subject: Keep Discus Fish With Fantastic Results! [print this page] 1. TANK1. TANK
The tank is the fishs house. It should be clean and free from parasite and bacteria that could do harm to your fish. You must keep the tank very clean and perfectly safe for fish to live happily.
Before you introduce fishes into the tank, you have to get the tank prepared and all set for the fish. The tank must be free from parasites and bacteria. There are numerous ways of doing it.
1. Fill the tank full with water. Add in Chlorine for over night.
2. Add Formalin for over night.
Then wash the tank and fill up the tank with clean water. Add in Anti Chlorine if you use tap water direct. If you have done the above and your fish has already been quarantined then you can put the fish into the tank.
2. QUARANTINE
Before introducing new fish into your tank, they need to be quarantined. This is to prevent the fish bringing in bacteria, parasites and disease from external. You cannot skip this process; otherwise it will give you countless of disease problems.
You will quarantine your fish in a special tank using the steps below:
1.Give the new fish a Potassium Permanganate bath
2.Wash the tank and add in new and clean water
3.Apply acriflavine solution with salt or Apply antibiotic plus salt for a week
4.Keep the fish in this tank for two, three weeks
5.If you think they are okay then you can mix your new and old fish together.
3. WATER
Tank bred discus, not like wild fish, can adapt easily to the water. As long as the water is clean. pH is best around 6 to 7. Temperature is around 26 to 30 Centigrade is good. Changing water is important. It should be managed properly and systematically. The fish will gradually adapt to your method of changing water and it will reduce stress to your fish.
You can change 20%, fifty percent% or 100% of water. As long as you have checked the content of Chlorine and apply Anti Chlorine accordingly. Do not leave your fish immediately after changing water. Observe their normal behavior and response until you feel happy with it, then you can leave them.
For show tank with complete set up of aeration, gravel and filter, water changing can be done once in a week. Regular water changes can stimulate growth. Sudden drop or raise of water temperature can cause stress to the fish. Discus fish like water temperature approximately 28 to 30 Centigrade. If temperature of water drops beneath the range, a heater is needed, otherwise it is not necessary.
4. FOOD
Live foods like worm, bloodworm, daphnia, artemia (brine shrimps) are organic food which they love to eat. However they carry bacteria and parasite to the fish externally and internally. They bring in disease to your fish tank and you need to handle it carefully. Fish will grow rapidly if they are fed on natural food.
You have to disinfect your fish monthly if you feed them live food.
Internal
Mix your raw food with blended garlic and worm medicine.
Feed them as a first meal while they are hungry.
External
Give them a Potassium Permanganate bath.
Or apply Formalin in 1 to 2 ml per 100 liters of water.
Prepared Raw food (Burger)
It is the perfect food for discus fish. It is your own preparation with different ingredients for different discus fish. You can have baby food, food for growing and food for breeders. You can add in ingredients to make-up your fish beautifully. Add in vitamins to build up resistant against diseases. Add in garlic and worm medicine to clear parasite and worm inside the body.
This raw food is also very handy. You can preserve them in the fridges. It is worth to spend time to prepare it.
