![]() This is why a good adequate filter is needed for any aquarium not just discus but for any fish, although some fish are more resistant to it than discus which will only tolerate ammonia for short periods. But this is still harmful to the fish so then the biological filter will break this down further into nitrate (NO3) which will not harm the discus. ![]() First of all the filter must be mature and house good friendly bacteria (such as nitrosomonas sp) in enough numbers to deal with the job ahead, and that is to break down the ammonia into less harmful nitrites (NO2). This is where a good biological filter will do wonders for any fish tank, not just discus. To explain the waste products or fish excretion from the fish will give off ammonia in the water and obviously if not diluted down will increase and would not be pleasant for the fish who have to live in it. This process is known as the nitrogen cycle. The principle of biological filtration is to build up in sufficient numbers a colony of friendly bacteria to break down the waste (ammonia) from the fish into less harmful nitrite and then nitrate, this is known as the nitrification and denitrification process. Take it from me, if you don’t, your discus will soon let you know. This is why we need some sort of filter to maintain the aquarium water to a high standard to remove the waste, staining and toxins from the water. Once it is placed in your stocked discus tank, it will start to loose its quality because of the fish waste and food that is dissolved in the water. As soon as any water, be it pure RO water, HMA water, or even the best fresh spring water. If your tank has been set up and running for a long time, you could safely add your discus once you have carried out a good 25% water change and checked that all the readings of the water test are where they should be and correct. If you have a fully matured filter, you should not have any Ammonia present which will improve your success rate ten fold. So how do we create the right conditions? First of all you will need a mature biological filtration system, because one thing discus will not tolerate for long is Ammonia. Look after and get the water right, and the fish will look after themselves. The old saying that has been said many times is very apt here, and that is. If you keep your water parameters right, discus are then just as easy to keep as any other tropical fish. If you don’t have the correct conditions, you will never successfully keep discus. Water is the first thing to get right first as we have already looked at. It all starts with number one, correct conditions. So what has happened? What has gone wrong? The answer is easy, and it is as easy as 1,2,3. ![]() The fish are then deemed as being hard to keep and get the blame for going wrong. The discus turn dark or even go black, go off eating and sulk off into a corner and gradually fade away. All is well for a short time, and then they get problems. The discus look great and are swimming around, feeding and getting on great with cardinals, neon’s, Cory cats and all the other compatible fish that can be kept with discus. Even today, many new discus hobbyists keep discus in the same conditions as normal tropical fish. But now we are all armed with up to date knowledge we now know about them, discus are not as difficult to keep as you might have imagined. Easy for me to say I know after over forty years of fish keeping. For years many hobbyist have said that discus are difficult fish to keep, years ago many said impossible to keep.
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