5 Basics Of Caring For Discus Fish

Discus fish have become highly popular in the aquarium, as a result of their bright and varied coloring. However, these fish are not as easy to maintain as goldfish - the most popular aquarium fish of them all.

The two popular sources of getting hold of discus fish for your aquarium are importers and home breeders. Importers usually have vast knowledge about the fish, and can offer excellent advice when it comes to caring for the fish, feeding and handling disease. Home breeders are usually hobbyists, and they tend to sell their fish when they are fairly small - this means that the fish come cheap, but will be much more delicate and require greater care.
Before buying fish, do the same amount of homework that you would do before buying any pet. Read up intensively on the fish's needs, and make sure that you can spare enough time to care for them. Otherwise, you may well end up losing all your investment in a mere few weeks.

That said, here are a few essential tips toward caring for discus fish. They're merely a tip in the iceberg, but even that is a start!

1. Clean the water Discus fish require their water to be highly filtered, full of beneficial bacteria and free of chemical pollutants like chlorine. To keep your discus fish healthy, it is absolutely necessary to install a filtration mechanism that allows for mechanical, biological AND chemical filtering.


2. Keep the fish in groups Discus fish are highly social. In the wild, they are found in large groups, and exhibit highly complex social systems. In fact, discus is one of few true schooling species among cichlids.


3. Have a deep aquarium Discus fish are easily startled by movement above the water's surface. Therefore, having a deep aquarium allows for a lot of space between the fish and any movements above the surface


4. Keep fish away from noise and disturbance Although you would like to have your fish on display, discus fish are shy, and their health may suffer if they are too close to sources of sudden noise like doors and hallways.


5. Stable water conditions The importance of stable water conditions cannot be stressed enough. Make sure that the temperature, pH and oxygen levels of the water remain constant. When cleaning the tank, make sure that the new water you add to it is identical in pH to the older water and within 1.5 degrees in temperature.

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