Discus Fish

Discus are universally recognized as the most beautiful and most graceful of all the freshwater aquarium fishes. They come from the warm, soft waters of South America, particularly the Amazonian rain forests. These waters are very clean and brown in co lour, due to staining from decaying vegetation. Discus are often found in lakes, as well as dark, slow-moving rivers.

Discus used to be regarded as very difficult to keep, and spawning them was next to impossible. Although they are still not really beginner's fish, the availability of better equipment and increased knowledge of their needs has made the challenge easier. In the aquarium, discus fishes require a temperature of 27°C(80°F) at all time sand very soft, acidic water with a pH level of about 6. Discus need very clean water, so carry out frequent and methodical water changes, and clean the gravel with a gravel washer. These very timid fish need places to hide and plants provide them with some security. However, as the fish prefer low light levels, vegetation may not grow too well, so you could use plastic plants instead. Another way of reassuring discus fishes is to introduce dither fish, such as tetras or other small characins. Dither fish are small fish that swim in the open. These give the discus the impression that the coast is clear and all is safe, so the discus are encouraged to swim out in the open, rather than hide. Discus also do better if kept in a small shoal, which makes them feel more secure. The discus tank should have a capacity of at least 91 liters (20 gallons) and be as deep as possible, as these fish are taller than they are long .Although they are seldom regarded as community fish, discus do well with many of the smaller non-boisterous fishes and small catfishes, but do take care that the discus' tank mates can tolerate the high water temperature and are not too small, otherwise they may be eaten.

Remember, discus fishes are cichlids, after all. Once they have become accustomed to it, discus will eat all manner of aquarium foods.

Nymphs heraldic. All the discus fish have large eyes that range in co lour from orange to bright red .Usually, these fish are not sold at less than .5cm(2in) in diameter. With good care they can reach 15cm(6in)across and at this size command a high price and look really stunning. Whatever the species, all discus fish require the same care in the aquarium. Foods offered to them must he small enough to fit into their tiny mouths. They enjoy finely blended beef heart,bloodworm, Daphnia and flake food, as well as freeze-dried Tubbier. Never feed live Tubbier worms to discus as they contain so much bacterial matter that the yare potentially fatal.

Aquarium dimension for discus

This plays a vital role for discus keeping. If you choose proper dimension then half of your job is already done. We know that discus is a round or disc shaped fish. So due to this body shape this fish moves more vertically than horizontally. More they move more they grow fast. Generally discus is a mid-level moving fish. So at first our goal will be to provide them a high depth tank. You can choose a 18 inch to 24 inch high tank.

It is generally seen that discus loves to live in a group. So I say you that please buy at least 4-6 discus for the first time. So they can eventually form a group. Now a question comes. what will be ideal tank length? I say that at least 3 feet. A 3 feet tank is ideal for those 6 (I consider that you keep 4-6 discus for the first time), they can move freely in horizontal direction in this tank and with a height of 18-24 inch we will also provide enough space for moving vertically. So selecting this type of tank we can provide much space for growing.

Water Quality

Probably the single most important factor in keeping Discus is water and its quality. There is lots of information out there but for the beginner I think it can be confusing and a worrying factor in Discus keeping, it need not be honest.

Ph: The single most important factor (if the tank is mature) is PH as long as the pH is on the acid side of neutral, between pH 6.0 and pH 7.0, your Discus will be quite happy.

Stability of Ph because of 'soft' water can be an issue for the beginner and as such until a little is known about the interactions of calcium hardness(Kh) / General hardness (Gh) on the acidity of the water(Ph) staying with water of 12 to 15 Gh and 5 to 7 Kh should give you stability of Ph and happy discus.

Nitrate, Nitrite & Ammonia: Ammonia (1st stage of the nitrogen cycle) is a killer this is the waste products from your fish and they are swimming in there own excretions. These must be maintained at 0 at all times or your fish will suffer and probably die.

Keep an eye on these levels when adding new fish to your aquarium whilst the biological capacity of the filter catches up with the increased load.

Nitrite (2nd stage of the Nitrogen Cycle) is a killer and levels should also be kept as low as possible. This can be achieve by frequent partial water changes and or encouraging good plant growth.

Nitrate (3rd stage of the nitrogen cycle) levels should be kept as low as possible (below 25ppm ideally) but is not as toxic as Nitrite and ammonia and won't kill your fish overnight & quite high levels (above 100ppm)

Heavy Metals: A heavy metal filter, (sometimes called metalex) which consists of a pre filter pod, carbon block pod and a CBR2 pod will remove almost all compounds that will harm your Discus fish. It will not however remove hardness.

Hardness: If you live in an area with tap water which as a general hardness (Gh) of over twelve degrees, a reverse osm

Both Metalex and RO units will require periodic replacement of the cartridges. The frequency of cartridge replacement depends on the levels of contaminants being removed from the tap water and the volume of the water being processed.

If algae is or becomes a problem it's worthwhile testing for phosphate which can be introduces in the food you feed fish. High phosphate levels can again be reduced with partial water changes which are by far the best method as you will remove other things like nitrate as well.

