Aquarium fish discus. Fish Discus: description, photos and conditions of detention

Among the diverse inhabitants of the aquarium world, discus fish from the family of cichlids stand out as a bright coloring and unusual form. These are quite demanding of the content and capricious creatures. Nevertheless, if you know how to properly care for them, breeding discus is a force even a novice aquarist.

Description

The body of the fish has a round shape, it is strongly flattened from the sides, which is why it resembles a disk. Thanks to this, it got its name. On the trunk, long fins are well distinguished. Head small, with convex reddish eyes. Dimensions of fish vary from 15 to 20 cm. Coloring is quite varied. Most often there is a red discus fish, the photo of which is placed at the beginning of this article. On the main background, you can see the wavy blue lines along them, smoothly passing to the fins. On the sides there are vertical strips. This motley coloring helps cichlids hide from predators, hiding in vegetation. The color of the fish can vary depending on its condition. For example, with a strong fright, the general background of the trunk becomes pinkish-gray, and the strips almost completely disappear. Life expectancy in an aquarium with good care can be 15 years.

Habitat in nature

Discus is a fish that naturally occurs mainly in the Amazon basin. Wildlife is caught in Brazil, Peru, Colombia. Prefers a slow flowing fish soft or acidic waters, where there are no harmful microorganisms. Usually flocks of discus accumulate in coastal thickets, hiding from predators in the washed up roots of trees and shrubs. The suitable water temperature for them is 26-31 ⁰С, although in shallow water it can reach as low as 35 ⁰С. Cichlids choose mainly ponds with sandy or old leaves covered with leaves.

Variety of species

In the 90 years of the last century, breeders have developed several hybrid forms that have gained much more popularity among aquarists than natural ones. Their weak resistance to diseases and higher demands for care were compensated for by an unusually bright and beautiful coloring.

Today, five main groups are distinguished, which include both natural and artificially derived representatives of the genus Diskus (fish). Each description is as follows:

1. Red is the brightest and therefore the most numerous species. The main background can be any shades - cherry, orange, scarlet, etc. To maintain the color of the fish, you need a special food containing specialized additives.
2. Turquoise. This is the main color of the trunk of this disc. It clearly shows the pattern of stains and strips. This kind is most common among Russian fans of aquarium animals, since it appeared in our country in the 70's.
3. Cobalt. It has some similarities with turquoise, but instead of a green shade, saturated blue predominates. It differs from other species with shiny strips on the trunk and fins.
4. Blue. It is considered one of the largest representatives of the genus. The main background is a yellow-pink shade with a dust effect.
5. Golden discus is a fish, a photo of which can be viewed below. It has the highest cost among all of the above. The less pigmentation spots, the more valuable the specimen.

Each named variety of discus (fish with a certain color of the trunk) has a lot of different variations.

Conditions of detention

Considering the rather large sizes of these cichlids and the fact that they are usually inhabited by groups, the aquarium should be chosen to be capacious - with a capacity of at least 250 liters. It must be separate, because the discus is very prone to fatal diseases, which for other fishes are completely harmless. In addition, they have certain requirements for water. Its temperature should be within 28-33 ⁰С. The discus is too sensitive to the quality of water. The content with other fish is undesirable, since for their comfortable living purity is very important. It is also important to maintain pH stability at 5.0-6.0. Any sudden changes in acidity can seriously damage the health of fish.

It is necessary to replace half of the water in the aquarium once a week. A prerequisite is the installation of a good filter. An effective method of water purification is ozonation, but only in the hands of experienced aquarists, since the excess of ozone will lead to the death of discus. It is safer to use ultraviolet. Before settling fish in the tank, which was previously in use, it should be properly washed and disinfected.

The lack of soil is permissible, but in a bare and empty aquarium the discus looks not so perfect. They acquire a completely different kind, even if they simply pour small pebbles into the bottom. In addition, the soil with planted water plants helps maintain biological balance. The main thing is that in this case the pathogenic bacteria do not penetrate into the aquarium. Periodically, the soil is cleaned of accumulated fish products.

For natural conditions of discus habitat, bright lighting is not characteristic, therefore it is not required for maintenance at home. Although in bright light fish look just amazing.

Greenery in the aquarium

The high water temperature necessary for the maintenance of this species of cichlids, and poor lighting create certain difficulties in the cultivation of plants. Therefore, it is necessary to choose only those of them that will be able to withstand such conditions. These are mainly plants such as ambulia, vallisneria, anubias, didiplis, echinodorus. They also fulfill the role of natural filters and do not impede the movement of fish.

Feeding

These cichlids are quite choosy and in food. Diskus is a carnivorous fish, almost half of its daily diet should be protein. For this, a special beef is prepared on the basis of a beef heart, adding shrimp meat, fish fillet, nettle herbs, various vegetables and vitamins. Some aquarists use animal feed in the form of bloodworm and tubule. Care should be taken with such food, since it is extracted, as a rule, from contaminated water bodies and can lead to poisoning or cause any dangerous disease. Before giving such food, it is defended for at least 5 days. Diskus is a fish that is fed 2-3 times a day, removing all residues after 10 minutes so that they do not spoil the water.

