Starting A Discus Aquarium

Cichlids are the most popular types of tropical fish to keep in an aquarium. It is estimated that there are over 15,000 separate species of cichlid, one of which is the discus fish (Symphysodon spp.) . Discus fish are popular with hobbyists because they have distinctive behaviors and are exceptionally beautiful (they also have dorsal and anal fins that blend into the body to give the fish the look of a discus shape). This article will discuss the things you need to consider when starting a Discus aquarium.

Discus originate from the Amazon river basin. This water and habitat in quite diverse but the most common traits tend to be slow moving, soft water of a temperature around 28 deg. Celsius (82-83F). The sunlight is generally diffused by thick plants and trees. The aquascape would include driftwood and would be of a good depth. The natural habitat can help when creating the ideal fish tank.

Thus you would want to keep your Discus aquarium in a fairly quiet area. You would not want the tank near a stereo for example or in an area that is likely to see lots of activity. The lighting should be subdued. Although a varied aquascape that includes plants can act to diffuse the lighting and the fish can rest under leaves or pieces of wood.

As the fish are quite large you would want a deep tank so that they can swim freely. You will need a fish tank heater to keep the temperature at 28 deg. Celsius.

The standard setup for the aquarium would include an under-gravel filter, heater, thermometer, a gravel substrate and a mechanical filter. After this, you could add plants, driftwood or rocks to give the fish tank a better look and be more in keeping with the natural habitat of the Discus.

Discus fish do not root around in the substrate like other cichlids, so you do not have to be so conscious of getting the right gravel. The only thing that should be considered is that it doesn't consist of calcium or any other chemical that will increase the ph level of the water over time. You can ask for gravel like this, that is either man-made or natural, from your local fish shop.

Discus are fairly sensitive fish so it is important to keep the water quality good at all the times. Although as more of the species are bred in captivity they become more hardy to varying conditions it is always a good idea to be fairly experienced in maintaining a fish tank.

Find all the products you need at http://www.fishtank-supplies.com for starting your new Discus aquarium. The site has features on fish tank maintenance and lighting for fish tanks. Adrian Whittle writes about keeping both fresh and saltwater fish.
Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish – Ideal Fish Tank Conditions For Discus Fish

Many people that keep amateur fish tanks have come to love the cichlid varieties of fish. They are noted for their huge variety that display interesting and complex behaviors that are fascinating to watch. They are also noted for their beautiful markings and colors. One such species is the ever popular discus fish. This article will describe the typical nature of the discus fish and the ideal conditions and habitat for a discus fish tank.

Discus fish hail from the black water tributaries of the Amazon. The vegetation and substrate in these waters has a high level of humic acid that causes the water to be soft or have an acidic Ph level. The Ph level should be around 5.5 to 6.5 for Discus fish. The water temperatures range from around 26 degrees Celsius to 31 degrees Celsius. The water is generally slow moving.

Discus fish require very good water quality or they are likely to become stressed otherwise. Some people use Reverse Osmosis (R.O) water to get the quality right but as R.O. water is virtually distilled water it is not advised to use it without adding essential minerals and salts that all freshwater fish need. There are supplements that can be added to R.O. Water that will do this. Water should be changed regularly too.

The typical habitat of Discus fish is gentle water movement, a variety of plants and a diverse aqua scape of rocks, caves and bogwood. They prefer to live in a large tank.

Discus fish are generally placid fish but become very protective during breeding and nurturing of fry. It is sometimes a good idea to remove other fish during this time or partition them off.

They will eat most things from flake to live foods.

Discuss fish are some of the most beautiful cichlids you can keep however it can be a challenge to maintain the water quality to their liking. Soft water is often more difficult to maintain than hard water and discus fish are quite sensitive to this. This puts more responsibility on you to know how to maintain the fish tank and keep a regular schedule of maintenance.

Starting a fish tank ? Find all the products you need at http://www.fishtank-supplies.com . The site has features on all types of equipment you need for tropical fish tanks, including fish tank heaters and getting the best fish tank lights . Adrian Whittle writes about keeping both tropical and saltwater fish.

Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - Ideas On How To Breeding Discus Fish

It is not unusual that exotic fish owners find breeding discus fish a little bit demanding. The difficult part about raising discus fish is finding the right pair, this arises from the fact that discus fish likes to choose their partners alone, and not everyone suit their favor. In that circumstances, you have two options for your breading discus aquarium fish; you can either buy a pair or raise them together in a group and hoping that they make a pair. The initial option is not the best, since discuss fish pair can be as expensive as few hundred dollars, which is quite a lot.

Hence, the most beneficial option you have is to start breeding discus fish by creating discus group of at least half a dozen members and keep your fingers crossed that you get at least one pair among them. How do you know if they are pairs ? Hopefully, from now on breeding discus fish will not be that difficult if you follow the basic principles. First of all, the new couple will put up demarcation in the tank and will start to defend it against any trespassers. Which means, is time for you to move to the second phase of breeding discus goldfish.

Prepare a separate tank for your discus fish and keep it simple as much as possible. Don't be obliged to put something at the bottom of the fish tank, what they need is a vertical surface that will enables them to lay their eggs. Discus fish will soon begin to spawn. Don't start worrying about the eggs that look whitish, those are the infertile ones, and as for the rest, is possible that the parents may eat some of them and protect the rest. The interesting part of breeding discus fish is that they feed their own siblings for few weeks.

In about 21 days you will have to move the fish into a special tank as is not uncommon that the discus fish might have been injured by their babies who eat their scales for example. Once they are off parental care, the breeding discus fish will begin a new reproduction cycle and you may soon begin to have more siblings afterwards. Throughout the feeding period, water and feeding are essential, hence, make sure no mistake is made.

Victor Ephenus owns Discus Fish Resources website discusfishresources.com with informations helping beginners and advanced fish keepers with discus problems including keeping and breeding them. Please visit the site for more information on discus fish and breeding discus.

Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - The Secrets Of Breeding Discus As A Hobby

Discus breeding as a hobby has become so popular worldwide that discus fish keeping has turn into a multi-million dollar industry and discus aquariums is fast becoming the home of this exotic fish. For a lot of breeders, raising this exotic fish as hobby brings huge satisfaction especially when they manage to get some cute baby discus too. It is quite rewarding to see what start as hobby raising discus has turn out to be a lifetime experience. Now what's special about keeping discus as a hobby? Fish breeding is a challenge and many aquarists find that attractive. What make discus fish special as a pet is it beauty and unique social behavior.

It is quite a surprise to those who breed discus as a hobby to notice after sometime that discus begin to show signs of connection to the environment outside the tank in which they reside in. You know breeding discus as a hobby require spending time attending to the welfare of the fish(i.e feeding, checking the tank constantly,lighting etc). It is said that discus recognize it owner quite quickly and they can get close to you as far as even to eat from your hand. It has also been noticed by some discus owner while breeding them that it watch them move round the room and even react to Tv noise.

Apart from their shy and generally peaceful aquarium inhabitants, discus are sensitive to stress and disturbance or lack of protection, they like quiet and close community with other fellow fish from the same species. As an aquarist, you may need to pay close attention to discus cohabitants especially since they like close communities and living with other fish from the same species. It has also been claimed by some aquarists that keeping them together with other species like angelfish will introduce parasites or diseases and small characides like tetras. It is noticeable that the dominant discus would be the first to couple and followed by others if Aquarium water chemistry, Feeding, Lighting and other breeding conditions are met. Once you've notice the couple while breeding discus, you should move pairs into another tank to allow them to raise fry.

Those who takes breeding discus as a hobby, it is important discus living conditions are constantly monitored. You should be careful with the lighting because too much light will warm the water above accepted level and reduces the oxygen level. There's not a lot of difference between breeding discus as a hobby or as a professional, discus require the same amount of attention in respective of which side you belong.

Victor Ephenus owns Discus Fish Resources website discusfishresources.com with informations helping beginners and advanced fish keepers with discus problems including keeping and breeding them. Please visit the site for more information on discus fish and breeding discus.

Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - Hard or Soft Water?

It has been debated a lot about whether to keep discus fish in hard water or soft water. People have had success with both methods so it’s not an easy answer but I will share with you, how I do things and what has worked for me.

