 | Handbook of Discus by Jack Wattley. Published by T.F.H 1985. 114 pages. hardcover. This book consists of Jack Wattley's experiences with discus. He wrote about the Background of Discus, Collecting (in South America), Classification, Equipment, Water Chemistry, Purchasing, Food, Spawning, Discus Keeping Around the World, and Diseases. Since this book was originally published over 20 years ago, the information contained within has often been mentioned in other books, however, it also includes some nice photos of Jack's original Turquoise strain which he created through selective breeding. With color and black & white photos. Usually around $12.00US. You can find this book on auction sites as well as amazon.com and fishbookstore.com. Look inside |
 | The Discus - King of the Aquarium by Bernd Degen. Published by Tetra 1986. 106 pages. hardcover. A good overview, general book about discus. It has several nice photos and a few of them also appear in some of Bernd's later books. Although a bit dated, this would still make a good beginner's book. He writes about the history, wild discus habitat, classification, selection of stock, aquarium tank setup, water, breeding, feeding, and diseases. This book can be found for usually less than $10.00US and sometimes available from online auction sites and amazon.com. Look inside |
 | Discus Fish The King Of All Aquarium Fish by Eberhard Schulze. Published by Discus Limited 1988. 142 pages. hardcover. This is a good beginner's book, even though it was published about 20 years ago. The author writes about discus history and classification, tank bred hybrids, aquarium equipment, water chemistry, plants, breeding, maintenance, food and diseases. He includes many good photos - some from his trip to Thailand. Usually around $20.00US and available from online auction sites and amazon.com. Look inside |
 | Schmidt-Focke's Discus Book by Dr. Eduard Schmidt-Focke. Published by T.F.H. 1990 (translated from the 1989 German version). 144 pages. hardcover. Chapters include Aquarists Profiles, Keeping Discus, Raising Discus, Varieties, Crosses, Inbreeding and Line breeding, Breeding, Diet, and Diseases and Medications. This book has some nice photos and some good background information (such as the early days of keeping discus) but it's a bit dated now. Usually around $20.00US and sometimes available from online auction sites and amazon.com. Look inside |
 | Degen Discus by Bernd Degen. Published by T.F.H. 1990. 114 pages. hardcover. Bernd's second book on discus. In this book, he writes about where discus are found in the wild, talks about some display tanks in the home, water chemistry, feeding, and illnesses. The largest section in the book deals with breeding. He has several nice photos in this book, particularly on the turquoise strains (which were the popular trend at the time, and they still are popular). Usually around $13.00-20.00US at online auction sites and amazon.com. Look inside |
 | Discus How to Breed Them by Bernd Degen. Published by T.F.H. 1990. 130 pages. hardcover. The breeding information (selecting stock, water parameters, filtration, heating, water chemistry, breeding vs. exhibition/ show tanks, helpful hints and tricks, diet, health, and the profitability of the breeding) is covered in this book, but it seems to be displaced by a lot of photos of discus. The remaining part of the book covers the history of discus, discus in Germany, and tips on photographing discus. Overall, I think it could have included more details and 'how to" on breeding and showed fewer photos of show fish. This book is around $20.00US and is available from online auction sites and amazon.com.  Look inside |
 | Discus for the Perfectionist by Jack Wattley. Published by TFH 1991, 130 pages hardcover. Jack Wattley is known for having developed the turquoise discus from selective breeding. This book is more like a group interview, where Jack has asked several breeders from around the world for their opinions on topics such food (frequency, type, etc...), water (RO, deionized, etc...), lighting, filtration (wet/ dry, turnover rate, etc..), aquarium, breeding diseases (medications, dosages, etc...), the future of the discus hobby, etc... It's interesting to see how some answers are similar to some questions, yet very different for others. There are some nice photos of discus (mostly from the Gan Farm) in here too. I believe you can still find this book at bookstores and on-line shops. It usually runs around $24.00US. Look inside |
