It's Not Very Difficult to Keep Your Discus Fish Alive by Following a Simple Routine

It is a common perception that discus fish is very difficult to keep at your home aquarium. This is just half-truth. Many fish-keepers full do not have any experience in keeping fish of this kind will always tell about their failures blaming discus fish. However if you have some experience in fish-keeping, if you are prepared to take some extra efforts, you will see no difficulties in keeping them.

Here are the things which you must observe if you want to keep discus fish alive and healthy -

1. The quality of water in your aquarium is of prime importance for the health of discus fish. Poor quality of water always results in sickness and death of discus fish. You should always remember that the fish is originating from Brazil. The waters in that country are generally soft and acidic. So you must try to replicate the same quality of water in your aquarium.

2. The size of your aquarium is very important. If you are keeping a large quantity of water, it is easy to manage because the conditions of water will not change frequently. However, if you want to keep the fish in a small aquarium, you have to be very careful in preserving the quality of water.

3. You must understand the nitrogen cycle. This is very important for keeping any fish in the aquarium. If you are not aware of what it means and how to maintain it, you better understand it by making search on the Internet and by discussing it with the local pet shop. If you are not prepared to run the nitrogen cycle regularly, it is better to reconsider about your plants to keep discus fish.

4. High contents of ammonia or nitrite in the aquarium water will be harmful for discus fish. The fish can survive only with the minimal contents of these toxic chemicals in the water. To keep the water absolutely clean and free from all these harmful contents, you have to clean the bottom of the aquarium almost every alternate day to remove the particles of un-eaten food from there. These particles will produce ammonia which will be lethal to the fish.

5. The ph level of the aquarium water has to be maintained in a specific range. The recommended level for discus fish is 5.5 to 7.0. If there is any variation from this level, discus fish will not be able to tolerate it. If you live in an area where the hardness of water is very high, you should make specific efforts to keep it under control for your aquarium. You can install a reverse osmosis filter which will clean the water and also keep the ph levels very low.

6. You should have sufficient knowledge about feeding discus fish. If you have adults, you should feed them at least have two to three times in a day. However the quantity should never exceed their requirements. The excessive food will accumulate at the bottom of the aquarium and it will start contaminating the water quickly.

7. Periodic changes of aquarium water must be done. Never change the entire water at one time. You should change about 25 per cent of the water every time.

All the about things are simple to understand and follow. If you set up a routine to take care of all these things and followed it strictly, you will be able to enjoy the company of discus fish for a long time.

Chintamani Abhyankar is a goldfish enthusiast and has been raising and breeding goldfish for many years. He is an expert on their care and an advocate for raising healthy goldfish the natural way. His famous digital book, "Secrets on Keeping Beautiful Goldfish", offers simple, easy to follow instruction for raising healthy, long-living goldfish. Visit his website http://www.goldfishcaretips.com to learn more about expertly raising your goldfish and to receive your FREE copy of his special report, "Fish-Keeping Hobby Secrets Revealed".