It’s true; it is basic biology. Living organisms (discus fish) can be infected with disease.

You get sick, you go to the doctor. Your dog or cat gets sick, you carry them to the vet. What about fish? Where do they go when they get sick? Unfortunately, there is not a Fish Hospital in most neighborhoods. You will need to educate yourself on treatment procedures.

Pathogens are usually the cause of discus disease. They are the itty bitty critters that infect things. In the case of fish, these pathogens can reside in the tank water. Or, the pathogens can infect the fish by living in and under the scales and slime coat that is supposed to protect the fish.

Reasons for discus fish disease are varied. Fish are actually natural homes to disease carrying pathogens. So it is possible that a disease comes into the tank when you introduce a new discuss into the community.

Other reasons that discuss may fall prey to pathogens may be one of the following:

• When they become stressed – this can happen from other fish species that are too aggressive, or (believe it or not) when humans are too aggressive with the fish, such as continuously tapping on the tank glass
• If there is a water quality problem that goes untreated, such as improper water pH or temperature
• Nutritional deficiencies

It is a good idea to have a resource manual (or an Internet connection) handy to diagnose your discus fish disease. If your discus is in need of medication, make sure you know the proper dosage. It may be a good idea to contact a professional before administering the medication.

NEVER mix medications without being instructed to do so. It is true that some medications can actually cause fatal results when mixed together. Yes, it is possible to overanalyze the problem and over medicate, causing more problems than your had originally. Just as in humans, the right dosage is critical. Don’t think that if 1 drop is good, 2 drops will be twice as good… follow the instructions.

And again, just as in humans or human pets, discus treatment may take time. Do not expect an overnight cure. If an antibiotic is indicated to treat a bacterial infection, make sure you treat the fish for at least 10 days. Otherwise, you will run the risk of creating a much stronger bacteria strain that is resistant to the antibiotic you first tried. Make sure you kill the pathogen with proper treatment for the proper length of time.

For a general list of tropical fish disease, including discus fish disease, take a look at http://www.fishlore.com/Disease.htm

(article reprinted from EzineArticles.com-Discus-Fish-Sale)

By Wayne Rasku

Buying inhabitants for your aquarium is something you should pay very close attention to. If the fish of your choice are particularly finicky about their environment, it is even more important.

In the case of buying specialty fish, such as discus, “Discus Fish Sale” is not something you want to take advantage of. These little guys are delicate and require special care and attention.

You also will want to avoid getting them at your local pet all-purpose store.

Your best bet is to find a store that is dedicated to rearing and selling the best quality fish. Such stores have a reputation for that. Therefore, if you are just starting out and are not familiar with the fish stores in your area, ask a serious aquarium hobbyist. He or she will surely be able to direct you.

Another possibility is finding discus fish for sale online. This method has some very positive advantages:

Discus breeders who sell online are usually very familiar with health and welfare of the fish they breed.

They know how to package the fish for the safest trip to your aquarium.

You will get excellent quality merchandise.

Disadvantages for online purchases: cost. In order to get quality shipping and packaging, you will pay somewhere in the area of $100 to have the fish delivered to you.

But, when you consider discus prices, they are not cheap in the first place. Paying a premium for getting them into your tank safely is a good investment, especially if that local fish store does not carry discus fish for sale.

At any rate, be careful where you get your discus fish.

Prior to either going to the fish store for your purchase or ordering your discus fish online, make sure you have prepared their home in advance. A well prepared discus habitat is most important to their success.

Water temperature should be in the 80 degree neighborhood. The pH of the water is also extremely important. It should be between 6.2 and 6.8; alkaline water will not do well with your new fish. Discus also prefer soft water, somewhere between 150 and 180 ppm is good.

Finding a reputable place where discus fish are sold may take some time and research, but it is well worth the effort. Your fish will be with you for a long time if they arrive in good health.

Don’t be too quick to take advantage of the Sunday paper ad that announces “Discus Fish Sale.” Do your research before making a purchase. Don’t be tempted by the lowest price, but do be tempted by good quality and reputation.

