Food-Equal to water quality in importance, is the food we give our Discus. All creatures require food that targets their specific needs. Younger animals require more feeding's per day than an adult (minimum 3 if you are looking for good size and shape). Discus require a good quality balanced diet in order to flourish. We feed our food formula (Beef-heart Salmon mix) three times per day. Live foods, such as white worms, are fed on occasion and do a lot for their well being as well.
I avoid frozen bloodworm altogether for two reasons;
One, although it’s very convenient to use with very little cleanup, it's not all that nutritious as their main diet and the fish will not grow properly, usually the growth is stunted. (This can be seen when the eye size is large for the body size and the body is more oval or football shaped) In addition it is generally known that diseases like "Hole in the Head" is caused from a vitamin C and D deficiency as well as a lack of calcium. If Discus have "hole in the head" then you can be assured they have been fed bloodworm almost exclusively. Secondly, they have been known to carry pathogens such as intestinal and gill worms, and bacterial issues. Andrew Soh spends a lot of time in his book explaining why not to feed any freshwater live or frozen food and I support this position from my own experience.
A varied balanced diet is key for proper growth and choosing the right nutritious diet for your discus is key to minimizing disease and ensuring proper growth. There are some very key vitamins and minerals that should be present in the foods they eat, however you can overdose your discus on vitamins and cause kidney damage so do your research. (see the nutrition section).
There has been a debate on the forums whether Discus are vegetarian or not?
It is my experience having raised thousands of Discus over the years, both artificially and parent raised, to get proper development of young discus, feed them a diet rich in protein, minerals and vitamins, 3 or 4 times a day spaced out as far as you can. Keep in mind that discus are one of, if not the only fresh water fish born with teeth (see Jack Wattley's Handbook of Discus page 103). For the first few weeks they live eating the epidermis layer of the skin of their parents. If they were vegetarian why would evolution have them feeding and eating their parent's skin which is high in protein. I don't doubt they eat, depending on the season and availability of food, fruit and other vegetable matter that's why we suggest and include in our Beefheart Seafood mix; banana, lettuce, peas and spirulina. As the discus gets older and stops growing, year and a half to two years of age, a reduction in protein would make sense as we do this with dogs, cats and even humans.
We now include on the nutrition page our Beefheart Seafood formula and how to make it, so everyone can provide a healthier diet for their discus. We encourage you to try making it, you will notice a difference almost immediatley in a more active healthier Discus.
Water - The quality of water is probably one of the most important factors in keeping Discus or any fish successfully. Discus like the warmer water 84 to 86 degrees is optimum. They can tolerate lower temperatures 80 to 82 but over time they weaken and become suceptable to disease and may stop eating altogether. Young fish may not grow and develop properly at lower temperatures and this is easily detected when the fish appears "stunted" the eye size is large when compared to the body. Increasing the temperature over a few days to 88 to 90 degrees will increase the metabolism and act as a general tonic and this can be done a couple times a year and should be done especially if the fish has a reduced appetite or stops eating.
Caution playing with temperature should be monitored closely Heaters can stick and stay on.
I must sadly admit that I have accidently killed some very nice fish when a heater stuck on. I think most hobbyists have had this unfortunate experience. To combat this, especially in smaller aquariums, two smaller wattage heaters instead of one large wattage heater can prevent this from happening. If one of the smaller heaters sticks on it doesn't have enough power to raise the temperature to a high enough level to be fatal. Discus can tolerate very brief increases in temperature into the high 90's. I do not recommend these high temperatures because the Discus metabolism is racing and the fish could have a heart attack or stroke.
I keep and raise my fish in city tap water from Lake Ontario which has a pH of 7.4 and a general hardness of 320 microsemens. I alter the pH to 6.4 utilizing my 300 gal water reservoir. Phosphoric acid is added to this reservoir tank and allowed to sit for 24 hours to stabilize the pH. It is constantly monitored with a calibrated pH meter. However for the hobbyist, I do not recomend playing with pH as large swings in pH can stress and even kill fish and never add acid ("pH down" or any other products that use acid to lower pH) directly to your tank. We use sponge filters primarily. We clean the bottom of the tanks with a siphon hose and top up the water daily. We clean our sponge filters utilizing aquarium water every week or two depending on the loading. I realize that daily water changes may not be practical for everyone, however frequent small water changes are better than one large water change per week. A large water change after a week or two or sometimes longer can dramatically raise the pH which has fallen over this extended time. This sudden increase in pH with the new water can change the less toxic ammonium into ammonia and ammonia, which as we all know, can be be very hazardous if not fatal to the Discus. Note: If its been a few weeks since a water change because of holidays etc. you are better to do a large 60% water change to remove all the ammonium and ammonia but when filling trickle the new water in slowly so to gradually acclimate the discus to the new water parameters. I encourage you to monitor your nitrates which optimum for discus is between 5 and 10 ppm not to excede 20ppm. This will give you an idea on how often and how much water you should change in your situation.
Tank - All my tanks are bare bottom because its easier to keep clean. I use primarily 65 gallon tanks to grow out the Discus. I keep my breeders in custom 32 gallon tanks (16 H X18 W X 24 L).
Over the years I have set up display tanks with different filter configurations and makes, they all have their advantages and disadvantages. I had the most success with two outboard mechanical filters that clipped on the outside of a 120 gallon tank, one at each end. I modified them slightly with a plastic tray with holes drilled in it so the water going back into the tank was evenly dispersed and the current minimized. Discus don't particularly like the strong currents. I also went with some very nice clay pots and planted Amazon and Brazilian Sword plants. I used no gravel just some very nice display rocks that could be moved around when siphon cleaning the tank. I kept 8 adult wild Discus at a temperature of 84 to 85 degrees F. Once the plants were established they seemed to tolerate the higher temperature. Discus are very territorial and when they start to pair off they drive the other fish away. I recommend, in a 120 gallon display tank, 8 adult Discus so that no one fish is getting beat up, remember they are Cichlids and they will fight during the pairing process. One Final Note:
I highly recomend a time out/hospital tank (20 to 30 gal). Discus bullies usually the alpha male will pick on the weaker males and sometimes a time out is required. A fish which is stressed from constantly being picked on will eventually fall to disease and may need to be given a time out. I have found some of the newer strains such as the "Blue Diamond" to be very aggressive and don't mix well with some of the other strains of Discus.
