Janusz Zajonzs Discus Fish Aquarium

Another beautiful Discus Fish Aquarium with some beautiful and bright color Discus Fish. This Tank belongs to Janusz Zajonz from Poland. A planted tank with 12 adult Discus, Something many Discus fish beginners would dreamed of. What types of Discus fish you can see in it ?

© Janusz Zajonz

© Janusz Zajonz

Life with Discus Keeping

It's been a while since the last time I posted something here. I was quite busy and I think my Discus didn't like that a lot. I think Discus fish need more attention than a dog need. There are lot of things to write so I ll I will be writing a lot in next few days.

After many failed attempts my Discus pair was able to have a successfully fry. That was after moving them to their own tank. But now there are only 6 fry left. I have to admit its not easy to breed Discus fish and raise Discus fry. At least till you learn how to do it and gain experience. 

If you are a newbie at Discus fish keeping then I recommend you to buy few Discus fish keeping books and join couple of Discus fish forums. I have been keeping Discus fish for 2 years now yet there are soo many things to learn. I have talked about few good Discus fish keeping books through out the blog so you will find few good choices here.

Shy Discus fish ?

If you are new to Discus fish keeping or have bought Discus fish few days ago then you might have noticed they are kinda shy and skittish. If you try to clean the tank or even move near tank they would freak out and dart around the tank. If you have a planted tank then your Discus fish are stay hiding among plants most of the time ? I know this is really a frustrating situation because you buy these expensive fish to show them self not to stay hiding. How to make Discus fish feel safe and make them to come in front of glass ?

• Discus are social fish. You have keep them in groups to feel them safe and happy. If Discus fish you in tank more they tend to hide. Try to keep at least 5-6 fish specially if you are buying young Discus fish.
• Time, Time ! They need time to get used to new tank environment as well as room and new owner. They will be shy for a while till they get used to all of those.
• Have a school of active and peaceful fish like Cardinal Tetra. Discus fish will feel safe and home with them. Also seeing Cardinal Tetra swimming around will make them feel safe and take them out of their hide outs.
• If you have a planted tank then they tend of stay hiding. Its their nature. But after a while they will release its safe to swim around without worrying about safely.
• Larger than tank will make them feel better and safe.So they would swim in open.

Just Keep your Discus fish in a 5-6 group and after a while they will be swimming in open. They are weak and slow comparing to other fish. So its natural they try to hide when they feel scared.

 

Are your Discus fish Happy ?

Discus fish are pretty sensitive. They can become unhappy pretty easily since they are always demand high standards. Also they have ways of showing that they are not Happy. This is why its hard to keep Discus fish and why they need lot more attention than any other fish. How do you know if you are Discus fish are happy  ? There are plenty of ways to know this.

Discus fish will show bright colors - They will be having brighter colors but not darker colors. If they look usually dark it means they are in stress. This can happen after a water change or when you move fish to another tank. Also if tank is low on oxygen this can happen. Also you can see them in dark colors and stressed when they are harassed by other Discus fish or other fish. So basically when they have bright colors and showing off their Beauty like a peacock that means they are happy and If they are become dark and don't swim like usually that means something wrong.

If Discus fish are not Shy  - If your Discus fish are coming near to glass and ask for food that means they are happy with everything. Sometimes they can be shy first few months after you put them into your tank. They start coming near to glass when they get used to the tank. I know some say Discus are skittish fish but not when u stay near them everyday. they get used to you and start come front of glass when they see you near.

If  Discus fish are active - If you see your Discus fish very active and even fight with each other it means they are fine. They might not swim a lot but if they are active they won't stay at far end of the tank. You can see them fighting specially at feeding times. They fight with each other and rush at food means your Discus fish are happy.

If you Discus fish have a good appetite - It's a popular myth that Discus fish don't eat a lot. They have a big appetite and young Discus can be fed upto 6-8 times a day. And Adult Discus fish can be fed 2-4 times a day. If your Discus fish are rush at food and eat then they are happy. If they have no interest in food or don't come near glass even when you feed then you should worry about your Discus food. They might have a illness like white poo problem.

Discus fish need lot more attention that your other fish need. You have to watch them and see if somethings wrong. To keep Discus fish happy you have to careful about food you give them, Water quality, oxigian level of the tank, temperature.

