Discus Care Advice

Taking care of discus fish isn't really as hard as lots of people make out, in actual fact owning and caring for these wonderful fish is undoubtedly a satisfying experience, particularly with the right knowing of the right way to take care of them. They will often be known as "The kings of the aquarium" and for good reason. They're elegant, regal, beautiful, colourful and challenging. They have got received a bit of a reputation for being troublesome fish to take care of, this is not necessarily the case, in actual fact owning discus is incredibly pleasing with just a little care in the appropriate areas you'll have a whole tank filled up with happy and healthy discus. A few essential things to recall are the correct discus aquarium set-up, diet and the best ways to prevent diseases. It is also necessary to think about purpose of your aquarium; is it a home discus aquarium or do you want it to be set up for breeding purposes.

Behaviour

As any proud discus owner knows, in contrast to other tropical fish that may avoid contact with their owners, these fish are also genuinely curious and friendly. A keen awareness of their environment is visibly evident by the way they often watch their owners move around the room and often they're even know to look at movement on TV. Being friendly and personable by nature, discus will identify and race to greet you any time you approach the fish tank as well as eat straight from your hand. Their trusting and open character is the reason people adore these awesome fish. Discus will also live in a hierarchical structure with an alpha fish being the top dog(or fish). This dominant fish is generally the largest and will be the first to eat and also mate

Tank Mates

This vital and very often overlooked part of discus care will likely make the difference between a happy, lively discus and a stressed out neurotic wreck of a discus. Similar to most people; Discus are generally somewhat choosy regarding who they live with, making it important to choose the best tank mates for your discus. Seeing as discus fish will be actually settled and chilled out, they'll come to be bullied by various large or aggressive fish; freshwater Angelfish is one example. That makes it smart to carefully plan which tank mates you intend to introduce to the tank. It is equally necessary not to ever overcrowd the aquarium, discus need to be kept in small groups and will get agitated if their aquarium is too small or over crowded. Some fish which can be best suited to live with discus are as follows:

- Emerald catfish
- Royal Whiptail
- Black Ruby Barb
- Dwarf Loach
-Tetra (my personal recommendation Neon, Cardinal and Rummy Tetras look great)
- African Butterfly Fish
- Other small cichlids
-And of course other types of discus fish

Feeding discus

Discus tend to be natural grazers it is therefore best to give your discus little meals more regularly, rather than one bigger meal once a day, older fish really should be feed 2-3 times each day, whereas new discus fish really should be feed around Five times per day. Overfeeding discus could be problem, their body shape and the fact that their bladder is just above their bellies is the reason they they don't react well to over eating.

If you adhere to these discus care guidelines you will end up with a whole fish tank packed with happy and healthy discus.