Aquarium Set Up

Keep your aquarium in a quiet and solitary place. Too much noise and motion, like a door opening or heavy human traffic can cause them stress.   

Never overcrowd your tank. Discus fish are very protective of their space so they need an ample re to grow and breed. The bigger the tank, it is the better.  

Consistency is the key. Do not allow abrupt highs and low in the temperature and pH levels of the water in the tank. This can put them in a shock. 

When adding other fish to your tank, make sure that your discus fish is the largest in the tank. Because they can be somewhat protective of their area, bigger fishes can injure them or worse kill them. Fishes that can live together with the discus fish are plecs and small tetras.  

Normally, for one discus fish, 10 gallon of water is needed. Hence, for a 50 gallon tank, you will need six to ten discus fish. Young Discus like the security of numbers. Make sure you follow standard acclimation procedures and that your tank is fully cycled. As your fish grow and mature, a pecking order will develop. Eventually the smaller weaker Discus will need to be removed in order to keep a 10 gallon to 1 Discus rule. In order to provide an easy way to keep a clean environment for your new fish, use a bare aquarium. That means no gravel or plants. The bare bottom tank makes it easy to vacuum fish waste and wipe down the glass. If you'd like, you can add a ceramic pot or two to give your Discus an anchor to establish territories but the pots will need to be moved and wiped down with your water changes to ensure they aren't trapping waste. Once a week you will want to clean your pre filter and every few weeks, your sponge and box filters, being careful to use de-chlorinated water as to not harm the beneficial bacteria. A good tip here is to siphon some tank water into your five gallon bucket and use that for your filter cleaning water. 

However, the problem with Discus fish is that they are very hard to keep. They are very sensitive to water quality and also to the type of food they eat. If you don’t know how to keep a Discus Fish, then you have to first educate yourself how in order for you to continue enjoying having this fish in your aquarium for many years to come. 

For starters, you have to make sure that you keep at least six Discus Fish together. You have to remember that Discus Fish are shoaling fish, which means that you have to put them in groups. This is a great way for you to keep your pet healthy and in good spirits. You will also want to keep other varieties of fish together with the Discus Fish in order to add variety to your aquarium and make it even look more attractive. 

Since Discus Fish are very sensitive to water quality, make sure that you keep your aquarium clean. 50 percent of the water should be changed every week and you have to keep the water free from chlorine and heavy metals. To do this, a water purifier will be able to do the trick. 

Keep in mind that Discus Fish thrives in the Amazon River basin where the water is slightly acidic and soft. So, keep the PH level of the water lower than normal. You also need to make sure that the aquarium is away from doors that could open. This is to prevent your Discus Fish from getting stressed. Always keep in mind that if the Discus Fish is always subjected to high levels of stress, they are more likely to get sick and die. 

Lastly, you have to remember to feed your Discus Fish with flakes and worms. Pork hearts and beef hearts are suitable feeds for Discus Fish. For adult Discus Fish, you will need to feed them two to three times a day. Also, make sure that clean any uneaten foods as these things will secrete ammonia which can eventually increase the PH level. 

When talking about the health of the discus fish, there are really only two main aspects where great concern should be focused on. These two will dictate highly whether your discus fish will be able to spawn or let alone be healthy and live a long life. These two is the water where they live in and the food they ingest. Another minor aspect that should also be kept in mind prior to owning a discus fish is the tank mates that your discus fish will have. Generally, it is recommended that the discus fish should be the largest fish in the tank.  

Keep these tips in mind and you will find that maintaining a discus fish, and even breeding them will not be difficult for you.