Keeping discus fish - The secrets of keeping discus fish
A lot of books and materials in last decades has been written about keeping discus fish than any other aquarium fish spicies. Anyone who’s thinking about keeping discus fish as pet in the aquarium should get well informed about their care before actually purchasing them. Discus fish are considered royal fish native from the calm and warm Amazon waters that charm through their behavior. Keeping discus fish requires having some background knowledge about what to expect from them and what to offer to make such pets happy. Discus fish are considered creatures of changing behavior that also manifest personality.
When keeping discus fish you’ll notice that they are calm and shy in general, but when they make couples they can often become aggressive to their own kin and others due to breeding territory protection. Keeping discus fish will bring lots of both challenges and rewards. It should be noted that, the weakest discus in the group often suffer bullying which sometimes resulted in death. As a result, it is advisable not keep discus fish in a groups of than minimum of six. Thus you increase the confidence of the group members and lower the risk of “community” misbehavior.
When keeping discus fish you have to respect their habits. For example, coupling is a matter of personal preference when it comes to parental care. Therefore, arranged matches are not to the like of the discus that are independent in their choice of a partner. Keeping discus fish that go through the breeding process is best achieved in a separate tank especially prepared for the purpose. If you are keeping discus fish mates together in same tank with your other fish, you are risking having aggressive behavior due to territorial protection. Discus fish prepare the perimeter where they are going to have their babies by cleaning it first and defending it throughout the whole period.
Once you have fry, you’ll be surprised that discus feed their young alone. Nevertheless, when keeping discus fish of varying ages in one place, you should also help to feed the fry by giving special food such as baby shrimp. After about three or six weeks, it’s advisable to remove the fry from the rest of the fish. You should separate the fry and leave the exhausted parents recover. Use a special tank for the fry only and feed them at least three times a day to support the accelerated growth rate.
