Discus Hobby

Keeping discus fish as pets can be an interesting hobby. However, before you actually buy your first set of discus fish, you need to keep in mind that you first need to understand the fish as well as their environment in order for you to successfully keep discus fish as pets and also keep them healthy and happy for a long time. 

Keeping a Discus Fish aquarium is a lot of fun. However, you have to remember that you need to treat them differently than other types of freshwater fishes as these species are considered to be high maintenance and that they need to be watched over continuously. Keeping Discus Fish is quite easy to do. You just need to maintain the water quality and feed them right. 

Most people say that Discus Fish are one of the most difficult species of fish to keep. Although this is true for most people who have no experience in keeping this kind of fish, you will see that keeping this fish is rather easy if you get the basics right. After you understand the basics of keeping this kind of fish, you will see that it’s quite easy to keep Discus Fish in your fish tank. 

First of all, you have to keep in mind that discus fish originated in the Amazon River basin. They thrive in streams and lakes surrounding the Amazon River. They also come from the cichlid family of fish; they like deep water. 

Keep in mind that you have to set up your aquarium as well as the conditions in it that mimic their natural environment. Doing so will keep your discus fish happy and healthy. For this reason alone, you may want to get the largest and deepest aquarium that your home and budget can allow. 

You also have to remember that discus fish are social creatures. They live and travel in groups of at least 6. So, make sure that you have at least 6 discus fish swimming around in your aquarium in order to keep them happy and prevent them from getting lonely. With more discus fish in your aquarium, they will be less prone to misbehaving. You have to keep in mind that lonely discus fish tend to be aggressive to their own kind as well as to other species of fish. 

Getting a discus fish in groups will also ensure breeding, which will eventually increase the population of discus fish in your aquarium. As you can imagine, having tiny discus fishes swimming around your aquarium is a very rewarding sight. 

Most fishes, including the discus fish, maybe even more so, develop health conditions because of stress. Although fishes are fragile as compared to other household pets, they don’t really just die and wither if they are kept well. And all you really have to do is make sure that the tank is clean and feed them as scheduled, which is not really all the time. There are some factors though that can cause them stress and thus weakening their immune system. 

Like air is to humans, water is the single most important aspect to fishes besides food. So make sure that their water is free from chlorine and other toxic chemicals, as well as heavy metals. You should also keep it a good temperature and pH level. Investing in a dependable purifier, filter, and aerator will make the water clean and liveable.  

Vary the diet of your discus fish. Aside from the flakes, feed them blood worms or fresh or frozen brine shrimp as discus fish are carnivorous.