You may also use a proprietary media like Rowaphos, placed in the filter this will remove the excess.

How to prevent ich or white spot disease of discus

Ich or white spot disease of Discus is one of the major factors of discus fish keeping. This can happen due to bad water parameters, fluctuation of ph, temperature etc. you have to be careful during season change when these above causes can happen. Hence there is a higher chance of your discus to be affected by diseases or parasites present in the new environment. So you need a quarantine tank which protects your fish from disease and allow to regain optimum health before they are shifted your main tank. Here I describe my own method of how to fight with ich of discus…

Day 1: start the quarantine process with Oxytetracycline 500mg tablets. Dosage is 5 tablets per 100 liter of water. Also raise temperature at 32 degree Celsius during this course. Most of the parasites will kill in that temperature. Use heavy aeration and don’t switch on any kind of filters.

Day2,3 : keep it as it is.

Day 4: do full water change after 3 days. Use same dosage with same process with heavy aeration and no filters.

Day 5,6: keep it as it is.

Day 7: continue the step that was followed on day 4.

Day 8,9: keep it as it is

Day 10: continue the step that was followed on day 4.

Day 11,12: continue the step that was followed on day 8,9.

Don’t feed them during this course. After 12 days of treatment check whether ich is gone or not. during this process you may find that color of discus is gone. There’s no need to worry about this. Color will come back again. Then start feeding in small quantity. Observe them keeping in hospital tank for further 4,5 days. If everything is going on well keep them in your main tank.

The breeding of Discus

The Discus fish has gained a reputation of being fuzzy, disease ridden and hard to breed, but it is actually quite an easy fish to keep and breed once you have figured out how to keep the water quality at imperative levels in the aquarium. If you fail at this, you will most probably end up with anorectic, unhealthy Discus fish that refuses to breed altogether. The same goes for the fry aquarium - Discus fry that are kept in unhealthy conditions will often end up stunted since they will not eat enough. Before you make any attempts at breeding Discus you should therefore make sure that you are knowledgeable and devoted enough to keep the water quality up at all time – not only once in a while when you have some extra time to spend on your hobby. Discus fish will actually do a lot of the fry raising work for you since they both guard and feed their fry, so repaying them by devoting some energy to frequent water changes is certainly not too much to ask.

Obtaining a Discus pair: If you want to you can buy an established Discus pair that has already spawned together in the past. Such a couple will however be expensive, and most aspiring Discus breeders therefore purchase a group of juvenile Discus fish instead and let them grow up together. Hopefully, at least one pair will form in a group of Discus as they reach maturity. If you are lucky you will get several pairs. Getting a least six specimens is recommended. Try to mix Discus fish from several different sources since this will decrease the risk of getting a too limited genetic pool.

Discus breeding aquarium: Once a Discus pair is formed they will claim a territory and defend it against all the other Discus fishes. When you notice this, it is time to either remove all the other fish or set up a special breeding aquarium for the pair. A 20-30 gallon aquarium is big enough to serve as breeding aquarium and the only mandatory décor is a vertical spawning site. It is however a good idea to include hiding spots as well, since Discus pairs can fight each other quite violently.

Water management: As mentioned in the beginning of this article, water management is extremely important when keeping and breeding Discus. The levels of nitrogenous waste must be kept as close to zero as possible. Carry out a small water change every day in the breeding aquarium and use your test kit to keep an eye on the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Wild Discus live in soft and acidic waters, but if you have captive bred specimens they might be accustomed to harder and less acidic conditions. The recommended water temperature is 86 degrees F.

Feeding: Feeding your Discus a varied and nutritious diet – and making sure that the fish actually eat it – is imperative if you want to breed Discus. Poor water quality can cause poor appetite in Discus and must therefore be avoided at all costs. Live food such as white worms and bloodworms is certainly recommended, but be careful with live food that you do not cultivate yourself since it might introduce disease. You can supplement live food with high quality prepared foods to make sure that your fish receives all necessary vitamins.

Spawning and fry raising: Once the couple has started to spawn, you can expect a new batch of eggs to be laid every week or every second week for up to 15 times in a row. A healthy, well functioning pair can go through two such spawning cycles per year. The eggs will normally hatch within 48 hours and the fry is free-swimming after another 72 hours. The free swimming fry will swim up to their parents and start feeding on a special type of nutritious mucus produced by the skin of the parents. They can continue to feed off their parents for several weeks, but you should start giving them newly hatched brine shrimp as well when they have been free swimming for 5-6 days.

Fry aquarium: The longer you leave the fry with their parents, the higher the risk of parasites being transmitted from the adults to the fry. The fry can also start eating not only mucus but pieces of skin and flesh from their parents, and this will naturally weaken the parents considerably. Most breeders therefore remove the fry to their own fry aquarium after 2-3 weeks. Fry without their parents should be fed at least six times a day and can for instance be given microworms, newly hatched brine shrimp and chopped up bloodworms. Keeping the water quality up is naturally extremely important. Feed only small servings and carry out at least one water change per day.

Discus Type

Apricot Rainbow