Here’s the first rule I use when buying and importing discus fish;

Match the water conditions of your supplier.

If you follow this rule you will be at a great advantage as the discus will already be accustomed to the water you provide. This will cause a lot less stress than moving discus used to hard water into soft water. Now your water doesn’t have to match exactly but if it is about right things should be OK. Don’t go getting stressed if your hardness is out a couple of degrees.

Once fish are settled here’s how I like to keep mine.

Young Discus

Young discus fish should not be kept in very soft water as there aren’t the right minerals present for good growth. They should be raised in slightly hard water with a natural ph. In this water they should grow quickly and healthy. For my young discus I use tap water filtered through activated carbon and then left in storage barrels for at least 24 hours. This will make sure all the chorine is out of the water.

Adult Discus

Adult discus, once 5in should be kept in soft water but still not at breeding conditions as they may still be growing but don’t need the minerals like young discus fish. By lowering the softness and ph of the water you will trigger breeding activity between the adults and should get a few breeding. For my adult discus I again use tap water filter through carbon and left to stand but I also add aquarium peat. This softens the water a little and is fine because of the tap water I have. You may have to use RO water mixed with filtered tap water.

Also if using peat to soften water, make sure it is of the aquarium variety. Other garden peat can contain chemicals that can harm discus fish so just be careful.

On a final note, there is no right or wrong hardness to keep discus these days because they are tank bred through generations and have acclimatized to harder water. Just follow these guidelines and you should be fine.

Rob owns Discus Fish Secrets website helping beginners and advanced fish keepers with discus problems including keeping and breeding them. Please visit the site for more information on discus and keeping and breeding discus fish
Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - Perfect Discus Fish Companions

Speaking about adding other fish to a Discus fish tank, you'll find that there's nearly as many points of view on this subject, as there's discus fish keepers. There is, however, a few species that are commonly referred to as good mates for the Discus fish.

The idea of this article is not take part in the discussions - but to bring a few issues to your attention - and help you to do your own research.

First of all - a Discus Fish tank is just that! A Discus Fish tank! So what does this mean? It means that your focus must be on making sure that you keep your Discus Fish happy in terms of water temperature and water quality, and that you only add fish that will happily live under the same conditions.

Secondly, the Discus Fish is by nature quite shy, and they do NOT like bullies! You should never add bigger sized fish to your Discus Fish tank that will threaten their position as "Kings of the aquarium". Neither should you add aggressive types of fish to your Discus Fish tank.

Last, but definitely not least, Discus fish are slow eaters, so you'd make a mistake if you introduce fast eaters that will beat them to their food in their tank. Also - don't add fish that are normally gracious - but enter into a frenzy at feeding time.

Below is a list of species that by many Discus Fish Keepers are considered to be good mates:

Tetras (Cardinals, Red Nose, Lemon and Congo)
Clown Loach
Rams
Plecos (Bristle Nose and Clown)

Once again - should you decide to introduce other species to your Discus Fish tank - make sure you do your research thoroughly, and that you keep the conditions of your fish tank perfect for Discus Fish.
Keeping Discus Fish

The Discus Fish Diet

Feeding Discus Fish can be challenging at times. While they have no specific nutritional preferences, and can be be fed on just about any high protein fish

food, they're often extremely cautious to new foods, and will go without eating for up to 4 weeks before accepting a new food.

This is obviously not very healthy, particularly not for younger fish, so the wise thing to do is to ask what they are being fed at the time of purchase, and then

take things from there.

When trying to change their food, do not use the starving technique to get them to eat the new food, but rather feed them with a mix of the foods, and

gradually change from one to the other.

The best thing to do is to, over time, get them used to a varied diet, rather than just sticing to one kind of food. So what kinds of food should be part of their

diet?

Fish Flakes

Just about any will do - but it's better to stick to a top brand one for quality control purposes. Discus Fish prefer to be fed at mid water to bottom levels, so you

may have to soak and squeeze the flake food first.

Bloodworm

Definately a firm favorite with the discus fish, which can and should be used once daily. Make sure you use frozen irradiated worms, because there's less

chance of them having parasites in them.