 | Dr. Clifford Chan's Book of Singapore Discus by Dr. Clifford Chan . Published by TFH 1991, 161 pages hardcover. After I read this book (recently), it's interesting to see how some things change from the time it was written (over 15 years ago) - there are many new varieties of discus available now. It's also interesting to see how things stay the same (there is a chapter on diseases). This book mostly profiles 4 of Singapore's discus breeders: Gan Khian Tiong, S.K. Chan, Michael Koh, and Morgan Khoo (along with nice photos of their fish) and has a nice section on Diseases of Discus). This book can be found at many on-line shops such asfishbookstore.com. It usually runs around $13.00US. Look inside |
 | Discus A Reference Book by Bernd Degen. Published by T.F.H. 1991. 130 pages. hardcover. Although this book was published in 1991, it has a very good amount of interesting and useful information about discus such as where they are from, genetics, water quality, planted tanks, compatible tankmates, choosing the right discus, feeding discus, and disease treatment. The largest section of the book covers breeding. This book like the others T.F.H. books published in 1991, have nice photos (some shared by other T.F.H. books). Usually around $28.00US. Available from online auction sites and amazon.com. Look inside |
 | The Allure of Discus by Dr. Herbert Axelrod and Bernd Degen. Published by T.F.H. 1991. 194 pages. hardcover. This is a large "coffee table" book that consists mostly of large photos, some of which were taken by Fumitoshi Mori. It is not broken out into chapters, however roughly half of the book coves wild discus and the remaining half covers some of the popular blue hybrids of the time of publication. As with many TFH books, there are some photos which can be found in some of their other books. Usually around $40.00US and can be found on online auction sites andamazon.com. Look inside |
 | The Atlas of Discus of the World by Dr. Herbert Axelrod, Dr. Warren Burgess, and Bernd Degen. Published by T.F.H. 1991. 368 pages. hardcover. An oversized large book with very large photos. Chapters are on the four wild types of discus: heckel, brown, blue, and green; and several hybrids including Turquoise, Colbalt, Red Turquoise, Silver Dream, and some Hi-Fin/ High Body discus. There are also some photos of breeding discus and raising the young. Usually around $50.00US and available from online auction sites and amazon.com. Look inside and  Look inside |
 | Discus as a Hobby by Jim Quarles. Published by TFH in 1994. 98 pages. softcover. This is one of the most popular general books on keeping discus. Jim gets right to the point often, but mixes in some humor at times too. Sections include 'wild discus', 'cultivated discus', 'maintenance', 'proper feeding', 'breeding', 'discus health and treatments', and more. There is practically a color photo on each page, so if you're curious as to what a 'red turquiose' fish looks like, it's here. Although the author mentions which medicines will treat certain ailments, he doesn't always give exact dosages (probably because different brands of products have different doses). Usually around $5.00US from fishbookstore.comand amazon.com. Look inside |
 | Discus Catalogue/ Atlas by Bernd Degen. Published by TFH, 1996, 322 pages, hardcover. This book is a collection of various types of discus, which the author has catalogued from visiting hatcheries, breeders, exhibitions, and competitions around the world. and assigned a code system to identify them. There are probably around 260 different varieties of discus shown in this book in nice colorful closeup photos, each identified by a code and who owns the fish. They book is categorized by strains; browns, heckels, greens, blues, red turquoise, colbalt blues, etc... and the books in written in both English and German. Unfortunately this book is out of print; get it if you can! (originally $69.00US)  Look inside and  Look inside |
 | Asian Discus by Johnny Yip. Published by Ad Asia Pacific 1997, 192 pages, softcover. In this book, the author writes about his visits to several discus breeders and hobbyists in China, Hong Kong (Wayne Ng and others), Indonesia (Yung Chi Keung, and more), Japan (Minoru Suhara and others), Korea (Kim Young Gak), Malaysia (Shaifullah Yeng, Koay Kheng Lock,and more), Singapore (The Gan Brothers, Andrew So, Sun See Seng,Lee Tong Juan, etc...) Taiwan (Weng Jui Kang, and others), Thailand (Kitti Phanaitthi and more), and Vietnam (Wu Shan Ching plus others). Filled with lots of photos of each breeder's specialties and many colorful ads, this is a nice book to have. Unfortunately this book is now out of print; get it if you can! (originally $49.00US) Look inside |
