In this article we will tell you the truth and answer the question of whether discus fish are truly hard to keep alive. Pdf causes of mortality in discus fish symphysodon and. Native to the amazon river basin, symphysodon is a genus of south american cichlids native. They decided to put together their discus fish care secrets for all beginners out there who want to try their hand with these beautiful tropical fish. Needless to say, some have had bad experiences, their. Nearly 60 years ago jack wattley had a dream, he went to the amazon and brought back wild caught discus from different parts of the amazon which he personally collected and brought. The use of specially formulated cichlid discus foods occasionally supplemented with frozen beef heart and other frozen and live foods should provide a suitable diet. Oct 25, 2014 discus is tall fish and stays mostly in the middle of the tank so good options would be bottom feeder fish like cories pleco, german blue ram. Cardinal tetras are probably the best companion fish for your discus aquarium. Gill flukes are unfortunately a common problem for discus fish and are especially dangerous for discus fry. Follow these tips, or rules if you will, and your discus fish will be just fine. Those are the few tips that i gain from my discus keeping experience.
Discus fish have a very bad reputation for being difficult to keep alive. The three natural species of discus fish go by the scientific names symphysodon discus. Discus are carnivores, therefore they require a meatbased diet. First of all, a group of cardinal tetras are simply beautiful tropical fish. Upper body operates on back half of circle throughout the throw. I want to be able to inform others that the care of these. Native to the amazon river basin, symphysodon is a genus of south american cichlids native to the amazon river basin. Many aquatic gardeners have wondered about combining discus and live. They need the social interaction to develop their character to its best potential. If you properly maintain your discus fish, you will be satisfied to find the growth of that discus. Like we mentioned before, discus fish are relatively hard to take care of and they need some pretty strict conditions in order to stay healthy and happy. Discus caresheet introduction hello all, i have comprised a caresheet on discus fish after a lot of research. This a wild discus from the orinoco river basin in venezuela and columbia in the northwestern part of south america. Discus breeding secrets by marc weiss cichlid room companion.
Demystifies aquarium setup and maintenance combine and care for a wide. Caring for discus fish on freshwater aquariums aquarium. Discus fish fry feed on the mucous excreted by the parent fish, so to separate the fry from the parents is to cut off the food supply of the developing fry. The hobbyist guide for discus fish care and maintenance about this book t his book is designed to make the process of starting, maintaining and enjoying a discus aquarium easy. New dealers and breeders are growing rapidly and even small aquatic shops are stocking a wide range of discus. Discus is tall fish and stays mostly in the middle of the tank so good options would be bottom feeder fish like cories pleco, german blue ram. Discus have been labelled as fussy fish and not recommended for amateurs because water conditions must be kept at the optimum. Cardinal tetra is probably best tankmate that lives in a big school and they are tok small to disturb dis uses. Jan 31, 2017 in the beginning, alfred and jenny found a lot of information on discus care and how to set up your tank. The discus is a beautiful flat round fish found through the amazon basin of south america. There are three recognised subspecies of the discus which are the green discus, the blue discus and the brown discus. Affordable and search from millions of royalty free images, photos and vectors. Discus are happiest when they are together in a group of at least 6 fish.
It sure looks like ick, white pimple or raised area mostly on fins of a few fish. There is an amazing new ebook called discus fish secrets. Their genus belongs to the family of cichlids and is therefore part of the order perciformes. However, this is not so much of a problem with many parts of victoria and tasmania where the water from the tap is naturally soft. The hobbyist guide for discus fish care and maintenance excerpt from chapter 4 history of the discus fish types of discus there are many different variations and color patterns available in captive bred and wild caught discus. The peaceful behavior, body shape, posture, and stance of the fish, along with its appealing colors and pattern markings often associated with royalty. Discus are not especially difficult fish to keep, but they do require a little extra maintenance and certain environmental conditions. This special pet fish talk interview features robert in new jersey talking with tom and nevin about his discus fish this discus fish is about 4 long and lives in a densely planted aquarium with lots of live plants. The 19 best fish aquarium ebooks, such as betta fish, freshwater aquariums and. What i have done in the past is used higher temp near 90 and aquarium salt 1 tbsp per 10 gallons to kill off the ich. Jenny stops feeding the discus when they stop eating. Basically, the high temps expedite the life cycle of the cyst.
