The large tanks, the special foods, filters and, besides, they don't know enough about really delicate fish to attempt to keep them.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. 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.
If the outcome of your findings proves inconclusive, seek for advice from the professional or ask for help from the fellow aquarium enthusiasts online through aquarium hobby forums. Furthermore, don't buy large gravel because food might easily trapped inside the gaps and this will upset the equilibrium of your aquarium. You should have a quarantine tank handy and ready before you even purchase more new additions for your tank.
The position of the discus aquarium is very important precisely since the discus are very shy fish when they distrust the surroundings. Make sure the discus aquarium is far from any noise or direct heat and light sources. Then, the next big issue for a discus aquarium is the stratum you place on the bottom.
Rocks of the same color and texture are recommended though you may bring diversity to your discus aquarium. Discus want low pH (6.6 to 5.6), soft water that's as free of chlorine, heavy metals and everything else as you can get it. But if you live somewhere with hard water (almost everywhere "out west") you're probably going to need an RO unit.
pH can be fairly easily fixed. There are dozens of water additives that can drop pH in the pet trade. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them have phosphates. Phosphates grow algae. If you're planning on having plants in your tank, you'll also be dosing the water with quite a bit of fertilizers. Add phospates and fertilizers for plant growth to the nice warm water that discus love, and its possible to see an algae explosion happen overnight.
So you'll want to see out a water additive without phospates. Seachem also makes a complimentary product, Alkaline Buffer, that will raise pH if the water coming out of your tank is extremely base.
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.
All of the above tetras are schooling fish and can be found in very soft and acidic water. 1 male + 3 female Ram Cichlids Microgeophagus (Papiliochromis) ramirezi or 1 male + 3 female Checkerboard Cichlids Dicrossus filamentosus, etc. 2 - 3 Amazon Sword Plants Echinodorus parviflorus (doesn't get too large) Discus live and breed better in deep tanks and the more water the tank holds, the more stable the water conditions tend to be.
There are advantages to keeping discus in a planted aquarium. Discus are sensitive to water quality. Plants also provide natural hiding places for discus. Plants are preferred to other tank decorations since a large discus can easily hurt itself on a piece of driftwood or large rock.
This depends on whether you want to breed your discus or you want a display tank. If you are having a display tank, you can use small gravel or sand. What Plants do I chose? In a breeding tank you can either leave them out or just have one or two potted plants in the tank.
Setting the tank up correctly is the first step to correctly caring and breeding these amazing fish.
One of the most important tips for keeping Discus fish, is to be ready to act fast when problems arise. I hope you have realized that gaining an insight into learning how Discus fish 'tick' will turn ownership of this wonderful fish into a rewarding experience. With proper knowledge, anyone can build and maintain a thriving aquarium full of Discus fish, or any other species.
The more powerful a filter you have the cleaner the water will be. Discus become big fish, and they need good levels of oxygen. This will be harder in a discus tank than in a normal fish tank because the water temperature is so much higher. The warmer water is, the less gas (oxygen) it can hold. A tank kept at 88 degrees will need much more surface agitation or air/water exchange than a goldfish tank kept at 76 degrees.
Discus Fish Secrets
Jul 7, 2009
Jun 26, 2009
Wild Discus Fish
Wild discus fish are difficult to care for, they prefer calm and undisturbed environment. Wild caught discus fish are the real kings of the area and make great valuable treasure in aquariums. Acquire as much knowledge about breeding this exotic creatures as possible before buying wild caught discus fish of your own. Always remember wild caught discus fish are very photo sensitive.
Wild discus fish are widely found in calm parts of small, blackwater rivers, lakes and deep pools throughout the amazon river basin. Wild discus prefer to stay in small groups around submerged decaying trees, vegetation and aquatic grasses. The water is usually very clean with little or no pollutants, acidic (6. 5 ph), very soft (0-3 dh) and warm with a temperature not usually over 78â°f (25â°c) degrees.
Wild discus fish are habituated to living in clean waters and dark surroundings with a lot of freedom. Wild discus are caught in the amazon river basin at night by using a strong light to mesmerize the fish, the area is then encircled with netting and slowly drawn closer, with all obstructions such as wood being removed. Some species of wild discus are now considered endangered in some areas of the amazon river basin.
So when setting up the home aquarium, it has to be set in a comfortable and spacious area of the home. You should see that too much light does not come during daytime and an ambient light setting during the night would be ideal.
The tank should be a fairly large one, so that the discus fish will have its own area of freedom along with other fish that you might put in along with the discus fish. The water should always should be maintained at the right temperature (discus fish usually require a slightly warm temperature) of 31⺠celsius with the oxygen levels steady. It is normal for live food like worms and other insects to be given for the fish. But the live worm foods coming form far off polluted waters are usually infected with parasites and therefore easily infect the discus fish.
The discus fish , at the slightest hint of aggression from other fish tends to lose its immunity strength. It is equally important install a nitrification method, because a certain level of bacteria has to be maintained in the tank to preserve control of the ammonia and nitrite accumulated the fish in the tank. To have a nice beautiful home aquarium you will have to add smaller fish with which the discus fish are more comfortable than with bigger fish.
Discus Fish Care
They make great friends and pets; as you will find out, discus fish respond to you and have a social and bonding behavior unparalleled by other breed. When you make discus fish care a hobby, you'll see they react in the most pleasant of ways, watching you moving around the room or even eating out of your hand. Discus fish are considered king of all aquarium tropical fish and rightfully so.
No wonder people love them Keeping discus fish can bring lots of challenges and rewards at the same time too. Discus can be observed watching movement on small screen and they will watch you cross the room. Discus fish are impressively aware of what goes on around them.
Discus fish exhibit unique parental behavior as they bump up their fry (babies) much differently than most tropical fish. 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.
Discus fish are some of the most beautiful tropical fish, but keeping them can be challenging. Their environment is extremely important for these reactive fish. There are several key tips you can follow to keep Discus happy and healthy. Tip in caring for Discus fish is to keep a clean tank. These fish are extremely sensitive to disease and Water conditions. Since Discus do not tolerate water quality changes well and a smaller tank is more likely to fluctuate its pH levels, a 40 gallon tank is probably the smallest sized tank for them.
Remember to quarantine new fish before placing them into your tank. A new fish could introduce bacteria, parasites, or disease into the tank. Supply plenty of places in your Tanks for Discus to hide. Remember to include weekly water changes.
Discus fish care is not painstaking at all; on the contrary, it brings immense satisfaction. For instance the family habits you notice during discus fish care moments will stress out the active role the male discus takes in the raising of their fry.
Discus fish care means the water is at a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius at the maximum; if it gets warmer the level of oxygen drops and you'll be confronted to oxygen starvation.Also remember to add dechlorinating water conditioner, as tap water contains chlorine which will harm your fish.
Nutrition The discus fish diet should offer a variety of nutritional foods throughout the week. However Discus fish have small stomaches, so theyonly need a small amount. Over Feeding will lead to sick fish and polluted water. Water Changes Discus Fish like contant water parameters, so a 25% water change at least every week, or every second week at the longest will keep your Discus Fish happy.
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