 | Back to Nature Guide to Discus by Dick Au. Published by Fohrman Aquaristik AB 1998. 130 pages. hardcover. Another nice book with chapters covering: setting up for discus (home aquarium compared to the natural habitat), selection and rearing (what to look for in choosing fish), nutrition (different types of food - worms, brine shrimp, flakes, etc..) and health (medications for treating illnesses), discus well-being, breeding techniques (selecting breeding pairs, spawning activity, and feeding the fry), and discus varieties. Lots a photos (mostly from Bing Seto and Wayne Ng). Usually around $20.00US. A little difficult to find at times, but sometimes available from online auction sites and amazon.com. Look inside |
 | Success with Discus by Jim Quarles. Published by Pacifc Rim International Printing 1998. 68 pages. hardcover. This is the follow up book to Discus as a Hobby. This book goes a bit further in details compared to the first book. Sections include 'water', 'filters', 'the hatchery', 'buying discus', 'feeding your discus', 'breeding your discus', 'raising the fry', 'disease and physiology', 'medication', and more. This book emphasizes information than colorful photos. Usually around $18.00US. Jim has since past away, but this book is available from fishbookstore.com. Look inside |
 | Aqualog special #6: Majestic Discus by Manfred Göbel. Published by Verlag ACS GmbH, Germany, 1999, 48 pages, hardcover with poster. This book has some good general information on keeping discus and is targeted to the beginning discus owner. Topics covered include; 'wild and cultivated forms', 'the discus environment' (plants, water conditions, companions, etc..), 'equipment' (lighting, heating, aeration, filtration, etc...), 'maintenance', 'diseases', and 'breeding'. As with all the Aqualogbooks, the photos in this book are very nice. The nice poster has several varieties/ strains of discus pictured. This book is available at the on-line/ mailorder aquarium supply shops such asfishbookstore.com and discus-south.com; usually around $23.00US.  Look inside |
 | Majestic Discus with text by Manfred Göbel. Published by Wizer Publishing in 2001, 226 pages, hardcover. Approximately a third of this book is the same text as the Aqualog version reviewed above, but translated into Chinese. Another third of this book is primarily of photos of some various strains of top discus (show winners) while the remaining third of this book highlights breeders from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. There are several advertisements in this book by East Asian discus breeders. This book is written mostly in traditional Chinese. This book is around $17.00US and I picked this up at the 2007 Aquarama.  Look inside and  Look inside |
 | Asian Discus 2 by Johnny Yip. Published by Ad Asia Pacific {Hong Kong} Ltd. 2000. 240 pages. softcover. This is the follow up volume to Asian Discus. Here, Johnny covers several varieties of Asian bred discus, such as Snakeskin, Golden, Golden Snakeskin, Pigeon Blood, Marlboro Red, White Pigeon, Solid Red, and Red Spotted Snakeskin. This book has almost 800 photos and also has a few articles written by some well known breeders.. Usually around $40.00US. This book is a bit hard to find right now, but it's definitely worth getting for the photos. Available fromshirleyaquatics.co.uk and discus-south.com. Look inside |
 | Discus in Taiwan by R.O.C. Discus Association. 159 pages, hardcover. A third of this book goes over both wild and man-made hybrid strains of discus (with many nice photos). Another third of the book highlights many of the top discus breeders in Taiwan. The remaining parts of the book cover discus care - food, breeding, illnesses (including parasites), water conditions, water filtration, and medications. At the end of the book are advertisements from the various Taiwan discus breeders. This book is written in traditional Chinese. This book is around $15.00US - I bought it from one of the discus shops in Taipei, Taiwan.  Look inside |
