Among the many species of aquarium fish are particularly distinguished cichlids . They also exist a lot, and they are all completely different. In this article we will talk about this kind of cichlids, like discus. These fish are very beautiful, have a bright color and unusual shape. Therefore, many beginning aquarists are interested in their breeding, but you should know that the content of discus in the home - science is complicated. Let's find out why this is so.
Features of discus content
It's all about content conditions, which for discus provide is not so easy. First of all, they are very thermophilic and feel comfortable only in water with a temperature of 30-31 ° C. The lower threshold of the temperature regime is 28 ° C, otherwise the fish can get sick. For fish during the treatment period, as well as for fry, the water temperature can reach 35 ° C. Not every plant will develop well in such warm water, so their choice is limited. Specialists in the cultivation of discus recommend the use of aquarium plants such as anubias, hygrophil, cabomba, or valis-neria.
The aquarium with discus should stand in a quiet, quiet place, where fish will not be disturbed by noise, knocking or bright light.
The main food for these fish is the frozen bloodworm. You can pamper them and stuffing from the beef heart, enriched with vitamins. Feed adult discus three times a day, and fry - every two hours. Feed for newborn fishes should be available around the clock.
The content of discus with other fish is not recommended for several reasons. Firstly, for most species of aquarium fish, the temperature of the water in which discus should stay is not appropriate. And secondly, these cichlids themselves are quite painful, and other species can easily become a source of infection for them. Only red neon and Bleecher hemogrammus can become neighbors of discus on the aquarium due to similarity in conditions of detention.
If the discus conditions described above are met, the fish will be healthy and vigorous. In the normal state, they are characterized by
It should be noted that the color of the body of these fish depends directly on the conditions of keeping and breeding discus (water quality, lighting, food and health).
Secrets of breeding discus
Fish of this species live in a flock. If the conditions in the aquarium are close to natural (warm and soft water, constant low light, silence), then mature males and females choose each other for spawning. They should be planted in a separate aquarium (the so-called spawning ground) with dimensions 50x50x60 cm. It should contain a clay pipe, on which females will lay eggs every 8-10 days.