The Discus fish is a South American Cichlid that belong to the genus Symphysodon, which currently includes three species: The common Discus fish (Symphysodon aequifasciatus), the Heckel Discus fish (Symphysodon discus) and a new species of Discus fish which has been named Symphysodon tarzoo. The Discus fish was first introduced in the 1920s and is now regarded as one of the most beautiful of all aquarium fish. While they are colorful and attractive, they are quite difficult to care for; nevertheless, their popularity continues to rise.
As the name implies, Discus fish have the typical disc-shaped body with full dorsal and anal fins reaching to the tail. The body of an adult Discus fish can reach about 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Originally, due to the environmental diversity of the vast Amazon River basin separate populations developed differential in color and markings. Discus fish breeders have greatly expanded upon this and developed new variations through selective breeding, with the colors and patterns of the Discus fish varying according to the type of species bred, habitat and diet.
Discus fish are widely found in calm parts of small, blackwater rivers, lakes and deep pools throughout the Amazon River basin. The water is usually very clean with little or no pollutants, acidic (6.0-6.5 pH), very soft (0-3 dH) and warm with a temperature of around 77-84°F (25-29°C). They are usually found in small groups around submerged decaying trees, vegetation and aquatic grasses. Discus fish are wild-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 Discus fish are now considered endangered in some areas of the Amazon River basin.
For more information visit this Discus fish guide.
http://cichlidbreeding.net/cichlid-breeding/discus-fish/
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Discus Fish Secrets – Discus Fish Health Advice Review – Discus Fish Secrets was written by Rob Clark, a tropical fish enthusiast. He had broadened his knowledge about discus fish, by reading a lot of old and new books that talk about it. And he applies the techniques that he learns. …
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Discus Fish Care- Here's How I'm Able To Easily Raise and Breed … – These are a few things I did to learn discus fish tips and what I'm now doing to breed them.
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Tips On Caring For Discus Fish | Fishtanks And Aquarium – Discus fish are one of the most beautiful tropical fish. Keeping them and caring for them can be quite a challenge. There are lots of points that you can do to.
Frage von ryan s : I recently bought 4 discus fish, and put them in my 90g aquarium 2 days ago i noticed that they hide at the?
back of the tank, and come out once in a while i have plants and tested the water everything is fine, is this normal or do they take time to adjust to they new surroundings. And i have about 20 neon tetras too
Beste Antwort:
Answer by nosoop4u246
How recently did you buy them? How big are they? What are your exact test results for pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Without these, the best we could do is guess. Something is likely stressing them… Your lights may be extremely bright, you may not have enough plant cover, they may still be adjusting to the new tank… Some Discus will take weeks to adjust to a new tank… If they are eating, they are generally comfortable, though… Other than that, there are too many possibilities to list…
EDIT: Healthy Discus kept in a proper environment should NOT be shy… They should feel more than comfortable enough to “prance” across the front glass of the tank (unless they are still stressed from the acclimation)… By the way, how did you acclimate them to your tank?
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Frage von Will W : keeping discus fish? 10 points to the best answer!?
Please can somebody give me any tips/instructions for keeping discus fish? Eg tank size, water, feeding, ECT. Thankyou!
Beste Antwort:
Answer by ღOliviaღ
Discus
Choosing the correct Discus:
If you are to be happy with your Discus, hopefully, for a long time, then it is important to choose the fish ‘that takes your eye’, but just choosing a fish with nice colours is not everything. There are more important issues to address than merely a pretty Discus.
Unless you buy a wild Discus that comes from the rivers of The Amazon in Brazil, you will be getting home bred Discus perhaps from a hobbyist or farm bred Discus that are produced on a massive scale mostly in places like Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia. Regardless of where you make the purchase, in a shop, garden centre or someone’s converted garage/shed, you must bare a few things in mind before you part with your hard earned cash. The Discus first of all show good movement, be inquisitive and look happy. Try slowly putting your hand above the water line to see if they think food is coming, if they look up and rise to the surface this is a positive sign, it means they are probably healthy and looking for food. Ask the owner what the water parameters are, ideally it should soft and slightly acid (The water parameters will be addressed in a following article).
Always look for a round belly and not sunken. Make sure they are not dark with fins drawn inwards and hiding in the corners, as this could be a sign of illness. Look for good roundness of body and I always like Discus with bright red eyes. Make sure the eyes are not cloudy. A word on ‘Stress Bars’, that is the black vertical lines that are on most Discus. These will be most distinguished on wild Discus, it help camouflage themselves among the roots and Mangroves in their natural habitat. These are purely natural, and can become vivid when threatened or frightened.