Brine Shrimp

Discus Fish love frozen brine shrimp, and they contain important vitamins and minerals that will enhance the colour of the discus fish, and keep them in a

good overall shape. Defrost and rinse them before feeding.

Granules and Freeze Dried

On this one you're spoilt for choise, and they are all good for Discus Fish food. It's a good idea, however, to stick to the top makes (like Tetra Bits) to ensure

good quality. Some of the cheaper brands can cause bloating and constpation, because they absorb water, and expand when the fish have eaten them.

Foods to avoid

Beef heart or pork heart has traditionally been fed to Discus Fish to promote good colouration and fast growth - but there's issues with feeding your discus a

diet high in mammalian protein. Also, live foods should be avoided as the health risks involved in using them far outweigh the benefits.

Sticking to the menu above is well better - it's simply not worth taking the risk.

General feeding tips

As a rule of thumb - it's better to feed too little than too much - if you're not sure how much food to give. Discus Fish are slow eaters that will graze and pick at

their food, and should be allowed to do so at their own pace. 5-10 minutes is usually enough for them to eat well. If they are less than that you may want to

feed a bit more - but be careful not to overfeed them - because this will affect the water conditions in a negative way.

Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish Disease Free

So you want to keep discus fish or are already keeping discus fish. One of things you must do is keep your discus fish healthy and disease free. In this article I'm going to give you a few tips on how to keep discus fish disease free as:

One of the most common assumptions with discus is that they easily get disease and die. This is not true. They will only get disease if you mistreat them.

The root of the problem is stress, if you cause discus stress there immune system will lower and make them venerable to disease. It is important to keep stress to a minimum so below I have made you a check list of things to do.

•Make sure all water is free from chlorine and heavy metals. It is important that you invest in either an RO unit, water purifier or use a good quality tap water condition. •Give your discus a good varied diet including frozen bloodworm and slow sinking granules. •Don't place your discus aquarium near a door and all the movement will cause them stress. •If you are keeping young discus, keep in groups of no less than six. Discus are a shoaling fish. •Make sure there are no large changes in pH, hardness or temperature when changing water.

Above are just a few things that you can do to make sure your discus fish live a happy life and remain healthy. Remember discus are not hard to keep, they just require regular water changes and a good varied diet like most other fish.

Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - Hard or Soft Water?

It has been debated a lot about whether to keep discus fish in hard water or soft water. People have had success with both methods so it's not an easy answer but I will share with you, how I do things and what has worked for me.

Here's the first rule I use when buying and importing discus fish;

Match the water conditions of your supplier.

If you follow this rule you will be at a great advantage as the discus will already be accustomed to the water you provide. This will cause a lot less stress than moving discus used to hard water into soft water. Now your water doesn't have to match exactly but if it is about right things should be OK. Don't go getting stressed if your hardness is out a couple of degrees.

Once fish are settled here's how I like to keep mine.

Young Discus

Young discus fish should not be kept in very soft water as there aren't the right minerals present for good growth. They should be raised in slightly hard water with a natural ph. In this water they should grow quickly and healthy. For my young discus I use tap water filtered through activated carbon and then left in storage barrels for at least 24 hours. This will make sure all the chorine is out of the water.

Adult Discus

Adult discus, once 5in should be kept in soft water but still not at breeding conditions as they may still be growing but don't need the minerals like young discus fish. By lowering the softness and ph of the water you will trigger breeding activity between the adults and should get a few breeding. For my adult discus I again use tap water filter through carbon and left to stand but I also add aquarium peat. This softens the water a little and is fine because of the tap water I have. You may have to use RO water mixed with filtered tap water.

Also if using peat to soften water, make sure it is of the aquarium variety. Other garden peat can contain chemicals that can harm discus fish so just be careful.

On a final note, there is no right or wrong hardness to keep discus these days because they are tank bred through generations and have acclimatized to harder water. Just follow these guidelines and you should be fine.

Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - How to setup your Discus Tank that your Fish will Thank You for!

This is an article on small aquaria. Although far more critical and less forgiving than large displays, due to their small volume of water, a very attractive and satisfying microcosm can be created. As much as we prefer to attempt to recreate conditions as close to the natural environment as possible, you won't want to do that with a discus tank. It would be ugly. Imagine a muddy bottom covered with rotting leaves and some branches hanging into the tank. So, instead of a biotype aquarium we'll do a geographic display. At least the plants and fish will be from the Amazon basin.

