Native from the Amazon River, yet successfully bred all over the world in aquariums, discus fish are not too fragile or sensitive creatures. However, all breeders should be aware of the risks of discus fish disease, as they are often exposed to various health problems because of improper care conditions. Saying that breeders are most often the ones responsible for the discus fish diseases doesn't mean we're pointing the finger, this is the truth. Improper care, poor or inadequate living conditions, co-inhabitance with other breeds are usually responsible for the various discus fish diseases.
The most common discus fish diseases are the ones common to fresh water fish in general. For instance the ammonia poisoning is a discus fish disease that appears because of improper nitrogen cycle in your aquarium. Don't add tropical fish in the water until the ammonia has been eliminated in the water, and maybe the filters don't function properly. In order to avoid this discus fish disease, change the water regularly and avoid over-crowding the tank. The symptoms of this discus fish disease include red and swollen gills and the fish staying at the water surface gasping for air.
Another discus fish disease that results from poor water quality is the Ich or the white spot characterized by the appearance of white spots on the fish body and fins. The best way to fight this discus fish disease is by increasing the water temperature and administrating medication available in any pet store. Before adding the medication for this type of discus fish disease, take the carbon filter out as this may absorb all the useful substances. In case you want to bring other fish to the tank, make sure you use a quarantine aquarium in order to prevent any discus fish disease.
If the water temperature is not appropriate you expose your pets to another discus fish disease such as the oxygen starvation. A higher water temperature also requires an increased level of oxygen in the water. Therefore, you can easily avoid this discus fish disease by taking care of the aeration level, speeding up the flow rate of the filters. You may want to turn off the tank light for a while, as this also causes temperature to rise and exposes the fish to the risk of the oxygen starvation discus fish disease. All in all, keep in mind that the proper temperature for the discus fish is 31 degrees Celsius at the maximum.
One of the most common assumptions with discus is that they easily get disease and die. This is not true. They will only get disease if you mistreat them.
The root of the problem is stress, if you cause discus stress there immune system will lower and make them venerable to disease. It is important to keep stress to a minimum so below I have made you a check list of things to do.
?Make sure all water is free from chlorine and heavy metals. It is important that you invest in either an RO unit, water purifier or use a good quality tap water condition. ?Give your discus a good varied diet including frozen bloodworm and slow sinking granules. ?Don't place your discus aquarium near a door and all the movement will cause them stress. ?If you are keeping young discus, keep in groups of no less than six. Discus are a shoaling fish. ?Make sure there are no large changes in pH, hardness or temperature when changing water.
Above are just a few things that you can do to make sure your discus fish live a happy life and remain healthy. Remember discus are not hard to keep, they just require regular water changes and a good varied diet like most other fish. For more details on discus fish please check out my website at http://www.discus-fish-secrets.com
Rob Mellor has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health, Bonsai and Cancer. Rob owns Discus Fish Secrets website helping beginners and advanced fish keepers with discus problems including keeping and breeding them. Please visit the site for more information on. Rob Mellor's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.