Discus fish are a popular freshwater fish known for their stunning colors. For a beginner it is important to understand their care requirements, including tank size, compatible species, and diet.
Of all the fish I have, they are my favorites. It’s not the easiest fish in the hobby and typically not recommended for beginners, or even intermediate hobbyists, but through trial and error, it’s not that hard to keep them if you understand the basics.
First and foremost, discus require clean water. Unlike many of the other tropical fish that I keep, discus need water changes at a minimum of once a week, and depending on how many you have and what size tank you have them in, once weekly may not be enough.
I currently have four aquariums set up for my discus.
The largest, a 75-gallon, houses about 10 of my largest fish. They range from 4½ to 5½ inches in length. As a general rule, experts recommend one discus for every 10 gallons of water, so I have a few more fish than I should have in a 75-gallon tank, but you can offset that rule if you simply do more water changes.
I also have a 60-gallon breeder tank with my medium-sized discus, with eight discus that are slightly smaller at three to four inches. My smallest discus, six of them, are housed in a 40-gallon breeder tank.
And finally, I have six new discus, about three inches in length, that I have placed in a 30-gallon aquarium for the next two weeks, before I mix them with the other fish.
I normally perform two water changes a week, about every three to four days, removing about 50% of the water in each tank, by sifting through the gravel to siphon out uneaten food and feces. The ‘dirty water’ is then used by my wife to fertilize her plants.
Like many hobbyists, I tend to overfeed the discus, which in some cases forces me to change the water even more often.
Discus are finicky eaters and unlike my Oscars or other aggressive fish, they eat very slow, regardless of what I feed them.
There are plenty of flakes and granules on the market designed for discus, but most experts agree that beef heart is one of the best foods to feed them.
Gabe Posada, owner of Jack Whatley Discus in Miami, not only recommends beef heart, but he makes and sells his own brand. For those of you who are interested in seeing how he makes his special blend, check out his video on You Tube.
Discus not only require clean water, but also much warmer temperatures than many of the tropical fish that I keep. Recommended water temperature is 82-88 degrees F. All my discuss tanks are set at 84-86 degrees. Recommended pH is 4.0 to 7.6.
Discus are normally very timid and calm, which is the opposite of the aggressive nature that most cichlids display. Discus are a schooling fish and need to be kept with at least five friends. In fact, they do better with even more companions. But six discus per home aquarium is a good minimum. They also appreciate having plenty of hiding places. Discus don’t need to disappear entirely but they do need something to hide behind. Items like live plants and driftwood do make cleaning the tank difficult. But when your discus know they have cover nearby they will be bolder about remaining out in the open.
Unlike most tropical fish, discus can also be very expensive. Their price is usually dictated by size. For example, a small 2-2½ inch discus might sell for $25 to $40, while a discus of 5-6 inches will cost hundreds of dollars.
Why are discus so expensive? Discus fish are expensive because breeding and keeping them requires some of the most labor-intensive fish keep practices known. A lot of effort is put into keeping and breeding the fish in order to produce big and better specimens with the best colors.
I dropped by Green Lakes Tropical Fish Farm in Lake Placid the other day and was surprised to see that they are now carrying discuss in a couple different sizes. They sell both wholesale and retail and expect to carry a full line of discus in the near future.
My goal is to eventually breed my discus and replace many of the other species with even more of these beautiful fish. And just for the record, a mated, breeding pair of discus sells for $600 to $900.
