You need to change the water regularly to ensure that:
(i) The bacterial level remain low to keep the fish disease free
(ii) Ammonia and Nitrate levels are low
(iii) Harmful toxins are removed
(iv) Faster growth, health, and beauty of discus fish

Let us now take a look at discus water properties:

pH level: The pH level of water should be between 5.5 to 6.5. You can get the water tested at aquariums to see the tap water. However, make sure that you check the level only when the tank is full. Invest in a good reverse osmosis filter to soften the water. You can use tested RO water for discus fish water tank. Captive discus fish can survive in water levels up to 6.8 but you have to continuously monitor the level.

Chlorine: Chlorine is not good for discus fish. In most part of the world chlorine is mixed with drinking water to make it fit for drinking. Chlorine conditioning is an important part of discus fish care.

Organic molecules: Organic molecules such as pesticides, peat, excreta, organic solvents, urea, etc. are present in the water and if you don’t change the water regularly then there levels can increase which can harm the fish.

It is not the size or volume of the water that matters but the quality of the water that goes a long way in ensuring the wellbeing of discus fish.

You must always clean and completely disinfect the plants, stones or any other fixture before putting it in the aquarium. The water temperature should be maintained at 84 degrees and you can use fluorescent lamp for the same.

It is important that you keep the fish in a stress free and clean environment at all the times. Do not disturb their routine too often. When you are cleaning the tank, do it slowly so that you keep the disturbance to a minimum.

There are many types of discus food, which include sinking fish food, floating fish food, slow sinking fish food etc. The types of discus fish food also includes dry discus food, live discus food, and frozen discus fish food. You can even make homemade discus food.
Usually discus food is in the form pellets and flakes. It is a good idea to use sinking fish food for the discus fish because they don’t usually eat food directly from the top as they are mainly mid water feeders. When you are selecting a good quality sinking fish food, make sure that it is slow sinking so that the fish can reach to it at their own time. Also, if the food sinks to the bottom fast it will rot in two days and can contaminate the water.

Here is a brief overview of types of sinking fish food that you can use for your discus fish:

Flakes: Flakes are generally top floating but they have high nutritional and vitamin content. You can use them as sinking food if you pinch them a little.

Pellets: The most common types of discus fish food are pellets. They can be both sinking or floating. It is important that you soak the pellets in water before you feed then to the fish otherwise they can become bloated.

Granules: Granules also can be floating or sinking but you want to purchase the sinking ones.  These are essentially small pellets and therefore should be fed in the prescribed quantity only.
Wafers/ tablets: One of the most popular sinking fish food for Discus are the wafers. They are well balanced and sink rapidly but they are small enough to be eaten by small fish in one go and they do not cloud the water.

Gels: Gels are slow sinking fish foods which can be mixed with frozen food to give your discus a varied diet.
Since discus are continuously foraging, it is advisable that you make a routine of the feeding time, which contain many small feedings instead of few large feedings in a day. If you want, your fish to be healthy and live long then feed them at a fixed routine because discus fish are a creature of habit.

Natural discus fish

Discus fish have their natural habitat in the amazon river and nor find anywhere else. The credit of discover of discus fish is given to Johan Heckel.

Heckel discus fish: The most commonly found heckle discus fish has a dark stripe down the body and is red or blue in color.

Green discus: As the name suggests this type of discus fish has a wide color range of light green to vibrant green. Bright red spots and dark stripes are on the sides to add to the beauty.

Brown discus: These are not exactly the most eye catching types of discus fish but they are most commonly found. They are dull in color and you might see one with faded stripes and sporadic color on fins.
Blue discus: The have a rich blue color hue surrounding them and have the same base as the brown discus.

Cultivated discus fish

These types of fishes are  specially cultivated by breeders to please the fish collectors. Many varieties of cultivated discus fish are available in the market. Breeders bleed the fishes using selective feature of various natural discus fish. The common cultivated discus fish types are

Turquoise discus: This is one of the most popular and in demand are the turquoise discus fish that come in red and blue varieties. The blue ones have   blue with red speckles and dark vertical stripes and the red ones have white/yellowish body with horizontal, bright red striations.

Albino discus: These discus fish are very easy to identify as they have a near transparent white bodies with red eyes. These are bread with albinism and were first introduced in the year 2000.

Pigeon blood discus: A solid black tail is the trademark of pigeon blood discus that was introduced in the year 1991. These have  a bright white body with bright red striations.

Golden discus: These fishes have the royal gold color and are relatively a new strain. Red eyes, dim white stripes and semi translucent fins are other characteristics of these attractive fishes.

Blue diamond fishes: As the name suggests these fishes have a deep blue hue over a white body. They also have red eyes and have a much flexible body and thinner fin. They have a yellow color under their eyes or close to the fins.