It is also important that you know what to do with them after you get them. For more information about discus fish after purchase, visit http://www.livediscusfish.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wayne_Rasku

Generally, we use public water to change the tank water (remember that a 25% water change is recommended… no more). The water  from your public company can be your friend or your enemy.

As a discus aquarium owner, you really need to invest in a few tools to assist you in keeping your fish alive and healthy. One of those is a testing kit. They are available at any fish supply store or online.

Many water suppliers add chlorine or chloramine as a matter of routine in order to make the water drinkable for humans. Do you know if your water supply has been treated with these chemicals? A simple color test kit will determine the presence and concentration of either.

If your water does contain chlorine or chloramine, the removal of these water additives should be part of the water conditioning process before you use it to replace the water in your tank.

Ways to Prepare Your Discus Fish Water

There is more than one way to condition your tap water. (Conditioning is the process of adjusting the chemistry of the water so that it is suitable and meets the requirements of your discus fish.)

1. You can remove chlorine from your public water by using an activated carbon pre-filter system.
2. You can remove chlorine by “aging” the water or using a sprayer that mists the water in the air.
3. There are commercial chlorine removers that can be purchased at your local fish store.
4. Use reverse osmosis filters to remove the chlorine, but be warned that there are other chemicals and minerals that are necessary for your discus that will need to be replenished after running your water through a reverse osmosis filter.

Water companies also use chloramine additive to disinfect public water for consumption. If you think chlorine is bad for discus, chloramine is much more destructive. If your pretest shows that there is chloramine in the water supply, the good news is that there are chemicals to neutralize the harmful effects. When buying the chemicals for conditioning your water, be sure to purchase one that is specific to chloramine. Aging and aeration will not do the trick on this one.

Changing out your discus fish water should be done no less than once per week, and using good water that is safe for your fish is really important. In fact it is the one thing that will add life and happiness to your discus fish above all others.

Adding the right types of plants can greatly increase the quality of your tank and your discus health. Discus live naturally in the Amazon River and its tributaries where there are literally tons of plant life surrounding them. Be sure to read the article about discus tank setup after you finish this post by Chris Walker.

By Chris E Walker

A Well-Planted Freshwater Tank

Freshwater aquarium plants are a worthwhile addition to your fish tank. In a well planted tank, fish have better habitat, live a more natural life, and appear more comfortable than in an unplanted tank or a tank with less habitat. Though live plants need more care than plastic artificial ones, live plants can be kept with few problems as long as there is plenty of light. Real plants do wonders for aquariums, providing fish with oxygen and habitat. They can keep the water chemistry more balanced, and provide scenery for you, and hiding places for fish and other tank inhabitants.

Aquarium plants make a beautiful well balanced fish tank, as well as a natural home for happy fish. This will make the tank healthier, more stable, and more beautiful. The benefits to aquarium stability and balance are numerous. Aquatic plants produce oxygen through a process called photosynthesis, they absorb carbon dioxide, and they breakdown waste materials. In so many ways, aquatic aquarium plants can increase enjoyment of your fish tank. Live plants can serve as food for aquatic life and also provide fish and fish fry places for retreat. Sometimes plants are not compatible with some fish that will tear them up. Adding aquarium plants is not difficult. Once your tank is set up, you will need to provide plant food, usually a tablet or liquid fertilizer. Ongoing plant care will include some maintenance and keeping an eye out for anything hurting your plants like aquarium snails and other browsers, or plant diseases. With good aquarium design and plant care, you will be rewarded with a lush, beautiful, well balanced aquarium with beautiful plant growth.

