are still mixed, though, and two snakeskins bred together can give both 14-bar and 9-bar fry. Sellers often put the count in the name, as in 14-bar snakeskin.
In the wild
The snakeskin discus traces to Penang, Malaysia, in the early 1990s, when breeders found discus carrying extra vertical bars. Retail histories date the strain itself to 1994. The extra bars are thought to have been inherited from wild stock. The trait was then crossed into existing color strains, which is why snakeskin now comes in blue, red, golden and pigeon forms. It is a captive line rather than a wild population.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
The snakeskin 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 snakeskin discus a different species from the discus?
No. A snakeskin 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 snakeskin discus need?
A snakeskin discus needs at least 65 gal (245 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What does a snakeskin discus eat?
A snakeskin discus eats quality flake, pellet and frozen foods, often more than once a day.
How big does a snakeskin discus get?
An adult snakeskin discus reaches about 5.9 in (15 cm).
Does a snakeskin discus need a group?
Yes. A snakeskin discus is a shoaling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.
How does a snakeskin discus breed?
Snakeskin discus are devoted parents, like other cichlids. The newly hatched fry graze on slime from the parents' bodies, and both parents take turns feeding them.
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)