Discus Fish - Complete Pet Owner's Manual is one of the least expensive book available on the subject of Discus fish ! But it packs lots of useful information about Discus fish keeping. This is great reading material for those who want to have Discus fish and who already have Discus fish not lack of experience. It covers all the basic areas you should know but doesn't have too many info which might bored you.

Pigeon Blood Discus

I like red Discus fish types than blue types though I have more blue discus types. Only red discus I have are Pigeon Blood Discus. Even those had bad time with white poo problem. Luckily they had recovered and Now slowly getting there colors. They are not checker board discus while filling with all white strips but still very beautiful.

Pigeon Blood Discus are man made Discus fish. This strain was developed by  Kitti Phanaitthi in 1991 from a mutation in Thailand. I think Pigeon Blood Discus are common than other red strains like Leopard Skin Discus, Red Turquoise Discus or Red Marlboro Discus. Probably bit cheaper too. They might not look very elegant at young age but adult Pigeon Blood Discus are super pretty .

Why do Discus fish get aggressive ?

Discus fish are know as a peaceful type aquarium fish. This is only half true. They might be peaceful with other type of fish but among them selves they can get pretty aggressive. If you have a bunch of Discus fish you might notice fighting break out here and there. Interesting thing is sometimes even smaller Discus fish fight with bigger Discus fish without backing away. One good thing is unlike other aggressive Cichlids types these fights are not savage. So most of the time you dont have to interferer. Specially in feeding times you might notice they get aggressive. How to keep aggression to a lower level ?

• Discus fish are Cichlids. So they can get extremely territorial . Too many fish in a smaller tank can build up aggression pretty quickly. Some Discus fish experts say there should be 10 Lt. of water for each fish. Bigger the tank get less will be the aggression.
• You need to keep at least 6 Discus fish together. So their aggression would spread out. Otherwise smaller fish can get stressed by bullied by big Discus fish too often.
• Aggression can be increase when temperature rise up. Because fish get more active and also they get hungry faster.
• Also when a pair try to mate. After they pick a place for eggs then can become aggressive to any fish who comes near.

One important thing to remember is you can keep a single discus isolated because he get bullied by others. Discus are a social fish. They stay in groups isolating a Discus would make him more stress or shy.

Identify the Gender of Discus fish

Identify the Gender of Discus fish is some what nearly impossible task unless you are an experienced Discus breeder or keeper. Its pretty hard for even experienced Discus fish keepers to gender then before they become one year old at least. This make is more difficult because come times they pair with same gender.

Male Discus fish normally have a round body shape, the upper fins have a long tip or pointed, and it's shape has a sharp and pointed direction. Male discus have a bigger tail as well. Also Males are bigger than Female Discus fish.

Females normally have rounded anal and dorsal fins, Pectoral Fins maybe shorter or equal to anal fin. Male discus Pectoral Fin normally longer than anal find when its extended.

See if its anal fins and dorsal fins are pointed at the end. Normally you won't find both the dorsal and anal fin pointed. But either one would be pointed if it's probably a male.

Even with these methods you can't be 100% positive. I think it takes years of experience to identify gender correctly. There are more methods which use to gender Discus fish but I ll post them later.

How to choose Tank mates for Discus Fish

Choosing tank mates to Discus Fish is something you have to do carefully. Adding other fish into your Discus aquarium would end up with disasters. There are few things you have to concerned about before start looking for tank makes for Discus fish.

• Discus are from tropical warm water rivers from South America. So they prefer high water temperatures . This is one reason why Discus shouldn't kept with gold fish and Koi types. You should look for those fish types who are ok with high water temperatures.

• Discus can be bullied by any fish and can get stressed pretty easily. Regular stress would make Discus fish starve and death. So should put those aggressive Cichlids types with them such as Oscar, Jewels, Mabuna etc

• Since Discus are slow moving fish some fish might like to peck them. avoid such type of fish like guppies or barbs.

• Keeping those tank mates as a group like 6-7 would able to keep their attention from Discus to their own kind.

• Don't use huge fish with Discus. You will end up with bunch of stressed out Discus fish.