Before adding aquarium plants there are a couple of things to keep in mind before beginning. One of which is water chemistry. Different aquarium plants require various water conditions. Required water conditions for the plants you want must be attained. You need to be aware of things like ph, hardness levels and lighting levels for each plant. Good substrate is also required in order for the plants to survive. There are clay planters you can get to place your plants in or you can even place some plants directly into the gravel. Experiment a little, and you will find what works. Lightning for aquarium plants requires different levels, usually measured in watts per gallon. If you want your plants to thrive you must pay attention to this measurement in order for photosynthesis to be optimal for plant survival. Carbon dioxide is also required for photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide can come from the fishes respiration process going on in your tank. However, if you have a heavily planted tank, you may want to get a carbon dioxide injector for your aquarium because you won’t be getting enough carbon dioxide from your fish. A very important thing to keep in mind before adding plants is to consider fish compatibility. Certain fish are not compatible with live plants.

Save yourself some money by researching the plants you want to get before buying them so that you can determine their exact needs and whether or not you can meet those needs.

Chris Walker is a biologist and an aquarium hobbyist. For great information on plants for your freshwater aquarium and a FREE 10 part mini-course on “Freshwater Aquarium Keeping”, visit http://freshwateraquarium.org/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_E_Walker
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Getting started can be quite intimidating if you believe all the “negative press” that discus fish receive. But the truth is that you can be very successful if you just follow a few simple guidelines, most of which are outlined by our guest writer, B. Mehl. Make certain you are feeding your discus properly. They are big eaters. Check out the article about “Feeding Discus Fish” if you have any questions.

By B. Mehl

The amateur aquarist has long had a love hate relationship with the Discus fish, these fickle beauties can be the best or worst endeavor you have in the freshwater world. There are quite a few things that will make your new project much likelier to be a success, and knowing these few tidbits of handy information will keep you from giving a few hundred bucks worth of fish the traditional “burial at sea.”

The first thing you should know is that Discus fish obey a social pecking order, and the more fish in a tank the better off you are, because the pecking will be distributed over more fish and there is less likely to be on fish bearing the brunt of being the whipping boy. You will also need a larger tank, because Discus will need room to roam, I like the ninety to one hundred and fifty gallon range. Another good thing to know is that Discus like their water refreshed every week, about twenty five percent or so will do every week. For whatever reason, they crave a water change and I have been told you cannot give them too much fresh water.

Another handy tip to keep in mind is not to put any other fish in the tank, save a good Pleco or a small school of tetras. Discus do not share tanks well and many fish will rip apart these gentle animals. Get your stock from a good reputable breeder, the pet store is usually a bad idea as they are not going to be able to guarantee such an expensive animal and you have no clue how healthy or otherwise the fish are. Start with a good school of about ten or fifteen, and build up should you have room. You may lose some, but there will be enough to keep them all happy together, they love a crowd, especially the young ones. They like their water warm and look into their current PH needs.

Many people believe you must be a master aquarist to own Discus, but that is simply not the case today. Modern hybrids are far hardier than the counterparts of yesteryear, and more is known about them today than ever before, giving a wealth of knowledge to our community. Do some digging and see what you can learn, you may have the setup to get an amazing tank going and not even know it.

From discus to common dog allergies there is something animal related that you are looking for.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=B._Mehl

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Discus fry feed from parents' secretions

Discus are quite interesting in many aspects, not the least of which are their spawning instincts. Having seen “Finding Nemo”, you will recognize that some of these behaviors were characterized in the movie quite accurately. Now, I know that Nemo was a Clown Fish, and a salt water fish as well, however, there are similarities none the less.

First and most interesting is the fact that parent discus care for their young. When first hatched, the young fry are not able to eat anything except a secretion from the parents. This secretion is on the body of the adult discus, so the fry “attach” themselves to the adults for their nourishment. This is the duty of both parents, and they will share the feeding duties 50-50. Within about 5 days, the fry will be able to dine on newly hatched brine shrimp, and at that point they will eat both the parent secretion and the brine shrimp. Parents continue to provide nourishment for up to two weeks after birth.

Also interesting is that the adults will watch over the eggs until they are hatched. Other adult discus enjoy a nice meal of eggs if they have a chance to get to them, but the parents will ward off other discus to protect their eggs. Pretty cool!

