Tips For Building Discus Fish Aquarium

By John White


A well set up and appropriately maintained discus fish aquarium is actually an amazing experience, seeing such elegant and amazingly beautiful fish move in the water you can readily understand how they came to be referred to as the kings of the aquarium. When you're presenting such excellent fish you must care for them nicely so as to continue to keep their elegance and unique tones, thus spending some time to build their fish tank appropriately is crucial.

Tank Size

Discus fish thrive in good sized tanks with plenty of room to move about, so in general, your fish tank need to be around ten to fifteen gallons for each adult discus fish. Thus a 55 gallon tank should be the lowest size for six full grown discus (I know it must be 60, but 55 gallons is a common size for tanks).

Placement

These naturally friendly but shy fish prefer a tranquil life; they are used to clean water and dark spacious area to swim around in. So the discus tank need to be located in a spacious part of the house away from noise, direct sunlight, heat and lots of movement. In addition you want to keep the aquarium raised up as shadows being cast from above could be distressing for discus .

Water Conditions

Discus fish have a preference for water condition comparable to their natural surroundings, where the water is naturally soft and just a bit acidic, so observing tank water conditions is extremely important. The key components of aquarium water to be aware of are the temperature, pH and softness. Discus fish do well in a pH which is between five and a half and seven and temperatures of between 77 and 86F (25-30C). Also so as to keep a healthy discus, it is very important to clean the tank and change 25-30% of the water at least one time per week.

Aquarium Filters

Prior to adding discus to your fish tank you have to develop nitrifiying bacteria colonies in your filtration system. This is significant as they are responsible for keeping ammonia and nitrate levels in check by consuming fish waste. Thus deciding on the suitable filter is a must for maintaining the nitrification degrees of your water, should you have a planted fish tank then this will definitely aid to lessen the quantity of toxic substances in the water. Having said that frequent water changes remain essential for sustaining discus fish health

Discus Tank Mates

Discus need lots of space; thus not putting discus with territorial tank mates will go a long way to preserving happy and healthy discus. One of the best friends for discus fish might be a very vivid fish known as Tetra, there are plenty of varieties of Tetra however I personally find Neon Tetras, Cardinal Tetras and Rummy Nose Tetras to make discus really feel pretty relaxed and secure as they help simulate their natural habitat. A lot of other fish types may also be suitable. It is beneficial to avoid any large or aggressive fish when making your discus aquarium such as freshwater angelfish; as they can bully your discus and muscle them out at feeding time. Having the appropriate aquarium set-up is likely the most important factor of discus care and it is essential to have it right first-time mainly because it a serious pain and cost to switch it later.




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