Tropical Fish of the Day – Discus

Are Discus Bullies or Not?

Discus fishes are very colorful and a good diet will enhance their beautiful colors more. Feeding them brine shrimp i.e. can intensify their redness. This kind of fish is relatively peaceful – or maybe too peaceful at that, since when you put them in a tank with other assertive fishes, like an Angelfish for example, they might starve and eventually die since they will be deprived from nutrition. It is then advisable to put them along with other docile fishes in order to maintain harmony.

It is also a good idea to put Discus fishes together in a group since they feel more at ease that way. The water where they came from is acidic, so it is important to have an aquarium temperature of 25-29°C (77-84°F) and a pH level between 6.0 – 6.5. A large tank would be nice too since they will have more open spaces to swim and will result into a more lively underwater environment for them.

However, putting a Discus fish along with smaller groups of fishes that were not brought up together with them may end up in disaster. Discus have the tendency to feed on smaller fishes if they don’t know them. Giving your Discus fish a monotonous diet will not only make them lose their appetite, it might trigger them to stop eating completely, resulting to death. They find live foods more enticing and once you managed to let them get the hang of it, most frozen foods will be acceptable as well.

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