We've often heard hobbyists say that they would love to keep discus but they can't afford all of the necessary equipment, the large tanks, the special foods, filters and, besides, they don't know enough about really delicate fish to attempt to keep them. Let us put all of those misconceptions to rest once and for all. Surely discus fish have gotten a bad reputation for being difficult because people try to "acclimatise" them. Fish, as a general rule, don't "acclimatise" without stress. Stress causes the weakening of the fish's immune system and, if continued for an extended length of time, will ultimately end with the death of the animal. It will probably be diagnosed as having had intestinal parasites, a systemic bacterial infection, "hole in the head" disease or any number of ailments. The real cause of death was stress and the disease (dis-ease) was merely a symptom of that stress. We as hobbyists must remember that we don't keep fish; fish keep fish. We keep water! We are aqua-rists, not fish-arists.

Before setting up the tank, it is important to determine the strain and the source of the discus to be featured. If you want to feature wild fish then the species and the area of capture are very important. While we hear that all discus come from extremely soft and acidic water, the quality of that water varies depending on the specific river system or lake. This will also help to determine the appropriate tank mates for your setup. If the chosen discus is to be a colorful, commercially bred strain, such as Jack Wattley's Turquoise Discus, attempt to contact the breeder and get the temperature, pH and hardness of the water in the breeding facility. You will be doing yourself and your pet a big favor by just doing this one little bit of investigation prior to setup.

Usually we'll quarantine any and all wild or unknown source fish for at least one month prior to introducing them to their new home. This is the safest way to get your fish comfortable and eating well while you take the necessary time to relieve the stress if its recent ordeal and observe it for any signs of disease. Many ailments will not become apparent for two to three weeks, and without a proper quarantine period, a potential disaster (and a real headache for you) can be introduced to otherwise healthy tank mates.

Another thing that's overlooked by most hobbyists is the actual volume of water in their aquarium. For a Discus Display Tank we'll use a "20 gallon (77l)" tank. This is an absolute minimum for housing one and, yes, only one discus.

First, we'll measure a standard 20 gallon tank and then you'll see why. A "20 gallon aquarium" does not contain 20 gallons of water. At least we've never seen any commercial aquarium that holds the amount of water that is advertised. We've always wondered why they made the computer monitor manufacturers disclose the actual viewing area of the screen and they don't require that aquarium manufacturers disclose the actual volume of water contained in an aquarium. What ever happened to truth in advertising? If you would like to know the actual amount held by your tank, here is the formula: Length x Width x Height (measure internal dimensions in inches) and divide the result by 231. Here is an actual example of a standard "20 gallon (77l)" tank that we have in our fish room: (inner dimensions) L 23.5" x W 11.5" x H 16" = 4324 ? 231 = 18.72 gal. For a metric conversion (cm), multiply inches by 2.5 and for liters, multiply gallons x 3.85. Next we must allow for 1"+- at the surface for gas exchange and another 2" (5cm) minimum for a substrate. Now the dimensions are: 23.5 x 11.5 x 13 = 3513 ? 231 = 15.2 gallons (58.52l). Add a piece of driftwood and a few rocks and you have 14+- gallons (53.9+-l). There is barely room for one discus.

If you change 40% - 50% of the water each and every week, maybe, just maybe we can add a few more fish for interest. It is important to remember that the tank mates to be chosen are native to waters with a temperature in the 84? - 86? temperature range.

Compatible dither fish would be:

6 - 7 Cardinal Tetras Paracheirodon axelrodi or

5 - 6 Rummynose Tetra Hemigrammus blehri, H. rhodostomus or

5 - 7 Pencilfish Nanobrycon sp., Nannostomus sp. (depending on adult size) or

6 - 7 small Hatchetfishes Carnegiella sp., etc.

All of the above tetras are schooling fish and can be found in very soft and acidic water. For bottom fish I like to use Dwarf Cichlids rather than Corys Corydoras sp. as they are usually found in waters less acidic and not as warm as those that Discus inhabit. The same holds true for the Neon Tetra Paracheirodon (Hyphessobrycon) innesi.