Leopard snakeskin discus: Blue base body of the fish is covered with red striations all over. They have dark red eyes.
There are hundreds of different types of cultivated discus fish that you can select from depending on your preferences.

Check the water in your area:

You will be probably using tap water for the Discus fish in your aquarium but it is important to always remember that they are freshwater fishes and therefore pH 5 to 6.5 (that is slightly acidic) is to be maintained in the water. You can test the water by a simple pH meter. The best time to check the pH of water is after it has been sitting for at least 24-48 hours.
Also treated water is not recommended for Discus fish.

Water Change

In order to keep your fish healthy you need to keep the water always fresh. You can do this by changing the water regularly. Change about 5 to 10% of water every day. Don’t change too much of water at a time as it will harm the fish. Clean and stable environment will keep the fish free from harmful toxins and remove waste build up.

When to change water

Discus is a creature of habit. They follow your patterns and therefore the frequency and time of water change affect them. Keep a fixed pattern of water change, this will acclimatize them to water change. Keep the water change time after feeding so that you can remove any waste, leftover food, and keep the water clean.

Clean tank means clean water

Keep the tank without gravels or any other harmful decorations. Gravels help in hiding waste and debris and can pollute the water. Also, keep the edges of the tank free of deposits and algae that can alter the chemical composition of the water.

Water temperature

Discus fish need a water temperature between 82 degrees to 86 degrees. This can be done by installing a fluorescent light in the water tank. You can also install a thermometer on the side of the tank to keep a check on the temperature. When you change the water, keep in mind that there is not a drastic temperature change in the water.
If Discus fish are not cared for properly they can get aggressive, sick or even die and therefore you need to take proper care of them.

Firstly, the container must be maintained, clean and clear of any parasites that may cause harm to the species that you are keeping. Make sure the water is clean before placing any being in the container as this may damage them. Additionally, it should be kept at exactly the right temperature for this tropical species.

The fish themselves are required to be readied too, just like the water. To do this, each one should be carefully quarantined. This means that any potential harmful microorganisms that they might be carrying will not enter their environment leading to long-term damage.

Remember that these species are very sensitive. Carefully think about where their home should be placed, before settling on a decision. The container should be in a relatively quiet place, free of too much action. This is due to their sensitivity when it comes to shapes and shadows. Overhead lights may be installed to avoid this.

Feeding is also highly important. To make sure the each one looks and feels healthy, place beef heart or shrimp mixture into the tank with additional supplements and vitamins. Overfeeding can lead their habitat to pollution, even damaging or killing the inhabitants in some cases.

It is important when thinking about keeping the perfect discus fish tank to know about the best possible living conditions of the species you are looking after. Maintain the cleanliness, temperature and spaciousness of the container. This will lead to a happier and healthier habitat for your pets.

Buying ingredients for this delicious recipe is simple but will often make a sizable amount. Sometimes, it is wise to lessen, or even halve the recommended amounts. Getting your hands on this selection of produce will definitely leave you with the tastiest dish imaginable.

Find 2kg of trimmed beef heart, clean and fat-free, 1kg of small, orange shrimp, 1kg of shelled prawns, 1kg of saltwater fish fillets, I cup of peas, 1 cup of sliced, cooked carrots, half a container of sliced garlic and a tablespoon of Spiriluna mix. All of this will then be placed into the mincer at the same time. You should make sure everything is mixed together evenly.

Once you have placed it in the bowl and stirred, add anything else that you might like to include. For example, you may wish to add certain fish vitamins, or any other chosen food supplements. A common addition to make is astaxanthin or Pro More, though this is entirely dependent on personal preference.

In general allow yourself to be creative with the recipe. Fish tend to like variety, so doing it differently every now and again is something they will enjoy. Do not be afraid to try something different when you feel like it.

Find a selection of zip lock bags, which a spoonful of mixture will be placed and contained in. After this is done flatten this mix using your hands or alternatively a rolling pin and put them all out on a tray to freeze. Doing this is the perfect solution to have the best discus food beef heart for discus that you can enjoy with your whole family.

]]> http://www.discusbreeding.co/discus-food/how-to-prepare-beef-heart-for-discus/feed 0 http://www.discusbreeding.co/discus-food/preparing-and-maintaining-a-well-balanced-diet-of-discus-food http://www.discusbreeding.co/discus-food/preparing-and-maintaining-a-well-balanced-diet-of-discus-food#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:20:33 +0000 Harry Koots http://www.discusbreeding.co/?p=37 Discus are a type of fish that are fairly large as compared to other types of fish therefore they require a sizable amount in order to feed them properly. They are carnivorous and their meals should contain a fair amount of protein. Therefore, the article will try to expound on how one can prepare as well as maintaining a well balanced diet of discus food.