You can use specialized industrial feeds. Accustom to them gradually. First, dry food in small amounts added to the ground beef heart, increasing the dose every day. The period of training lasts approximately 2 weeks.

Special demand is for dry fish food "Tetra Diskus", a bucket of which (10 liters) can be purchased for 3.5 thousand rubles, and it will last for a long time. Ready-made food has a balanced composition, contains the necessary amount of vitamins and trace elements. In addition, it increases resistance to diseases and improves the coloration of fish. At the bottom of the aquarium, the food drops slowly, so the discus eats it willingly.

Compatibility

This species of cichlids, despite its large size, is distinguished by a calm and peaceful disposition. Nevertheless, it is not recommended to keep discus with other fish species. One of the reasons is the high water temperature, not all aquarium inhabitants are able to withstand it. In addition, there is a serious risk of infection with your neighbor. Any other inhabitants are lost and practically become invisible against a background of bright coloration, which differ discus. Compatibility with other fish they have good, only if they have the same slowness and are not afraid of high temperatures. These requirements are fully consistent with the armored catfish (corridors). In addition, they destroy the remains of food, resulting in water in the aquarium for longer remains clean.

Sexual differences

To distinguish the female from the male is possible by the geometry of the fins. In the female, if you continue imagining straight lines from the edge of the anal and dorsal fins, they cross the tail. The male, at the very least, touches him lightly. Male individuals are larger, have a more pointed dorsal fin. The position of the external genitalia is also different - the female has a wide and rounded ovipositor, adapted to isolate the eggs.

Breeding

Sexual maturity discus reach at the age of 1,5-2 years, and the breeding period lasts from 2 to 3 years. If problems arise with the definition of male and female individuals, several fish are acquired for breeding. When it becomes clear that two of them formed a strong pair, they are transplanted into a separate spawning ground with a volume of at least 100 liters. In the tank, snags, clay pots, large stones and any other decorations are placed. Round-the-clock coverage should be weak. Fish should be protected from stress, so water changes though regularly, but with great care. Its temperature is maintained within 28-30 ° C. Of great importance is the rigidity of water. If it is high, the fertilization of caviar will become problematic. Optimum rigidity - no more than 3 degrees.

Spawning begins in the evening. The signal to it is the cleaning of the substrate and the twitching of the fins of the fish. The female lays 200 to 400 eggs, which are fertilized by the male. The incubation period is 3-4 days. After another, the fry begin to swim. It is very important during this period to make a daily replacement of water by a quarter of the volume. In the first days of life, the main food for fry is the special allocation on the skin of the parents. When they no longer remain on the same fish, another one immediately swims. After 2 weeks, parents are sent back to the aquarium.

Feeding of fry

Sometimes there are too many of them, and then the parents are not able to feed the entire offspring. It happens that nutritional secretions on the skin are completely absent. In such cases, to save the fry, it is necessary to give them artificial fodder. On the water from the spawning knead egg powder and make thin flat cakes. They are tightly pressed against the wall of the aquarium, so that each protrudes slightly above the surface of the water. When the fry is 5-6 days old, they can be fed with Artemia nauplii. In the future, any quality feed of suitable size is used.

Diseases of discus

The main reason for their occurrence - non-compliance with the rules of the content. With good care, when attention is paid to the quality of water, lighting and nutrition, stress (the cause of many diseases) is virtually eliminated. Diskusy - aquarium fish, which are very sensitive even to minor changes. The main problems to be faced:

• Diseases of the intestines. The cause may be a poor-quality feed or a sick neighbor. The fish becomes sluggish, refuses to eat. The excrement is like white threads. On the head, fins there are purulent ulcers. The exact diagnosis is established only by laboratory.
• Intestinal obstruction, dropsy. Occur as a result of poor nutrition. The abdominal cavity is swollen in the fish, possibly a pop-eyed. In the first case, the discus takes food until the intestine breaks, and then it dies. A dropsy is characterized by a complete lack of appetite.
• Bacterial infection. Symptoms of this disease can not be overlooked - the edges of the fins whiten, the mucosa thickens, the color of the trunk becomes darker. The fish loses its appetite, is hammered into a corner. If you do not take timely measures to save, gradually her eyes grow turbid, begin to decompose fins and tail. It is treated with antibiotics.
• Parasitic diseases and fungal infections - often found in discus.
• Gill and skin bladderworms can lead to a very serious condition of the fish. In the fight against them help special means, sold in pet stores.

Prevention

Discourses are difficult to treat, so it is much easier to avoid illnesses. This is possible only if the conditions of keeping pets in the aquarium are respected. To do this, carefully monitor the cleanliness and temperature of water, use high-quality fodder. It is necessary to exclude infection and pathogens in the aquarium. Discus is a fish, the compatibility of which with other inhabitants must be taken into account in order to avoid stress, which is the cause of many diseases.