The following are some appropriate small cichlids:

1 male + 3 female Ram Cichlids Microgeophagus (Papiliochromis) ramirezi or

1 male + 3 females of your favorite Apistos Apistogramma sp. or

1 male + 3 female Checkerboard Cichlids Dicrossus filamentosus, etc.

Because of the temperature and low pH, the choice of plants is rather limited:

1 - 2 Amazon Sword Plants Echinodorus parviflorus (doesn't get too large)

12 or more: Alternanthera sp. make a colorful (burgundy red and olive green) contrast to the Sword Plant(s)

These plants require lots of Full Spectrum lighting so purchase a florescent hood for two 24" bulbs. The only filter necessary for this display is a small "hang on the back" power filter because you are going to change 50% of the water each week - Aren't You Not!?

Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - Getting Your Tank Conditions Correct

So you're thinking about caring and breeding Discus Fish. Before you go out and buy your fish you will need to prepare their new home. The general consensuses is that Discus Fish are difficult to keep, but in fact can be kept with minimal effort or knowledge by almost anybody. One of the first and most important jobs that must be done is maintaining the water quality in the tank. The temperature required for Discus Fish to live is between 26 - 31?C (78 - 88?F). Most people keep their tank temperature around 29?C (85?F), which seems to work the best. Another thing to consider is the hardness and PH balance of the water. Generally for keeping Discus Fish, (as long as it's within reason) this doesn't matter all that much. However for breeding a low hardness and PH of around 6 - 7 is required for fertilization to occur. Unless you buy Discus Fish straight from the Amazon Basin (where the water has extremely low PH and Hardness Levels), then you'll be buying Discus Fish that have been bred for generations in a variety of water conditions. The final aspect to consider when creating excellent tank conditions is filtration. Everyone knows that discus require excellent water quality and that a good filter is at the heart of this. Now there is not one type of filter that suits discus best as different filters do different jobs and it just depends on what you need it for. There are basically three types of filtration these are mechanical, biological and chemical. Mechanical This is the first stage of any filtration; the water is drawn or pumped through layers of material that removes any debris from the water. This is important, as sediment will block the next stage of filtration rendering it useless. If the flow rate of your filter drops off then clean or replace the mechanical media immediately. Biological The heart of the filter, basically bacteria will live in this area of the filter, they convert the fishes waste, (ammonia) to nitrite and finally nitrate, thus creating a safe environment for your discus. Chemical The final stage of filtration is very much controlled by you, for various reasons we may wish to add carbon or peat to the filter, these media's either absorb impurities or alter the chemical balance of the water. This is usually toped off with a fine wool pad to polish the water as it returns to the aquarium. I hope you enjoyed this article and it has given you a small insight to creating the ideal water conditions for your Discus Fish.

Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping discus fish

The last decades have seen more materials written about Keeping Discus Fish than about any other fish species. Anyone who thinks about keeping discus fish in the aquarium should get well informed before actually purchasing them. They are considered royal fish native from the calm and warm Amazon waters that charm through their behavior. Keeping discus fish requires some background knowledge about what to expect from them and what to offer to make such pets happy. Discus fish are considered creatures of changing behavior that also manifest personality.

When keeping discus fish you?l notice that they are calm and shy in general, but when they make couples they often can become aggressive to their own kin and others due to breeding territory protection. Keeping discus fish will bring lots of both challenges and rewards. First of all, within a group it is often common that the weakest discus be severely bullied, a treatment that can sometimes result in death. Therefore, keeping discus fish in groups of minimum six individuals is considered ideal. Thus you increase the confidence of the group members and lower the risk of ?ommunity?misbehavior.

When keeping discus fish you have to respect their habits. For instance mating is a matter of personal choice when it comes to parenting. Therefore, arranged matches are not to the like of the discus that are independent in their choice of a partner. Keeping discus fish that go through the breeding process is best achieved in a separate tank especially prepared for the purpose. In case you?e keeping discus fish in couples together with the rest of your aquatic pets, you risk having some nasty violent behavior because of territorial claims. Discus fish prepare the perimeter were they are going to have their babies by cleaning it first and defending it throughout the whole period.

