Over the past 40 years I have, on and off, kept and bred discus and found them to be far easier to keep than many other tropicals. When I first decided to keep the king of the aquarium I was told by many old hands ‘don’t go down that road lad it will all end in tears‘. However, I decided to give it ago and have never looked back. In those days all the modern equipment was unheard of and rain or stream water was the in thing.  

 
Providing you give your fish a large tank with suitable companions, for example, cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras and heavy planting with broad leaved plants and subdued lighting nothing could be easier.
 
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Today with R.O. Water readily available there is no excuse for failing with discus. The following water parameters are ideal for discus:
Ammonia- 0ppm
Nitrite- 0ppm
Nitrate- no higher than 10ppm
pH- 6.5
dH- 2-3
Temperature- 28-29°C
 
Feeding is of the utmost importance and a good varied diet of dry and frozen foods is desirable. In the shop we feed our discus on Tetra Prima, a dried granular food and frozen bloodworm and frozen tubifex. With a good diet you should see your fish grow into living jewels.
 
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BREEDING DISCUS– THE FINAL GOAL:
Today it is very possible to breed and rear your own discus, the main requirement is patience. There are two roads to go down. The first is to buy 6 small discus, grow them on and let them pair up naturally. The second is to buy an adult breeding pair from a reputable source. The ideal tank for spawning discus is in my opinion an 45cm (18”) cube. This size enables the baby fry to be alongside the parents at all times.
 
 
When the time is right and your discus are ready to spawn you will notice the pair shimmying and bowing to each other, the fins will take on a black appearance. The next step in the spawning process is when the fish start to clean a spawning site. This can take anything from half a day right through to 2 days. The spawning site can take a variety of forms, ranging from aquarium wood, broad plant leaves, filter pipe work inside the tank and sometimes the glass of the tank. In our shop we sell spawning cones which are specifically designed for discus to spawn on. Once your fish are satisfied that the spawning site is clean and ready the female will make a few trial runs while encouraging the male to follow behind her. The female will then lay the eggs and the male will fertilize them. 
 
The discus then guard the eggs until the great moment arrives and you have a mass of wriggling fry on the spawning site. After about 3 days the fry become free swimming and begin to graze on the mucus on the side of the parents.
 
CONGRATULATIONS!! YOU HAVE BRED DISCUS