• Look for peacefully fish like Neon Tetra, Cardinal Tetra, Corydora etc. But Its better keep them as a school of fish like at least 5-6 fish.

Discus Tankmates

Discus are not great for community aquariums that's a fact. I'm sure there are many who would disagree but Keeping Discus only is the best way to keep then in safe, shape and healthy. I have seen Discus live with Oscars and other unbelievably aggressive fish but those are isolated and I can say "Lucky" cases. Even thought the Title say "Discus Tank mates" I want to point out few things why should Discus keep only with themselves.

• Discus is an Slow moving fish. They are not always quick about food so they might find it hard to fight for food with their other tank mates.

• Discus fish can be aggressive among themselves but they usually get bullied by other type of fish. They are not good at surviving under this kind of situations.

• Discus fish easly get diseases than other fish. So Those illnesses which might not hurm other fish a lot might effect badly for Discus fish. Specailly worm problems.

• Discus prefer clean water They don't like messed up or dirty water conditions. Its prefer hard to keep Aquarium water clean with most of other fish types.

• Discus get stressed quickly and easly.

• to grow fast Discus needs quality food which might eaten up by other fish who don't need this type of food to grow. Also you can feed young Discus upto 8 times a day which wont be great for most of other fish types.

Tips : Feeding Discus babies ( Discus Food )

It's true Discus are picky about food. But it doesn't mean they don't have an appetite ! They love to eat and they are always hungry ! Specially When Discus are still growing. Few Tips about their feeding habits and Food.

• Discus loves to eat and they grow very fast if you feed them properlly. It takes like 2 years for Discus fish to reach their adulthood. You can feed them up to 8 times a day.

• Don't put too much food into Discus fish Aquariums. Always put food which Discus fish can finish within 15 minutes. Don't put Food again till they finish what you have put.

• Always use a quality Discus food brand if you want your Disucs fish to grow fast. also to hve healthy and great quality fish.

• Use a Discus Deworm food type once or twice a month. You can use those with other regular food.

• When you clean the Aquarium and change water always sucked or sponged out all food particals left at bottom of Discus Tank.

Discus Fish Types : Natural / Wild Species

Discus belong to the genus Symphysodon, which currently includes three species,

• Aequifasciatus (the green discus)
• Haraldi (the blue/brown/common discus)
• Discus (the Heckel discus)

Aequifasciatus (the green discus) -

Wild caught Green Discus

Haraldi (the blue/brown/common discus) -

Discus (the Heckel discus) -

Heckle discus are a species of discus found mostly in Brazil's Rio Negro. The fifth stripe is a distinguishing feature, as it is broad and dark. There are several naturally occurring variants of Heckle Discus, but they are typically more muted in color than aequifasciatus. They are captivating and beautiful despite this lack of bright and brilliant coloration. This species tends to be very difficult to keep and is only recommended for very experienced aquarists.

What I have in My Discus Tank

Now I have 16 Discus fish in my tank. Its a bare bottom glass tank ( 33 x 18x 18 ). Here's what I have,

3 Pigeon Blood Discus pairs ( I'm bit worried about them, They are not growing fast like others )
2 Powder Blue Discus pairs
2 Snake skin Blue Discus pairs
1 Turquoise Blue Discus pair

I bought them when they were like 4 c.m and Now they are more than twice of the size they were.
My camera is broken so far i haven't able to get any photos of them.

My Discus Fish

I ve started raring fish when i was 10 years old and Now I have been keeping fish for more than 15 years. Discus fish is one of my all time favorite fish though I couldn't keep them successfully until this year. I had tried to rise discus Discus Fish Juveniles Always ended up with a disaster. This year after reading a lot on internet I thought to give another try.

My first batch was 4 pairs of Pigeon Blood Discus. When I had bought them I didn't know they were Pigeon Bloods ( neither did the pet shop owner !). I had then for 6 month and one of them grew really fast. Unfortunately they all died suddenly. I couldn't even look at the empty tank.

So I bought my next batch. Its been 2 months since I ve bought them and everything fine for the moment. I love them ! Discus fish used to be my dream fish whom I wanted to have ever since I had seen them for first time. So now I have them !

( Ok. They are not mine, Just wanted to add a pic ! )