It’s sad to see that many hobbyists dare to keep discus. They say that this fish is not for them. we can’t do such amount of huge water change, don’t keep them in a bare bottom tank, how to treatment those, how to identify their diseases etc. etc. But trust me, if you do daily 20-30 minutes for them, you can easily keep and successfully maintain those. Many say that it looks great when discus takes food from their master!!! But this can also happen for yours. Here I write some tips regarding discus keeping for beginners.
Aquarium dimension for discus:
This plays a vital role for discus keeping. If you choose proper dimension then half of your job is already done. We know that discus is a round or disc shaped fish. So due to this body shape this fish moves more vertically than horizontally. More they move more they grow fast. Generally discus is a mid-level moving fish. So at first our goal will be to provide them a high depth tank. You can choose a 18 inch to 24 inch high tank.
It is generally seen that discus loves to live in a group. So I say you that please buy at least 4-6 discus for the first time. So they can eventually form a group. Now a question comes. what will be ideal tank length? I say that at least 3 feet. A 3 feet tank is ideal for those 6 (I consider that you keep 4-6 discus for the first time), they can move freely in horizontal direction in this tank and with a height of 18-24 inch we will also provide enough space for moving vertically. So selecting this type of tank we can provide much space for growing.
Aquarium type:
There are few types of discus aquarium can be done->
- Bare bottom tank
- Sandy tank (Tank with sand as substrate)
- Graveled tank (Tank with gravel as substrate)
- Planted tank
Here at first i discuss about sandy tank (Tank with sand as substrate)
- Keeping Discus in a sandy tank :-
if you are a first time discus keeper, then you may not like a bare bottom tank. You may say that it looks odd to see some fishes move in a BB tank. Don’t worry, though many discus keepers love to keep discus in a BB tank, but they can be kept in a gravel tank or sandy substrate also.
i) Different types of discus in a sandy tank:
Ok, you choose sand as a substrate. Then I suggest that make a black background for this tank. You may say that discus tank and black background!!! Why not… you say that if we keep discus with a black background then peepering will come. also they will be blackish. I say that keep those discus which show no peepering or generally will not turn blackish. So what are those strains!! They are turquoise (blue,red,tiger), leopard, snakeskin, leopard snakeskin, blue diamond, snow white, alenquer, san merah, tefe green…
ii) Fish size you’ll choose for this type of tank:
So for the first time you keep discus and you keep in a sandy tank. So your fish size will be at least 2.5-3 inch at least. Now question comes. Why do you choose this size? I say that this is the perfect size for any discus to grow. Many discus experts say that this size of discus grows fastest than any other size. Also this size of discus is also easy to keep!!! Because with little care with in few days you’ll be amazed to see that your discus grows 3.5-4 inch! So keep 2.5-3 inch size discus. After few days you may take challenge to keep 1.5-2 inch discus. (‘ll discuss later)
iii)Maintaining part of this tank:
Now come to maintaining part of this tank. But before that I say that you choose proper dimension of tank, proper size of discus. So you do 60% of your work to become a successful discus keeper.
1)Water Change schedule and filters:
You dare to change water daily. So simply don’t do that!! You can do 20% water change in every alternate day. Yes just 20% to raise 2.5-3 inch discus. Can you do 1 thing? Can you keep a external canister filter for that? This will be the best filter for any kind of set up. Even for discus obviously! It holds maximum amount of filter media. You can keep good amount of zeolite, active carbon, bio ball, ceramic ring in it.
Now you may say that canister filter is too costly. Ok, no problem. Still you can manage this with a top filter and 1 power filter. On the chamber of top filter keep good amount of zeolite and inside power filter keep maximum amount of sponge!! Here one question may be asked. Power filter for discus tank? Yes why not, make sure that the outlet of power filter is towards back glass of your tank or you can use a spray bar with it.
2)Water that you use for your aquarium: :
The primary condition of water is it should be dechlorinated. Specially we have to take care during rainy season when our tap water is chlorinated!! So my request is to give attention to water that you provide in your discus tank. Now a days in any pet shop you can get dechlorinated medicine that helps you to lower chlorine of your tank. Use that thing and dissolve it as that medicine say. You should buy dechlorine medicine which helps you to lower chlorine of your tank. This Chlorine is routinely added to the water supply in many parts of the world to make the water germfree. But this Chlorine is not good for discus fish and the use of chloramine can be disastrous. So use a test kit to determine the presence and concentration of this Chlorine or Chloramine. Make sure that discus can be healthy and can grow well if you provide them right water condition, which is obviously chlorine free. It will be good if you store water for 24 hours in a bucket and treat it with HYPO. It’s a very good chlorine remover.
iv)Food and feeding schedule in this sandy tank:
Since you keep discus for the first time, you may dare to make BHM/GHM. Ok, don’t worry, still you have a large variety of foods which are suitable for discus and also for this set up. In this set up you can feed them hikari discus bio gold, tetra bits(easier to identify those than hikari on sand), frozen dried bloodworms(ocassioanally),ants egg. Yes ants egg! This is one of the best live food for discus, as this contains no external or internal parasites.
Assume that you buy 2.5-3 inch discus. So you feed them 4-5 times daily. You may astonish to see that 4-5 times!!! Isn’t an issue of overfeeding? I say no. feed them in small quantity so that no left over food will stay at the bottom but feed them more. Generally it is seen that juvenile discus needs more food than a mature discus because their growth rate is higher than a mature one. Now you can do one thing. After feeding them you can siphon their wastes and uneaten food. It will take maximum 2-3 minutes.
v)Tank mates :
Though for best practice discus can be kept alone but you can keep some bottom feeders in this tank. You can keep corydoras sp., clown loach, bristlenose pleco etc. They can eat uneaten foods that you’ll provide to your fishes.
vi)Other decorations for this type of tank:
- You can use driftwoods in this tank. Adding this not only your tank looks good bit also it will provide them some hiding place when they are first introduced and stressed.
- Let us assume that you keep either canister or top and power filter, so there is no direct channel for aeration. Hence you have to use airstone for more aeration.
- You can also use some hardy plants like echinodorous sp., vallisneria sp.anubias sp. In this type of set up.
So you see lots of options when you keep discus in a sandy tank. Apart from bare bottom this type of set up will also do well for discus.
