Introduction

Welcome to the wonderful world of discus (Symphysodon discus). In this article I will describe how you can keep and even breed discus easily. The discus is a very special fish with its display of color and interesting body shape. There are many ways of setting up a good, functional aquarium that is suitable for discus. I will go through some of the different setups, then it is up to the reader to decide how he/she wants the aquarium. I will also point out that there are many good books written on this subject but this article is written for the Internet.

If you are thinking of starting a discus tank I would recommend to keep nothing in the tank, rather an empty tank without gravel or other tank decorations. Why an empty tank? That is because it is much easier to keep the tank clean and therefore also keep the water high in quality. You can have a thin layer of gravel on the bottom. However, if you have gravel on the bottom you must keep this very clean since the gravel is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Even tree roots are a perfect place for bacteria, so I would recommend an empty tank. The size of the tank depends on how many discus you want to have, a rule of thumb is about 50 liters for one discus. For example in a 250 liter tank you should not have more than 6 adult discus in it. To keep the temperature constant at 29 - 30 C you will need a thermostat heater of high quality. As filtering agents you can use biological or mechanical filters.

In this article will I go through this areas.

• Discus
• Tank
• Filter systems
• Water
• Food
• Summary
• Closing word

I have deliberately left out diseases since I think I haven't the knowledge in this field, and there are many books and papers written in this subject.

The Discus (Symphysodon discus)

General descriptions of the two species and subspecies :

1.Symphysodon discus Heckel, 1840

2.Symphysodon aequifasciata Pellegrin,1903,
   including three subspecies :
   Symphysodon aequifasciata axelrodi Schultz, 1960 (brown discus)
   Symphysodon aequifasciata aequifasciata Pellegrin, 1903 (green discus)
   Symphysodon aequifasciata haraldi Schultz, 1960 (blue discus)

Today there are many different discus combinations on the market but every special species of these are the result of years of breeding and crossing different species with each other from the general description above. But for all discus there is the same ground rule that concerns the general health of these fish. A healthy discus has bright and clear ground color on the body and the 9 vertical bars are only shown temporarily when the fish is frightened or stressed. The back and dorsal fins are outstretched to the maximum length when they are swimming,. A healthy discus will not have more than 60 breaths per minute with one exception: they have just been eating, then the breathing rate increases to 70 - 80 breaths per minute. The forehead should be fleshy and strong and not hollow, the eyes should also be bright and clear with intense coloring, and they shall be in proportion to the rest of the body. All of these things will be helpful then you decide to buy your discus.

A healthy discus is very curious and follows the environment very carefully. When you go near the tank you will notice that it follows you with its eyes and comes toward the front of the tank to beg for food. If you come too fast or do some fast movements in front of them they will hide for a while but they will come towards you soon again. The feces from a healthy discus is brown to black and sinks like a stone to the bottom of the tank. If the feces is white, or there is a white string of feces hanging out from the anal of the fish, it is a sign that the fish has some kind of stomach or gut infection, and those fish should not be bought, since it is hard to cure them. If the fish is getting Tetra Bits as food the feces color will be bright red and sink like a stone to the bottom (own experience). A discus that is shy and hiding all time and is dark or black in color has some kind of sickness and you should avoid buying your fish from that tank.

Don't buy discus that have a white string of feces hanging out from the anal or if the color is dark or black, these are sick.

The Tank

The discus tank can have all kinds of different setups depending on the person that will have a discus tank. Most of them have their fishes in an empty tank since it is much easier to clean. Another thing is that the discus demands high water quality, and this demands frequent water changes. This is not a rule to follow, you can have a planted tank but an empty one is much easier to keep clean and therefore also to keep the water at a high quality level. If you plan to have gravel, plant and roots in the tank you must have the soft acid water and the high temperature in mind. All plants do not like this.

Here are some plants you can use :

• Amazonas sword plant
• Anubias Nana
• Water Sprite
• Water Ferns
• Java Moss
• Java Fern

Gravel, roots and other decoration materials you can find at the pet store. Don't use any other material you find in nature, it can do more harm to the fish than looking nice in the tank. If you decide that you want a planted tank the bottom area shall be covered with a minimum of 80% plants. The size of the tank will be quite big since a adult discus reaches a size of 15 - 20 centimeters. You can follow a simple rule of thumb of 50 liters per adult fish. How you place the tank is also important, not only the weight but the height also. You should place the tank about 90 - 110 centimeters above the floor so the discus have a good overview of the room, and also since the temperature of the room is more stable at that height. If you have a breeding pair you can have them in a tank of 100 - 150 liters since the narrow space in them makes it easier for the fry to find their parents and the food.

What you decide to use in your tank setup is up to you, this was only a general description of how you can setup a discus tank.

Filtration system

The filter system is a very important part in all tank setups. It is here that the breaking down process of waste products happens, and if it doesn't work right the inhabitants in the tank will be poisoned to death. All living creatures like fish and microorganisms, emit waste products into the water in the tank one way or another. The fish emits urine and feces which will breakdown to ammonia, nitrite and more to less toxic waste after awhile. This toxic waste can be removed using different methods, such as water changes, mechanical, or biological filtration. If you change the water frequently most of the toxic waste can be removed but that's not enough. In nature there are many different microorganisms and bacteria that are feeding on the different waste products that will be secreted in the water. These organisms and bacteria must be taken care of, and it is here that the filtration comes in. To accomplish this environment the tank setup with filter, water and plants must be cycled before you can let the discus into their new home. This will take between 6 - 8 weeks. During that time you should be monitoring the ammonia and nitrite. In the beginning they will be high, but after a while the ammonia and nitrite levels will drop to 0, and then it is time for the discus to arrive. You have to be careful when you put the fish in since the ammonia and nitrite levels will rise again because there are not enough of nitrifying bacteria to take care of all the waste products the fish are making, so you have to monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels again and if they raise too much you should do a water change. After a while the bacteria colony has grown to fit the number of fish in the tank. So be careful and always keep in mind if you add a new fish it will raise the toxic levels in an established tank.

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