Discus Fish Secrets

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 If you want to successfully keep and breed discus fish, then you have to be aware of all of their secrets. One of the most important Discus fish secrets is that they are schooling fish. This means that they prefer to live in a group with other Discus fish. If you purchase just one Discus for your tank, you will likely end up with an unhappy and unhealthy Discus. You should always get a minimum of five Discus fish so that they will be able to school. This will reduce their anxiety and help them stay healthy. A tank size of 30 to 40 gallons is good for a school of five.

Shy Fish

Their behavior is another of the important Discus fish secrets. Discus are shy and become easily agitated. They prefer to have little intrusion in their tank. Although the discus like plenty of plants to hide in, they should be plants that require little upkeep so that you will not need to disrupt them frequently. They also do not like bright lights or noise. Be sure to keep your aquarium that is away from busy, noisy areas of your home to keep your Discus happy. If you see that they are hiding even at night, it could be a sign that they are unhappy with their environment. A small change in the placement of the tank could be all it takes to make your Discus more at ease.

Illness

Another of the important Discus fish secrets is that Discus can be susceptible to disease. They need fresh water changes weekly to keep ammonia and nitrite levels from building in the aquarium. This lowers stress levels with the Discus fish so they are not as susceptible to illness. At the first sign of illness of your Discus fish or of its tank mates, it would be advised to pull the diseased fish and treat in a separate tank. The delicate nature of the Discus fish makes it highly vulnerable to disease and illness can spread rapidly throughout your Discus population. Discus love live worms and you must be very careful as the Discus can get internal and external parasites from feeding this to them.

Breeding

Successful breeding of Discus fish can be difficult, even if they mate and lay eggs. One of the Discus fish secrets related to breeding is that the water must be moderately soft during the mating process. When the female lays her eggs, the male will fertilize them almost immediately. If the water is too hard, the higher osmotic pressures can harden the eggs hampering the male’s sperms ability to penetrate the outer wall to fertilize them. Once fertilized, the eggs take 3 days to hatch and another 3 days to become free swimming. It is vital that the water is carefully monitored for successful Discus fish breeding to occur.

Temperature requirements for adults and juveniles

Perhaps the biggest secret to success is that they like a warm aquarium, 83 to 88 degrees is ideal.

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