 | Penang Discus by Shaifullah Yeng. English edition published 2001, 202 pages, hardcover. Unlike some of the discus books out there which focus mainy on photos of nice fish, this book goes into lots of detail about all aspects of discus (and has photos of nice fish). Some of the chapters include - selecting your discus (including what to look for, quarantine, medication treatment), breeding discus (theory and practice), culling, discus food, and the discus hatchery. This book also has several chapters covering the various strains of discus - both wild and man made hybrids. This is an excellent book to read and own if you are serious about keeping discus. This book is around $50.00US and is available from the Belowwater or Petmart. Getting hard to find, grab it if you can find it!  Look inside |
 | Malaysia Discus by Discus Society of Malaysia. Published 2001, 146 pages, hardcover. This book covers the discus development in Malaysia including the origins of several strains created in Malaysia. The bulk of the book is a photographic 'tour' of 38 discus breeders and their facilities from Penang, Perak, Kuala Lumpur, and Melaka. Each breeder is highlighted with some information about their background, achievements, maintenance, and which strains they specialize in, with several very nice photos of their fish. This book is written in both traditional Chinese and English. This book is around $29.00US and is available from the Discus Society of Malaysia. Look inside |
 | Discus Annually Book Vol.2 by Fumitoshi Mori. Published 2001, 224 pages, softcover. Roughly half of this book covers The First Japan-World Discus Championship held in Tokyo, Japan in August 2001. Lots of photos of the winning fish for each of the categories, some information about the judges, and some general photos of the competition. The rest of this book covers in detail (with many photos) of some of the discus breeders in East Asian, highlighting some from Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan as well as Japan. There is also a section on collecting wild discus. There are several advertisements in this book by East Asian discus breeders. This book is written in traditional Japanese. This book is around $30.00US and is available from the Pisces Publishing.  Look inside |
 | Singapore Discus in the New Millennium by Dr. Clifford Chan and Johnny Yip. Published 2001, 104 pages, hardcover. This is a nice book that gives some background to the discus industry in Singapore starting with the Gan family and then it highlights some of the current breeders in Singapore: See Cheow San, Lee Tong Juan, Chai Koon Seng, Simon Pak, Ivan Seah, and Chan Kok Eng. The rest of this book covers water, nutrition, breeding, brine shrimp, disease, acclimation, discus in competitions and the Singapore Discus Club. This book is around $40.00US and is available from Petmart and discus-south.com. Look inside and another  Look inside |
 | Wayne Discus Guidebook by Wayne Ng and Liang Chi. Published 2002, 114 pages, hardcover. This book has mostly photos of Wayne Ng's discus strains, but also some from other breeders. Some of the included topics are: the improvement of the Wattley turquoise discus, the development of the blue diamond discus, discus selection and purchase, sexing discus, beef heart preparation, diseases and treatment, and more. The photographs are very nice and nearly all of the fish are labelled as to who is the owner and who took the photo. The book is available fromWayne's Discus, discus-south.com or Elite Aquaria. The book is around $24.00US.  Look inside |
 | Wayne Discus Centre Raising Discus Notebook by Wayne Ng. Published 2003, 32 pages, softcover. This book is written entirely in Chinese. Unlike Wayne's Discus Guidebook (see above), this book has proportionally more written information than photographs. The chapters in this book are broken down as follows: 1.) Basic Equipment (size of the aquarium tank, etc...), 2.) Raising and Managing (beginners information; keeping small, juvenile, and adult discus; selecting stock for breeding; water changes and food requirements), 3.) Knowledge on How to Raise Discus (water chemistry, common illnesses and treatments, sexing, feeding, genetics, and a short photo gallery). This book is available directly from Wayne's Discus Centre or Elite Aquaria. (I'm not sure of the price - this book was given to me). Look inside |
 | Exotic Discus of the World edited by Clifford Chan. Published by Clean Ace Printing Press, Singapore, 2003. 124 pages. hardcover. This is a very nice book with several photos and articles (covering topics such as collecting wild discus; the discus hobby - past, present, future; breeding discus, discus health, and Asian Discus - development and future trends) written by many of the world's leading discus experts (such as Clifford Chan, Jack Wattley, Oliver Lucanus, Dieter Untergasser). Also in this book are profiles of "super breeders" such as Wayne Ng, Lee Tong Juan, Kitti Phanaitthi, Mark Tan Chee Lok, Chan Ming, and Chai Koon Seng. Usually around $50.00US and available from Belowwater orPetmart.  Look inside |