Discus Parents

In a home tank, the optimal situation is that you raise a group of discus and as the fish mature, they will form couples. These couples will first practice their spawning behavior before actually performing for real. Then the female will produce a small batch of eggs, which the male will fertilize immediately. She will lay several batches of eggs and the male does his thing, while all the time either one or the other of the discus pair will be guarding the brood. They switch off the guard post as their mate is doing their part of the breeding process. Eggs hatch in 2 or 3 days.

Now, as already mentioned above, parents continue to have an active part in the care and development of the fry.

The Breeder’s Part

Even though the discus parents take care of the “personal” parts of the breeding process, the breeder can not be just a causal observer. There are some things to do to ensure successful young discus in your tank.

Sometimes your aquarium will have discus that are more dominant than the parental couple, and they may need some “help” fending off the more aggressive adults. If this is the case, it is not a good idea to remove the other discus to another tank. Instead, you should perhaps place a plexiglass divider in the existing tank to keep your new family safe. This is so that the new parents will still think they are carrying out their parental protection duties. It’s a psychological thing in development of fish families.

Make sure you keep the tank clean. The new fry are avid eaters, and they will need to be fed more often than the adults, 5 times a day will work. This results in the necessity to change out the water much more often. Consider a 50% water change daily so that the tank stays clean and free of harmful bacteria.

Some breeders move their young discus to a separate tank while they develop. Two reasons – first, they can have a bare bottom environment which is so much easier to “vacuum”, and second, adult discus normally have parasites that do not bother the adults, but they can be fatal to the fry, so a separate tank keeps the young fish free from these harmful parasites.

As you can see, breeding discus is not for the “faint of heart”. Consider the commitment and energy necessary before you decide to become a discus fish breeder. If you do take the step, however, you will be rewarded with a very satisfying outcome as you see your new little ones develop and flourish.

The Spawning Process

Below is a video of discus spawning. You will notice that they lay their eggs on a vertical surface. Most breeders provide objects similar to the one in the video.

The female takes a pass or two before beginning to lay the eggs. Once she starts laying, the male will come right behind and deposit the sperm.

This continues for several passes, and with each one, more eggs are deposited and fertilized.

Discus Breeding in Nature

This video shows the amazing process in the Amazon River. Notice how the parents protect their fry and how the fry eat the “discus milk” from the sides of the parents.

Discus are also Tropical Fish

Here are some very helpful places to look for other tropical fish info (tropical Discus fish included). These include general tropical fish categories, as well as cichlid fish (which, as you know, includes our very favorite – discus fish).

Walter’s Discus Aquarium – extremely valuable source for detailed discus information.

Rocky Mountain Discus Fish Breeders – A fantastic place for information about buying and keeping discus fish.

Tropical Fish Disease – a list of fish diseases and their symptoms and treatments.

Tropical Fish Secrets – hundreds of tips, techniques and secrets about tropical fish.

Betta Fish Secrets – Learn all you ever wanted to know about raising these beautiful exotic fish.

Cichlid Fish Secrets – Cichlids include the discus species and are the largest vertebrate animal group.

Discus: A Reference Book by Bernd Degen – one of the most highly regarded Discus experts in the world

Aquarium Fish Breeding – Information about breeding all types of aquarium fish.

Discus are happiest when they are together in a group of at least 6 fish.  You can add other fish to your aquarium tank, but mixing the wrong species can have a devastating effect on your discus population.

For instance, angelfish, in spite of their angelic name, are very aggressive when it comes to feeding. Discus are much more shy. So it is not recommended that you mix these two types of fish. The discus will suffer from being underfed and will hide from more aggressive tank-mates.

On the other hand, schooling fish such as tetras or characins can have a calming effect on your discus population and result in a happier “society” of fish.

Can you have less than 6 discus? Absolutely, just remember that each adult discus requires 10-15 gallons of “space” to maintain optimum conditions. And, as already mentioned, discus are social and they will be happier if there is a group rather than just one or two of them.