Once you have fry, you?l be surprised that discus feed their young alone. However, when keeping discus fish of such different ages together, it is good to assist the parents?effort by also giving some special food to the fry too such as baby brine shrimp. After three or six weeks at the maximum, keeping discus fish together with their fry is not at all recommended. You should separate the fry and leave the exhausted parents recover. Use a special tank for the fry only and feed them at least three times a day to support the accelerated growth rate.


Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - Tips on keeping discus fish

Many manuals have been written about keeping discus fish than about any other exotic fish. This is mainly due to their popularity among pet owners. They are very sensitive creatures so in order to keep discus fish one has to be aware of their ideal living conditions, feeding and breeding habits.

Discus is a native of the calm and warm Amazon River Keeping discus fish requires the pet owner to have the right information about what to expect and what to offer them to make these exotic creatures happy. Discus fish keeps changing their behavior according to the environmental factors.

They are shy in general but when keeping discus fish you may notice that they become aggressive to their own kin and others due to breeding territory protection. The weakest discus gets severely bullied and attacked. Therefore, keeping discus fish in groups of minimum six individuals is considered ideal. Keeping discus fish in groups also increases the confidence of the group members and lower the risk of "community" misbehavior. Thus keeping discus fish brings both lots of both challenges and rewards.

Their mating behavior is far different from other species since they select their own partners therefore you have to give respect to their personal choices when keeping discus fish. Arranged matches may not work as they are very independent creatures. A separate tank should be arranged for mating purposes. If you are keeping discus fish in couples together with the rest of your aquatic pets, you risk having some nasty violent behavior because of territorial claims. You can easily notice that discus fish prepares the perimeter were they are going to have their babies by cleaning it first and defending it throughout the whole period.

Once you have fry, you'll be surprised that discus feed their young alone. However, when keeping discus fish of such different ages together, it is good to assist the parents' effort by also giving some special food to the fry too such as baby brine shrimp. It's advisable to separate the fry and adults after three or six weeks at the maximum. The exhausted parents should be kept in a separate tank to recover while the fry grows in a different tank. You can feed the fry three times a day because they eat greedily to grow faster.


Keeping Discus Fish

Keeping Discus Fish - Tips on keeping discus fish

More manuals have been written about keeping and breeding discus fish then any other exotic fish. This is because they are very popular

with pet owners. Discus fish are very sensitive creatures, if you want to keep long lasting discus fish you need to be aware of there

preferred living conditions and feeding and breeding habits.

Discus is a native of the calm and warm Amazon River Keeping discus fish requires the pet owner to have the right information about

what to expect and what to offer them to make these exotic creatures happy. Discus fish keeps changing their behaviour according to the

environmental factors.

They are generally shy but if your planning to keep discus fish you will notice that they become quite aggressive to there own kind this is

because of breeding territory protection. In this type of situation only the strong discus survive and the week get attacked. Its best to

keep to keep discus fish in groups of minimum six individuals is considered ideal. By keeping them in groups it will increase confidence in

group members and lower the risk of misbehaviour. Keeping discus fish can bring lots of challenges and rewards at the same time too.

Discus mating behaviour differs from other species they like to select there own partners just like us humans that?€?s why you will need to

give them respect when it comes to selecting a partner. If you try to force a couple together this will not work, discus fish are very

independent, imagine if you were forced to get with somebody you don?€?t like. A separate tank will be needed for mating purposes, If

you are keeping discus fish in couples together with the rest of your aquatic pets, you risk having some nasty violent behaviour because of

territorial claims. You can easily notice that discus fish prepares the perimeter were they are going to have their babies by cleaning it

first and defending it throughout the whole period.

Once you have your fry, you'll be surprised that discus fish feed their young alone. However, when keeping discus fish of different ages

together, it?€?s a good idea to assist the parents' effort by also giving some special food to the fry too such as baby brine shrimp for

example. I would recommend you separate the fry and adults after three or six weeks at the maximum. The exhausted parents should be

kept in a separate tank to recover while the fry grows in a different tank. You can feed the fry three times a day because they eat

greedily to grow faster. For a professional guide on this subject


Keeping Discus Fish