HOW TO KEEP DISCUS

Discus are some of the most beautiful and impressive freshwater tropical fish kept in the aquarium hobby today. It is often said that Discus are very difficult to keep...! Truth is if you don't get the basics right to start with it could be! Once you understand their requirements and put it into practice - it is very easy to keep any Discus, wild or tank bred.

Water Quality
When a Discus is ill or you have any problems, the root is nearly always the water quality. The native waters from which the Discus are from, in Brazil is soft and acidic. So it is understandable that we need to replicate this type of water in our home aquarium. A larger volume of water is easier to keep stable than a smaller volume, bear this in mind when you are choosing your tank, in other words get the largest one you possibly can.

I assume the reader is familiar with the Nitrogen Cycle (if not you really need to understand this fully). Discus will not tolerate Ammonia or Nitrite in any amount, and only the bare minimum Nitrate. Make sure the waste is removed regularly together with any uneaten food (daily), as this will quickly form Ammonia. If you feed beefheart always feed day time, never at night, as there are always some fatty bits that do not get eaten and you don't want that in the tank overnight. Ph is of course very important, as this is the measure of acidity and alkalinity. Ph of 7 is neutral, that is between acid and alkaline.

Discus like the Ph between 5.5 and 6.8 and will tolerate 7.0 to 7.4. Heckles like it 5.0 to 5.5. General Hardness should be between 2 and 8. Conductivity should be about 10ms. If you are unlucky enough to live in a hard water area, you will need to bring down the hardness and probably the Ph as well. A wide variety of pH buffers and water softeners are available through most specialist retail outlets. Alternatively you can purchase RO water from your local pet store or invest in a RO water purification unit.

I highly recommend a Reverse Osmosis filter, which strips everything from the water and will in the process lower the Ph and the hardness; this depends on how alkaline and hard the water was to start with, you can then mix back a percentage (1/4) of filtered tap water to acquire the correct Ph, Hardness and Conductivity. To do this use a filter which removes heavy metals and chlorine or a good quality water conditioner (SERA Aquatan or Tetra Aquasafe) this filter will not alter the Ph or hardness of the water passing through it.

Discus need warm water, 29'C - 32'C. Anything lower and they will be very inactive, completely loose color (turn black) and most likely hover at the top of the aquarium - this indication on the overall is very helpful as they will show the owner when something is wrong. Correct all parameters and they will quickly regain their spark.

Feeding
For adult fish feed 2 or 3 times a day, do not overfeed as the food will pollute the water quickly. Food should be any high quality flakes / granules - Tetra Prima, Sera Discus Granules, beefheart, high protein foods, live food like white worms or small earth worms, brine shrimp or a good quality frozen food like RUTO Discus Mix or RUTO Bloodworms.

Water Changes
Stick to regular water changes every week. Discus like constant water parameters, so a 25% water change every week is best.

If you follow these guidelines you should have trouble free healthy Discus for many years.