Ive never actually had a discus with ich before, only freshwater community fish. The discus book tropical fish keeping special edition. Colouration is a distinctive feature of these fishes and is a strong reason for their popularity amongst aquarists, though colouration will differ greatly depending on variety. Discus fish, two species of the genus symphysodon of fishes in the family cichlidae order perciformes, characterized by a compressed, diskshaped body. Discus fish, an mp3 podcast about keeping and spawning discus. I want to be able to inform others that the care of these fish is not as mysterious and unattainable as some would think. The body of the discus fish is round, compressed and, as the name suggests, disklike. Hexamita is a flagellate protozoa that affects the gastrointestinal tract of ornamental fish. The infested fish can also become spastic or completely paralyzed and sink down to the bottom. Always quarantine any fish for at least two to four weeks before mixing them in with discus. Discus are members of the family cichlidae and are sometimes referred to as king.
These are majestically graceful fish whose popularity has almost overshadowed that of the angelfish pterophyllum scalare. We know that discus is a round or disc shaped fish. Mbuna marcus aquariums, cichlids and more 2,435,787 views 5. Discus fishes belong to the cichlid family, a family of fishes which comes in a surprising diversity of shapes, sizes and colours.
Discus are probably on the higher end of the price range so careful consideration of what is required to keep discus is needed. Discus fish belong to the family cichlidae and the genus symphysodon. The use of specially formulated cichliddiscus foods occasionally supplemented with frozen beef heart and other frozen and live foods should provide a suitable diet. Gill flukes are external parasites that destroy the gills and causes heavy breathing and erratic swimming. Click now to browse our selection and place your order today. You can add other fish to your aquarium tank, but mixing the wrong species can have a devastating effect on your discus population. See more ideas about discus fish, freshwater fish and discus. I know of many hobbyists who started out with discus simply because they were mystified by them. Therefore it is highly recommended that you keep discus in groups of 6 or more. We sell high quality and healthy discus fish with good prices. It may be a year of superlative care down the drain, should we add risk factors intentionally early on. The discus is a species of tropical cichlid, found in the amazon basin of south america. For this reason alone they are not recommended for the beginner aquarist. Discus fish facts, tropical fish, interesting facts about.
The fish is characterized by a round and flattened body with vibrant colors that varies significantly among species. The aquarium handbook is our premium ebook that contains. Discus fish facts about discus caring for discus discusguy. If kept well, they can grow as large as a dinner plate. Its natural habitat is the amazon river system in tropical south america. Discus fish are very shy fish and tend to hide when they are not confident so keep the tank away from noisy and busy areas especially near doorways and halls. For many years it was one of the most difficult species to breed.
In the past few years, farming of this fish has been well developed in egypt. Numerous varieties have emerged from the principally wild brown colouration to magnificent blues and reds. Overfeeding can cause a tank to become polluted which can kill your fish. If you want to combine two fish species, their requirements when it. Caring for discus fish on freshwater aquariums aquarium tricks. Desired heritable traits or characteristics that can be transmitted from parent to offspring must be identified and selected and a selective breeding program put in place to produce a population with the desired color markings and looks phenotype. Discus wholesale indonesia tropical fish aquarium fish. Other foods should be insect fish based, such as frozen brine shrimp, blood worm, mysis shrimp, black mosquito larvae, chopped earth worm, prawns, chopped cockle etc. Ive never had discus fish and would appreciate any information able them. How to care for discus fish like an expert aquarium and. Most discus aquarium fish keepers have this knowledge and the experience with other fish as they tend to keep other types of tropical fish before progressing on to the discus aquarium fish. Discus fish secrets is the ultimate guide to discus fish care, breeding and keeping them healthy. How to care for discus fish like an expert aquarium and turtle mastery book 3 kindle edition by chipperfield, david.
