Most are small, although some grow up to 50 cm. in their natural habitat. They are very sought after for their varieties of shapes and colors. Also, some fish like Disks attract for their paternalistic reproductive methods . The Escalars have become a very popular species and bred in aquariums. Most are well suited to Community aquariums, even with fish from other species of different geographical origin.
Astronotus ocellatus
It is not recommended to invite them to populate a community aquarium. They are aggressive to their peers, especially in the reproductive period. Astronatus, also called “Oscar” fish, grow very quickly. They will always need large aquariums, even if they keep small groups. They are very active and constantly dig the bottom, so it is not recommended that you have plants, they will always vapulate them. Since they generate a lot of excrement, you will need a very powerful and effective filter. It is important to place rocks so that it spawn there in the reproductive period. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs.
Archocentrus spilurus
They can inhabit a community aquarium with other fish of similar size. He is of peaceful behavior and lives well in small groups. The male is larger than the female, contrary to the general rule of nature. The male is more colorful but the fins of the females are more rounded. During mating and breeding , they remove the bottom more assiduously, so they are likely to dig up the plants . The female spawds in caves or in gaps between the rocks. Both parents take care of the eggs and later fry, which you will need to feed with vegetable food and freshly hatched artemia .
Symphysodon spp. 
Discos fish are very nervous fish. They require absolute tranquility in the aquarium. Start by placing the fish tank in a quiet place, away from annoying noises or continuous drafts. Be careful when it comes to populating your aquarium, Disks will live stressed with annoying companions like the Barbus. A good combination, is to populate a very large fish tank (minimum 120 liters), with disks and scalars of similar size. It is recommended to plant abundantly some sectors of the aquarium, plants such as the Amazon Sword or Java Ferns can be used. Buy groups of young fish so that they form pairs on their own. Make sure water filtration is very effective.
The reproductive aspect is very particular in these fish. The discs are oviparous and form stable pairs. The female lays her eggs on flat rocks or large smooth leaves of plants such as the Amazon Sword or Dwarf Anubias . It is important to keep the couple in the aquarium, since both the male and the female take care of the fry, which feed on the slime that the parents secrete through their body.
Pterophyllum scalare
Its behavioral characteristics, both in nature and in the aquarium, are very similar to those of Disco. Its main difference is in the reproductiveperiod, in which Escalars could eat their own eggs under conditions of stress or danger of other fish. Since it is very difficult to distinguish the sexes, it is recommended that you acquire groups of young specimens to form a natural pair. They spawn on smooth rocks or leaves of plants such as the Broadleaf Amazonian Sword (Echinodorus paniculatus).
Papiliochromis ramirezi
The Ramirezi aside from peaceful, it's kind of scary. Not to build a community aquarium with dozens of species, it will be enough to accompany it with a few fish from its natural habitat. You can opt for Characids such as Neon, Diamond Tetraor Lemon Tetra, also some Axe fish. You will need to have densely planted sectors of the aquarium to give you security. Include flat rocks to spawn on them. Both females and males take care of eggs and fry.
© Adrián Blanco 2005 — Prohibited the total or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —
