Water Is Critical For Discus Fish

The Amazon River is warm with a pH from 4.2 to 6

. Because of the vast amount of rainwater draining into the Amazon there is very little dissolved salt or minerals in the water and it's basically free from contaminants. Since Discus fish are from the Amazon every attempt should be made to maintain the aquarium environment to be as close to the Amazon as possible. Clean water with the right pH goes a long way to keeping Discus fish happy and healthy.

Home tap water contains far too many minerals to mimic the Amazon even when the chlorine is removed through treatment. Although bottled spring water has chlorine and contaminants removed the minerals remain. Since the water in the tank must be kept clean through regularly occurring water changes of up to 50%. Reverse Osmosis can be used to filter out the minerals in tap water on a cost effective basis.

When setting up the aquarium keep in mind that Discus prefer room to swim and since they grow to 5- 6 inches in an aquarium starting with a larger tank is better. The tank should have dark colors as well as light. Driftwood, and heavy vegetation mimic the Amazon river basin and provide places for the fish to hide. Floating plants diffuse the light in the tank. The tank should be kept around 88 degrees F. (breeders can be kept at 84 degrees). This higher temperature has an advantage in addition to keeping the fish happy. Many diseases such ick, ciliates and Hexamita don't fare well at the higher temperatures. Sometimes a disease can be cured just by raising the tank to 90 degrees and keeping it there for two weeks. Adding 1/2 cup of non iodized salt for every 50 gallons of water at the same time as raising the temperature helps too.

Wastes in the water should be removed through a good filtering system. Discus are very sensitive to nitrates and nitrites in the water. Discus can tolerate a range of hardness, temperature and pH levels what they can't tolerate are rapid changes.

Discus can be in a community tank with other Amazon fish such as tetras and angelfish. Catfish, both Sucker Mouth and Corydoras should be avoided because they have a tendency to attach themselves to the bodies of the Discus to suck off the mucus, which of course injures the Discus.

by: Dee Power

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