Discovering the Captivating World of Discus Fish: Colorful Beauties of the Amazon River Basin

Symphysodon, colloquially known as Discus, is a genus of cichlids native to the Amazon river basin in South America. Due to their distinctive shape, behavior, and bright colors and patterns, discus are popular as freshwater aquarium fish, and their aquaculture in several countries in Asia is a major industry. They are sometimes referred to as pompadour fish.

Discus can grow to 20 cm in diameter and live up to 15 years. They are available from 5 cm to 20 cm and currently, there are more than 20 varieties to choose from. It is a very common misconception that Discus are difficult to keep, and whilst this remains the case for wild-caught fish, the European and Asian Discus have a worldwide reputation for being robust and easy to keep. If you are new to this hobby then please enter it with an open mind. Our Discus are kept in Glasgow tap water! This makes their care so much easier and means that almost without exception where ever you live in the UK you can keep these fish with a little understanding of their species-specific care. We guarantee our fish are free of tapeworm and the so-called Discus plague.

It's so easy to get "caught" - you have a happy healthy tank of Discus, you are out at a garden centre on the weekend, you see a Discus you like and buy it... Wednesday morning you are devastated when you switch the tank lights on ... The so-called "Discus Plague" is 100% avoidable - don't mix Discus from different sources. Fish from different hatcheries or different sources may have different strains of bacteria and it really is good advice not to keep them together, or mix them. Therefore it is in your interest and more importantly the Discus's that before adding Discus to your aquarium you make a decision to keep Wild Discus, Asian captive-bred Discus or European Discus. Then, stick to your chosen supplier. People do and will continue to ignore this advice, some will get away with it, others lose all their fish. Is it really wise to take that risk? If you must mix Discus from different sources then at the very least you must go through what is known as the "sacrificial lamb" process. Initially keep your existing fish, and new fish in separate aquariums, preferably separate rooms and ensure no equipment, hoses, nets, etc are shared between the two tanks. Also, ensure you wash your hands and arms in an alcohol-based product and dry thoroughly when servicing each aquarium. Now, set up a third tank, take one of your existing fish, and one of the new stock and pop them in this tank for a period of ten days. If all is well after this period then you are lucky - if the fish, one, or both go dark and shed mucus - they have "the plague" and now you know without compromising all your fish. We cannot stress enough how horrible this "condition" is to witness, likewise how easy it is to avoid.

When you visit a specialist Discus outlet such as ours, you may well see very heavily stocked aquariums, these are actually linked to very large sumps but may still look "overstocked". The fact of the matter is that Discus, especially smaller ones do better and feel more secure in big groups. In Europe, the German Veterinary Association for Animal Protection recommends a maximum of 45 x 8 cm Discus per 180 litres, or 12 x 15 cm per 180 litres. Now clearly this looks fantastic but is not suitable for your 180-litre aquarium at home! So we recommend an aquarium of 180 litres as an absolute minimum size, and in this you can house a group of 10 juvenile Discus. 10 adult Discus (larger than 14 cm) without companion fish and minimal plants/bogwood etc will require a minimum of 350 litres. There is no doubt that having too few Discus will lead to behaviourally problems (aggression / attempting to breed) as they grow and mature... remember Discus are cichlids! Domestically bred Discus are hybrids/mutations, and do not live in the wild - when buying small (8 cm or less) the fish may not always grow into the adult description. From 10 cm what you see is what you get, but the pattern of the fish can change as it reaches maturity. Keeping Discus with companion fish and anything that decreases the water volume (wood etc) means extra bio load on the filter, so consider this when deciding the type of aquarium you want to keep. Good biological filtration is a must, as is the right diet and water changes. The companion species can be most Tetras and high-temperature tolerant Corydoras.

Having decided on the aquarium you are going to home your Discus in you can now fit it out with the correctly sized filters and so on. Aquariums always look nicer with as much of the ancillary equipment out of them, be this housed in a sump underneath or a canister filter. Some canisters are available with an internal heater, which is great, likewise you can also buy inline heaters. The choice is endless and whatever your circumstances you will find the right combination of equipment. One warning. Buy good quality equipment. Your fish when adults may be worth over £100 each. Is their welfare worth risking with a £10 heater? You will need a biological filter, good quality lighting, an air pump, and an aquarium heater. If you are starting with a new filter, it will need to be "matured".

Feeding: 2 preferably 3 feeds a day is our recommendation for Discus, they eat a lot of food and without a shadow of doubt healthy live Tubifex is essential to their wellbeing. The most asked question is "how much do I feed?" - and answers will vary considerably, we feed our Discus as much as they can consume in a ten minute period.

Discus require between 20% and 30% of their water to be changed each week. Whilst doing this you can wipe the glass to rid it of any algae (coarse sponge is fine) also siphon away any debris and generally check for any potential problems.

Being raised in Glasgow tap water our Discus are adaptable to soft water if you live in a soft water area, or are quite happy to continue living in hard water. The AquaFood Discus breeding/keeping facilities have the following water values: the total hardness is from 3 to 6 dGH, pH 6.5 - 6.8, the water temperature is from 28°C - 30°C. Our Discus will acclimatise to a wide range of water values without issue, the key to it is "clean water," patience and an open mind. AquaFood offers a good selection of both Asian and European strains.