Temperature should be kept between 82 and 86 f, although wild heckel discus prefer water near 90 f. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading how to care for discus fish like an expert aquarium and turtle mastery book 3. Use an aqueon aquarium heater to maintain proper water temperature. So due to this body shape this fish moves more vertically than horizontally. Dec 08, 2016 discus fish care like we mentioned before, discus fish are relatively hard to take care of and they need some pretty strict conditions in order to stay healthy and happy. Aug 05, 2019 gill flukes are unfortunately a common problem for discus fish and are especially dangerous for discus fry. Discus are one of the foremost aquarium fishes that there has ever been. Discus tankmates keep in mind that your tank should be a discus tank first make sure the other fish you intend to keep conform to discus conditions, and not viceversa. Oct 23, 2009 there is an amazing new ebook called discus fish secrets. Discus can be, and have been, bred even in partial seawater, but i prefer to stack the odds in our favour. Discus fish secrets bestselling ebook ebook explorer.
Discus fish types, care, facts, and natural habitat. Discus symphysodon from the family cihildae is one of the most popular and expensive aquarium fish. The discus is a social fish and lives in large groups in their native waters, and has a very advanced social behaviour. In fact it is the one thing that will add life and happiness to your discus fish above all others. Advice on raising and breeding discus fish with forums. Discus are colorful, graceful and charismatic tank inhabitants. Discus are a shoaling fish and best kept in groups. It covers everything you need to know about keeping healthy discus fish and breeding them. Changing out your discus fish water should be done no less than once per week, and using good water that is safe for your fish is really important. The only other factor to take into consideration is the height. The book will help you to breed healthiest discus fish, full of bright colors and amazing confidence. As a guide, we suggest keeping 810cm size discus at a rate of 10 to 12 per 180l. Red snakeskin discus these two pictures illustrate the difference between colour forms.
These tropical fish are natives to the warm and calm basins of the amazon river. Fish reared in hard water are more susceptible to columnaris disease. What other types of tropical fish can be successfully kept with discus. They are slow moving fish so they like to be with other slow moving fish. The discus fish is in great demand as a pet tropical fish. Discus fish introduction discus fish are beautiful pets to have but understandingtheir environment and learning how to keep them happy, healthy and breeding can be a huge jobfor a beginner or even for someone who has been a discus fish lover for a while. Healthy and problem free discus that spawn as soon as you place the cone in the water. Keep away from direct sunlight and radiators as sunlight will cause algae and excess heat. Very aggressive fish the growing pains of keeping a wolf cichlid parachromis dovii duration. Generally, tropical fish thrive at 2232 c while coldwater. Discus a guide on breeding and caring for these magnificent.
Discus are one of the most prized and respected fish in the hobby and for. The intention of this care sheet is to invite others to share in our love of this peaceful, beautiful species of cichlid. It doesnt say to leave off the lights but i am anyway. Outbreaks of disease would have disastrous results, because within a very short time, thousands of discus fish could become infected. Discus are considered to require a higher level of care than other aquarium fish. Discus can be susceptible to internal parasitic infections, so take care with live foods, and due to the fats proteins its perhaps best to feed animal meant sparingly if at all. Discus fish buy discus fish discus fish sale discusguy. Water change regime how long has tank been running bare bottom or gravel do you age your water. It is getting increasingly easier to keep discus aquarium fish with new technology that improves water quality and discus fish health which could be the cause of the rise in demand. If you choose proper dimension then half of your job is already done. Discus fish of both wild and domestic origin are in great demand by freshwater aquarium enthusiasts and command high prices worldwide. May 31, 20 very aggressive fish the growing pains of keeping a wolf cichlid parachromis dovii duration.
Caring for discus fish on freshwater aquariums for those who believe that freshwater aquarium cant match marine in regards to brightly colored fish, i want to introduce you to the discus fish. In the may 1960 issue appeared genes article, the discus fish yields a secret. Since discus fish have such a wide range of colors expressed. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
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