 | Aqualog Extra Discus: The Champions by Frank Schäfer. Published by Verlag ACS GmbH, Germany, 2004. 48 pages. softcover. Written in both German and English, this photo book contains the top three placed fish in each class (category - such as solid blue, snakeskin, red spotted, etc...) at the major shows (such as the Aquarama in Singapore and the competition in Duisburg, Germany) from 1999 to 2004. Each fish is also identified with the name of the owner. A nice book that lets you see some of the world's prettiest discus without leaving your home. Usually around $15.00US and available from shops such as discus-south.com, fishbookstore.com, or on-line auction sites. Look inside |
 | Malaysia Discus II by Discus Society of Malaysia. Published 2004, 130 pages, hardcover. Where as the first book covered the discus development in Malaysia and highlighted the top discus breeders there, this book has more information about basics, spawning behavior, breeding, quaratine, illnesses, and rearing. The rest of the book is a photo gallery the winning fish of the DSM Championship from 2001 and there is a short section on the new discus strains being developed. This book is written in both traditional Chinese and English. This book is around $40.00US and is available from the Discus Society of Malaysia or discus-south.com. Look inside |
 | Discus Catalogue by Martin Ng. Published by AquaCare Worldwide 2004. 160 pages. hardcover - three ring binder form. This book was designed with updates in mind, but to the best of my knowledge, none have been made yet. Using characteristics and traits, such as primary/ secondary colors, stress bars, eye color, body shape, markings, and fin size and shape, this book categorizes discus strains. Each strain has at least one page dedicated to it and includes an overview of the genetic of the fish (and shows some variations). Contains about 600 photographs and includes a poster too. Usually around $70.00-$90.00US. Available from amazon.com, aquacare.com.my or fishbookstore.com. Look Inside and  Look Inside |
 | Discus Fish (Complete Pet Owner's Manual) by Thomas Giovanetti and Oliver Lucanus. Originally published by Barron's in 1991, revised in 2005. 96 pages. softcover. This is a nice introductory book to keeping discus - it has sections on basics including, ' water chemistry - the nitrogen cycle', 'getting started - acclimation', 'nutrition and feeding', and 'disease recognition and treatment'. There are 25 color photos and several black & white illustrations. This is a nice beginner's book introducing discus with some good information in here, particularly the section on diseases and treatment. You can find this book in various aquarium stores, book stores, & mail order shops, usually around $10.00US or less from amazon.com or fishbookstore.com Look Inside and  Original cover |
 | Discus the Naked Truth by Andrew Soh. Published in 2005. 180 pages. hardcover. Don't let the simple cover fool you, this book has lots of details in keeping and raising discus. The author has several excellent drawings to accompany the text. Some of the diagrams illustrate topics such as genetic defects in shape, eye size, mouth, fins, etc... Also there is an excellent section on artemia and another very good section on sexing. Usually around $80.00US. This book can be ordered from various sources, such as discus-south.com or www.petsbeautiful.com. Look inside |
 | Bleher's Discus Volume 1 by Heiko Bleher. Published 2006 byAquapress Publishers, 676 pages, hardcover. This is a thick (and heavy) book with lots of photos and text pertaining to wild discus and their natural environment. The chapters include: History of Discus, Taxonomy of Discus, Distribution, Variants in Nature, Natural Habitats (including nutrition/ food, natural predators plus the local flora and fauna). There's a good summary of this book at the Aquapress website. If you're interested learning about several aspects of wild discus, this is the book for you! This book is around $100.00US and is available at fishbookstore.com orabsolutelydiscus.com or discus-south.com.  Look inside and another  Look inside |
