Keeping Healthy Discus Fish

by Wally Thomas

How do you keep your discus fish healthy and happy? One of the first things is to be sure that your tank size is right for the number of fish that you have. A good number is 3-5 fish for ea 25 gallons of water your tank will hold.This size tank will insure that each individual has enough space to swim without having to intrude on another neighbor.

The food that you feed your fish is very important, they need a lot of food to reach their full growth (after each feeding promptly remove any leftover food). Flake food is one of their favorites, red worms, white worms are also good for them. Try to avoid frozen food as much as possible. Discus fish are primarily algae feeders and as such their digestive system aren't equipped for whole solid foods.

If you buy from a hatchery that has been feeding them whole foods like beef hearts since birth then their digestive system is accustomed to it. Discus like shrimp, and it's good for them too. Mosquito larvae, fresh or frozen (always thaw before feeding) is a very good source of nutrition. Remember for your fish to grow to be strong and healthy they must be fed regularly and the right kinds of food. Try and mix in some flake food with everything that you feed your discus fish. Filtration in your fish tank is another important part of keeping your fish healthy.

The filter that you use must be able to cleanse and replace oxygen to keep the number of fish in the tank beautiful in color and size.Keeping your tank water at a constant ph balance is essential. Discus fish love a ph of around 6.6 to 7.0. If you can keep your aquarium ph at these levels your fish is going to love you for it. Reverse osmosis filters will help you achieve that. If the fish that you are planning to raise have very special pH requirements, say like discus fish. They need a constant ph level, which is should be reasonably close to the pH your aquarium water is naturally buffered to, then I do not recommend you make any changes. On the other hand, if your fish have pH requirements which are far from the values in your tank, then you have to do some methods and steps. Check your test kit.

Many people new to the raising "fish hobby" have this problem. The buy a test kit that does not give correct reading. This can be frustrating and they think there is a pH problem, but actually it is not and do lots of thing to stabilize the ph level and ultimately their fishes die. Therefore, if you are getting a reading that is either too low or too high for your taste, the first step is to investigate the test kit you use is either correct or not. Remember, test kits have their own shelf life (usually 6 months).

If your test kit is older than 6 months, it may be probably is providing inaccurate results If you are absolutely sure that the kit you are using is up to date and that you followed the directions exact and to the letter then you can be confident that you are obtaining an accurate reading of the pH in your tank.

Discus fish are one of the most beautiful types of fishes that you can keep as pets in your aquarium. But, they are very shy and become agitated easily. So, You need to make sure that their tank is set up just right so they are as comfortable as possible in their environment and not stressed out all of the time. When set up properly your discus fish tank will have your fishes happy and healthy for a long time.

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