Posts Tagged “aquarium set up”

A small 20-30 gallon discus fish tank with a couple of hiding spots and vertical spawning surface will suffice when you are thinking of breeding discus fish. An ideal discus fish aquarium should be large enough to accommodate two to four discus fish, where at least one breeding pair can mate, though the discus prefer to live in groups of four. With this large a discus fish tank, the breeding pair gets enough space to defend and clean the egg laying areas.

You would need to keep the water clean always as discus fish will breed more likely if the water is cleaned daily. Change five percent to ten percent of the water on a daily basis to keep it clean, which prevents stresses in the fish and keeps them happy to settle and choose a breeding partner. In case the water in the discus fish tank does not clean up, then you are probably feeding the fish too often and need to reduce the food amount. You would need to keep an eye on the temperature in the discus fish aquarium, which should ideally be about 80 degree. You could have a floating thermometer or install one on the side of the discus fish tank. Generally a florescent light is enough to keep the water at the required temperature.

Keep an eye for behavior changes in the fish, indicating the breeding is on. Once the breeding pair has been set up, they begin cleaning the area where they would lay the eggs. This is the right time to remove the breeding pair from the discus fish tank and place them in a separate breeding tank, which can be smaller in size. The breeding pair will guard the small area of the discus fish tank where the eggs are laid and fertilized. The parents feed the fry from their own bodies in the form of a slime coat. This carries on as long as the pair is ready to breed again, and you can make this out once the pair starts cleaning a new space for their eggs again in the discus fish tank. It’s time to remove the babies, who would have grown up by now, to go back with the rest of the fish in the discus fish aquarium.

So enjoy yourself and buy a discus fish aquarium to learn all about how to breed discus fish.

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Whenever we intend keeping discus fish, the main problems we face arise in breeding and those of poor water conditions. Discus fish care is not all about the fish alone; it is about maintaining the proper water level.

In discus fish care, testing of the water before adding it to the aquarium or tank is important because discus is easily prone to stress. You need to test your water every week, ensuring that you change the water, as the tap water you may use is full of chemicals and alright for humans, but is certainly not the best for your fish.  The public water contains chloramines or chlorine that are damaging to the fish. The presence of these chemicals can be tested with the help of a tester that is available at the aquarium shops.

Discus fish care requires proper conditioning of your tank water. With the help of water conditioning step the water hardness can be adjusted as hard water is not correct for the fish. You would need to keep the pH level between 5.5 and 7, with the ideal being 6. In case the pH level goes more than 7, the fish tend to get stressed.

A part of discus fish care is also the maintenance of proper water temperature. The ideal temperature is between 83 and 86 degrees F, where the water should be changed weekly. Small level of water changes should be done every second day as it increases their appetite and helps them in mating. The discus tends to spawn soon after a water change!

As the discus fish come from the calm waters of the river Amazon, they prosper with proper discus fish care and when the above conditions are replicated in the aquarium at home. In general, discus fish care is not a tough task as long as you give them fresh clean water and food. So, go ahead and learn all you should about the proper water chemistry levels and make up your own aquarium.

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