 | Trophy Discus by Dick Au, Sun See Seng, and Francesco Denitto. Published 2007 by Cichlid Press, 130 pages, hardcover. This book covers many aspects of show discus. Chapters include: Competition classes, Selecting show-quality discus, Environment and nutrition, Raising fry artificially, Basic genetics, In pursuit of a new strain, Judging criteria and methods, and photos of several champion fish. Lots of good photos and information in this book, particularly the genetics section and the selection of show-quality discus section. This book is around $30.00US and is available from discus-south.com or fishbookstore.com. Look inside and another  Look inside |
 | Discus Problems and Solutions by Andrew Soh. Published in 2009. 178 pages. hardcover. Again, wrapped in a simple cover, this book has lots of details and many color photographs for keeping and raising discus. The author has chapters covering breeding, facial traits, food recipes, his food supplements: Pro-more, Pro-growth, and Fucin, Diseases and Treatments (including detailed Autopsy and Anatomy), and two excellent chapters on Genetics, and Frequently Asked Questions. Usually around $80.00US. This book can be ordered from various sources, such as discus-south.com or www.petsbeautiful.com. Look inside |
back to top | Discus Health by Dieter Untergasser. Published by TFH in 1991. Second edition. 418 pages, hardcover. This book has been called a "bible" on discus health. It covers Nutrition, Environmental diseases, Quarantine, Medications, and then it goes into indepth details on Skin and Gill diseases (parasites and fungus) and Diseases of Internal Organs. Lots of text with a decent amount of photos. This book is available from various on-line resellers for around $70.00US, but if you check out places like eBay, you can find it for around $20.00US. Also available from fishbookstore.com Look inside |
 | The Complete Aquarium Problem Solver by Kevin Boyd. Published by Tetra Press, 1993, 102 pages, hardcover. The author takes a light hearted/ humorous approach to a serious topic - problems in the aquarium. These problems covered in the book range from 'shock', 'algea control', 'power outtage', chilling', 'feeding', 'leaky tank', broken heaters', etc... in addition to fish diseases and parasites. As for the treatment of diseases and parasites, he will list what medications to use and to follow the manufacturer's directions. The book has some funny cartoons, but also some photos (along with drawings) of what the ill fish looks like. You can find this book at bookstores for usually around $22.00US.  Look inside |
 | Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment by Dr. Edward Noga. Published by Blackwell Publishing in 2000 (original edition published in 1996). 374 pages, hardcover. Don't let the Andy Warholistic "pop art" cover fool you, this book is packed with excellent information and has been recommended by hobbyists and veterinarians (such as Dr. Greg Lewbart at NCSU and Dr. Vicky Vaughn of UGA) alike. It covers all sorts of problems, from water issues, to parasites, to bacterial diseases, and viral diseases, plus more. It also discusses in detail medications and treatment. This book is available from Amazon.com as well asWiley Publishing for around $125.00. An excellent resource! Look Inside and  Look Inside |
 | The New Illustrated Guide to Fish Diseases by Gerald Bassleer. Published in September 2003. English edition. 234 pages, hardcover. This book has over 1,000 photos showing the various illnesses that can strike ornamental fish. Chapters include Quaratine, Diagnosis, Common diseases(including fungal, bacterial, unicellular and multicellular parasites), and a detail chapter on Medicines with their advice on use. This book is also available in Dutch, German, French, and Chinese. This book is available from various on-line resellers such as fishbookstore.comfor around $60.00US. Look inside |
 | Aquarium World Magazine. Published by Azoo. Usually around around 160 pages. I only have a few issues of this magazine. It's produced in Taiwan and each issue focuses on one or two specific topics - these can include either specific freshwater fish, (ie. guppies, discus, or arrowana), or marine fish, or aquascaping, etc... It's written entirely in Chinese, so if you can't read the characters, you will just have to look at the photos (and they are nice). There are also a lot of Azoo advertisements, but also ads for other companies as well. This magazine is also available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore at their aquarium shops and it sells for roughly $10.00US per issue.  Look inside |