So you have your ideal Discus that you have paid for, and you want to get it into your tank as soon as possible. The correct way is to float the back on the surface of its new home no longer than 5 minutes MAX. Do not net the fish; tip the bag so the Discus gently swims out into your aquarium. This will prevent Ph burn.
How to keep Discus
People often say Discus are very difficult to keep! Well that might be true if you don’t get the basics right to start with. Once you have understood and put into practice what you know, it is I think, very easy to keep any Discus, wild or tank bred.
Water Quality
If your Discus are ill or you have a problem with them, the root cause 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 detritus is removed on a daily basis together with any uneaten food, 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 than 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.
I would 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 of filtered tap water to acquire the correct Ph, Hardness and Conductivity. To do this use a filter which removes heavy metals and chlorine, this filter will not alter the Ph or hardness of the water passing through it.
Feeding
For adult fish feed 2 or 3 times a day, do not overfeed as the food will pollute the water quickly. Feed should be high quality flake, Prima, beefheart (make your own, it’s worth it in the long run), high protein foods, live food like white worms or small earth worms (make sure these are washed and purged 24 hours on shredded newspapers before feeding). Do not feed Bloodworm, Tubifix or any frozen processed foods that are not gamma radiated, or better still no ‘over the counter’ frozen food, because how do you know it has not thawed out on route to the retailer? This can cause major problems, it’s better to stick to your own homemade beefheart.
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 guide lines you will have healthy Discus for many years
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Frage von ♣Chenoa♣ : How often to change water for discus fish?
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Answer by alexanderh
1 time a week
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Frage von moto : what makes my discus fish round and healthy?
I have 2 adult blue dimond , male is not bad ,female is kind of skiny , I tryed a weakly water change by 50% almost got sick .
they only eat dry blood worm 2 to 3 times a day . I tryd frozen brin shrim it did not work never don the beaf heart resipy cause I dont know if it should be cockt or not .
Beste Antwort:
Answer by Nunya Biznis
I don’t know a thing about discus but I hope this site helps.
http://www.discuspro.com/index.htm
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Frage von jmagse008 : i have discus fish and lately they have been flipping out when someone walks by the tank .?
they will just start racing around the tank and slamming into things. what is this, what is the cause ,and what can i do. they never use to happen. thanks
Beste Antwort:
Answer by Jeffrey W
how many discus do you have in the tank? If it is just 2 doing this I would say look for eggs. Usually they react like this when they are protecting their eggs or young. If that is the case just try moving slowly around the tank. If they are still acting that way. Tape cardboard to the front and sides to let them have some privacy to raise the young. They will get over this as they get older but for now they are going to be protective. If they are breeding that is.
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Frage von JaiKUBER : Questions about Discus Fish Tank: Should I add blackwater extract and bubble stone ?
Beste Antwort:
Answer by Guppy Geek
It sounds like you need to do a little research through some good discus sites because you’re asking WAY too many questions. (If you’ve done proper research, you won’t need to ask such basic questions)
Do research first, and if you have a question that remains unanswered, THEN you ask a question. With any species of fish, you’ll want to do AS MUCH research as possible. The more you know, the less likely you’ll have trouble later.
Here are some good sites you’ll want to read through:
http://www.discusmadness.com/
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/discusfish/
Also, Google is a useful tool. 
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Frage von : how does iodized salt affect my discus fish?
I work at a doctor’s office and i change the water everyday. I add conditioning for fish and the past secretary say to add a bit of iodized salt. I dont know if i should or should not. Would this harm the fish in anyway?
I just took the pH level and its real bad 5,0. I know now that the previous secretary was wrong and not gonna add the salt.
Beste Antwort:
Answer by Ianab
Discus naturally come from VERY soft and low pH water. Be VERY careful about what you add to the the water. They do NOT need salt, and although a small amount probably does not harm them, too much WILL kill them.
Ian
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Frage von : How to idetify in discus fish who is male or female?
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Answer by Ianab
You may never know for sure until they breed and you see which one is laying the eggs.
Ian
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Frage von linds : Question about discus fish?
I have a 90 gallon aquarium and am thinking about starting a discus tank. Does anyone know how many I should get and also what other kinds of fish are good companions for discus. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton.
Beste Antwort:
Answer by michelle
Maybe 6? Other good compainions are small fish like different tetras, loaches, corydoras. Peaceful fish.
If your tank Ph is 7, you can ad platys and mollies and other like that.
Hope i helped.
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