Bucky’s Discus Fish Aquarium (see Rocky Mountain Discus Website)

Tank Size

As a rule of thumb, you should plan for 10-15 gallons per adult discus. That means that a minimum of 55 gallon tank would be needed for a group of 6 adults (I know, the math says 60 gallons, but 55 is a common sized aquarium).

Water Conditions

Monitoring the water in your aquarium is very important.  Important aspects of tank water include the pH, temperature, and softness. While most folks are now buying their discus from dealers who have raised them on discus “farms”, if you get wild discus, they will have come from very different surroundings. The water in the Amazon River (their natural habitat) is quite muddy, making it much darker than a clean, open aquarium.

Discus which are spawned in captivity are not used to dark water, so you can use a more “regular” tank setup with lights, artificial substrate, and filters.

But even domestic raised discus will need tank water kept at the right temperature, 77-85°F (25-29°C), and pH, between 6.0 and 6.5.

Changing the water is also quite important as you maintain your tank conditions. Do not make the mistake of changing ALL the water at one time. Beginning aquarists are prone to this mistake. Frequent water change includes replacing about 25% of the water at least once per week. If you have spawning fish, water changes should be more frequent. See this basic How-To Guide on replacing your aquarium water.

Plants in your Aquarium?

Breeders always have bare-bottom tanks to raise their fish, and there are many who claim that the best habitat for discus is a bare tank. However, there is no reason, other than convenience for cleaning, that you can’t have a planted aquarium. Plants do help with the nitrate level, and, of course, they are part of the discus natural habitat. Just make sure you get your plants from a reliable source so that they are free from contaminants. Here again, you will want to steer clear of general, all-purpose pet stores that do not specialize in aquarium fish.

A Successful Discus Fish Tank

Here is a little video that shows how your tank can look with a bit of attention to detail and some healthy discus fish! Notice how beautiful healthy discus are. It is so relaxing to sit and watch these gorgeous creatures with some music playing in the background.

For a list of possible plants and plant set-up and care, visit www.aquariumhobbyist.com/discus/mytank/tips.html.

Keep your Discus Habitat Clean

Make sure you pay attention to this tiny detail. Keep your tank clean. This will save you a bunch of frustration and money because you won’t have to deal with sick fish. This includes the amenities in your tank.

Discus fish food may consist of a variety of foods, including flakes and pellets, as well as live brine shrimp and black or white worms.
Of course there are also frozen foods available at your fish store.

So, which kind of food is best? A mixture of food types works well to give them all the nutrients they need. The simplest and easiest feeding routine would be to stick with dried flakes and pellets (make sure you soak the pellets before introducing them into the tank for your fish so that the pellets don’t expand inside the discus’s stomach). Add some frozen or live food occasionally for variety.

Discus are grazers. They don’t always gobble the food as it drifts to the bottom of the tank. They eat slowly, but often, so they will eat the food that makes it to the bottom of the tank. Therefore, it is important to make sure you keep your aquarium clean, changing out the water on a regular basis. This will remove rotted or decaying food wastes as well as the fecal matter from your discus fish.

Younger fish will need more frequent feedings to grow properly, because their stomach is not as large as the more mature fish.
Beef heart is a common food mentioned around discus discussions. Basically, it’s cheap, and many hobbyists make their own food using beef heart. They simply grind up the beef heart with a mixture of other ingredients, then freeze it in a ziplock bag. At feeding time, a small piece of the frozen mixture is broken off and put into the tank. This mixture may include vegetables and vitamins as well as the necessary protein. It is important to mention that pure protein is not a healthy diet for discus. Beef heart, if used, should be a mixture, not just pure meat.

Live white worms and black worms are also used by some as a food in their tank. These can be obtained from your fish store, or, if you are really ambitious, you can breed them yourself. But this is probably something done by only very dedicated discus keepers.

You do want to be careful not to make your fish sick. Live worms can carry bacteria, heavy metals, and parasites that will wreck havoc in your tank.

Until you are really well acquainted with your discus fish and their requirements, you should stick with food from the fish store. As you become more familiar with the fish, you can experiment with adding different foods to their daily diet.