A majority of people prefer to prepare their own meals for the fish. The main ingredient happens to be beef. The most preferred part is the heart but there are variations of the recipe with some even using turkey meat. The recipe also contains a small amount of raw shrimp as well as a type of whitefish and peas and garlic.

The recipe can be modified according to the taste of the individual with some opting to include vegetables, vitamins and minerals. The best tip is for one to try as much as possible to replicate the normal diet of these fish in the wild. They have been studied and their diet is usually comprised of other fish and insects.

While preparing the beef make sure that you cut off the white parts since they are not of any nutritional value to the fish. The next step would be to mix up all the ingredients by whichever method that is suitable to you. Once it is all mixed up one can then flatten the mixture and then freeze it. One can choose to feed the fish with cold chunks while warming it up a bit to thaw is also another viable option.

Other types of food that one can offer the discus include worms. They have the advantage of being readily available even in the backyard while at the same time they are highly nutritious. One should just chop them up into smaller pieces and feed them to the fish.

This type of fish has the reputation of being selective on the type of food that they will eat. This usually occurs when feeds it with just one type of such that the fish will become hooked and may refuse to consume a different type. Therefore, the trick would be to feed it with a variety and maintaining well balanced diet of discus food and you will not experience any problems.

This species will be happiest in a tall aquarium because they prefer to swim in the middle strata. The tank should have plenty of plants and large rocks with nooks and crannies for fish to hide in and explore. When decorating the tank, experts recommend using driftwood and rocks instead of plastic figures and other miscellaneous items.

Filtration is crucial because these fish require excellent water quality. Maintaining water quality can be one of the most challenging things about keeping this species. An external canister filter has a large surface area that is excellent for keeping the water clean. Trickle filters are also effective but more expensive. Since this type of fish does not like strong currents, tank owners should avoid internal filters that move the water too fast.

The tank should have a good heater because the species prefers warmer water than other types of tropical fish. The water temperature should be taken into consideration if live plants are used for decoration.

Most breeders recommend these fish be kept in a species specific tank. People who want to stock a display tank with different species can choose peaceful fish that move slow and will not compete for space and food. Suitable candidates include neons, tetras and cardinals.

Maintaining a discus aquarium can be challenging but those who stick with it will reap the rewards of an attractive underwater environment alive with color and movement.

Home aquariums are very popular, and it is not just a hobby. For many, maintaining a habitat for different species has become a passion. The reason many people choose a particular species is their complexities. This is why the discus fish is incredibly popular. They are also considered one of the more beautiful ones in the world.

In its natural environment, the species is not as brightly colored. The wild born ones, to protect themselves, develop colors that allow them to blend in to their surroundings.

Ones that live in freshwater tanks do not have to fear predators. The newborn ones are called fry and they survive by feeding off the slime produced by their parents. The coating is secreted through their mother’s skin for the little ones to feed off.

The fry get their name from the shape of their body; it is shaped like a disc. They are very temperamental at times and must be slowly introduced to others. Because the water temperature and surroundings in their natural habitat rarely varied, they are very sensitive to any change.

Therefore, they cannot be simply dropped into the tank. The water they were transported in must be acclimated to the freshwater temperature. Slowly mix the tank water with the water they were transported in. The bag can even be placed in the freshwater to help with the change over. This usually takes about 15 minutes.

Once the temperatures are equalized scoop it out with a net and place in the aquarium. They can be placed in with freshwater angelfish, but they may have to be separated for a few hours. They can be fed a high protein food, but they will become stressed if new food is introduced. Food and feeding times must remain constant.

Keep the tank at 80 degrees Fahrenheit and use soft water. Always keep in mind the natural environment of the discus fish.

If you keep discus fish, it is important for you to be knowledgeable about discus food. This will make it possible for you to ensure that they are given the right type of nutrition. It is very essential to choose a diet that has a high proportion of protein. You should also use a variety of items in order to find the right balance.

This type of fish can sometimes be choosy with what they eat. If you are buying smaller fish, ask the seller to tell you the type of food that they are used to. You can keep feeding them the same diet until you find other alternatives.

If you want to give them some flakes, it has to be soaked and squeezed. This is because they like to eat at the bottom of the water or at the middle. Brine shrimp is also good because it has high carotene content. Make sure that it’s properly rinsed before giving it to them.

Blood worms are another popular choice that can be given once or twice daily. It is important to make sure that they are frozen and irradiated. This will ensure that they will not come with any parasites.

Your fish will also enjoy a variety of nutritious pellets that are high in protein. You can use this as their principal diet and add some frozen blood worms from time to time. Make sure that they are fed with products that are made by reputable companies.

Discus food could be given between two to five times daily. Make sure that the water in the tank is kept clean so that waste mater will not interfere with their feeding. It is vital to take some time to have a proper understand of their feeding habits in order to give them the right nutrition.