A. Aquarium size for Discus should be as large as the available space permits, but a minimum 36" X 18" X 18" or 40 gallons net volume.

B. Buy young Discus from a reputable dealer, and if home-bred, ask to see the parents. This will give you an indication of how the fish turn out in later life.

C. Check your tank parameters on a regular basis. The most important factor is the ph which should be 6.0 - 7.0 ph.

D. Diets should be varied and high in proteins. Good examples are beefheart, prawns, frozen bloodworm , frozen brineshrimp and any of the proprietary brand foods designed for cichlids.

E. Egg protectors can be made from plastic coated chicken wire in a cylindrical shape, just large enough to drop down over the spawning cone.

F. Filtrarion may be internal or external, it is a fallacy that Discus do not like turbulence from internal power filters.

G. Growing on young Discus to a saleable size in the shortest period of time requires the availability of a lot of good quality water and a minimum of six small feeds per day.

H. Hole in the Head (HITH) disease is no longer the scourge it used to be and can be cured easily by using Octozin. Alternatively obtain Metronidazole from your vet and administer at a dosage of one 250mg tablet per 10 gallons of tank water.

I. In bred Discus tend to exibit more defects, such as an elongation of the body.

J. Jelly like white faeces or long stringy white faeces usually indicate intestinal parasite's. Do not use drugs until you can confirm which parasite it is and which drug is required.

K. Killing sick fish has always been a touchy subject and there is no easy way, but one of the kindest ways is to contact your vet who will administer an anesthetic such as Benzocaine which painlessly puts the fish to sleep.

L. Lighting for Discus breeding should be minimal, but this doesn't apply to Discus community tanks where it can be quite bright.

M. Matched pairs of Discus are a guaranteed compatible male and female which have begun spawning. Breeding pairs are those which have reared fry on a number of occasions.

N. New tank Syndrome can be avoided with Discus by using a small shoal of very hardy Corydoras to mature the filters - they will also earn their keep at a later date by cleaning up after the Discus.

 

O. Optimium temperature's for Discus community tanks should be 82f. In Discus species tanks this can be increased to 86f. If your Discus stop feeding, turn the temperature up to 90f for a few days as this increases the metabolic rate and they start to require more food.

P. Patience is the greatest virtue of a would be Discus Breeder.

Q. Quarantine all new fish before introducing them to your main aquarium.

R. Regular partial water changes should be limited to no more than 10% in a sensibly stocked aquarium.

S. Stressed Discus are susceptable to anything. Avoid stressing new fish by floating the bags in your aquarium for a minimum of thirty minutes, adding a tea cup of tank water every at ten minute intervals to equalise the ph.

T. Tapeworm in Discus can be cured easily by feeding them a prepared food containing a drug called Droncit obtainable from your vet, and administered at one gram per kilo of food. This should be fed to the Discus on days 1, 2 and 3 with no other food being given. On day 4 revert to normal food.

U. Undergravel filtration can be used quite sucessfully with Discus, but as with sponge filtration you will only get Biological action, so any nasties in the water must be removed before introduction to the main aquarium.

V. Vigorous and often boisterious courtship behaviour always precedes spawning, the male and female swimming towards each other with heads held high, then bowing as they pass, shaking their fins or even whole bodies and often mouth locking.

W. Water quality is the singlemost important factor in sucessfully keeping and breeding Discus. A water purifier which removes the chemical and metallic nasties and leaves the natural salts and minerals is ideal, but failing this, activated carbon should be used to remove the chemicals.

X. Xtra feeds every day for a week prior to going on holiday and an additional water change are preferable to your fish being overfed by a friend who thinks they are not getting enough to eat.

Y. Young adult Discus under 5" body size are virtually impossible to sex with any great degree of accuracy. The only 100% method I have found is if you see eggs coming down the breeding tube, it's a female and if after two days fry appear, you can bet there is a male in the vicinity.

Z. Zero nitrite and nitrate readings in a Discus tank are desirable but not essential. With adequate filtration and sensible stocking levels they can be both kept to a minimum.