Breeding Discus Fish – Tips and Tricks

Most people complained about how difficult and tedious it is to breed discus. Following the tips and tricks listed below will certainly help hobbyists enjoy the life of breeding discus fish.

1. What is the proper water temperature?

The suitable temperature is 28 to 30 degrees Celsius. In Malaysia, a country with a tropical climate, we don’t use a heater if we keep the fish indoors. For outdoor, we need to apply a heater, otherwise the fish will lose their appetite and feel sick.

2. What to do if the fish get sick?

When the fish is sick, it will hide in a corner and the best solution is to apply methylene blue and change the water after 1-2 days. It will also be necessary to install a heater.

3. Do we need to change the water every day?

For busy hobbyists, there is no need to change the water as the fish feed less frequently. With a simple water filter system installed, the water change should only be done once every two weeks. For retirees who feed the fish very often, the water change is done twice a day.

4. What is the best diet for discs?

The best diet is undoubtedly the chopped beef heart. It is recommended not to feed live foods to discus, as they can cause disease.

5. Why is the disk growing too slow?

There is a stage where the disc slowly grows from 3″ to 4″. To improve the growth rate, a treatment with 1000 mg of metronidazole for 5 days can be performed.

6. How to improve the color of the disc?

In order to enhance the color of the discus, most discus farms and exporters feed the fish a coloring agent which is quite expensive. The color agent commonly used is astaxanthin, which promotes reddish color in just a few days.

7. Why do people stop having records?

The most common reason is the slow growth rate and the lack of time allocated to this hobby.