How to Keep Discus Fish? Detailed Guide to Salt Precautions

Discus fish originate from the Amazon River basin and have bright, rich colors. The colors of wild discus fish vary depending on the color of the water they inhabit, which is why they are often called the “king of tropical ornamental fish.” There are three main categories: red discus, blue discus, and brown discus. Most are now artificially bred, so how do you keep discus fish? Do you need to add salt when keeping them?

1. Do you need to add salt when keeping discus fish?

Many fish keepers say that adding a suitable amount of salt to the tank when keeping fish can boost the fish's vitality, so can you also add salt when keeping discus fish?

1. No need to add salt when discus fish are healthy

Discus fish prefer to live in weakly acidic water, while adding salt actually raises the water's pH, meaning it becomes alkaline, which easily lowers the discus fish's own resistance and leads to various diseases. Moreover, if salt is added over the long term and in large amounts, it will change the discus fish's original body color and also damage their body shape.

2. Sick discus fish can have a suitable amount of salt added

Discus fish illness is mostly caused by bacterial infection. Adding a suitable amount of salt can have a sterilizing and anti-inflammatory effect, which helps the fish recover their health. In this process, you should also pay attention to the proportion of salt added. Generally speaking, the salt added when keeping fish is mainly sea salt.

In addition, when carrying out periodic disinfection of the fish tank, you can also add some salt.

2. How do you keep discus fish?

1. Water quality

First of all, when keeping discus fish you must choose soft water and ensure the water's pH is between 6.2-6.8, that is, neutral or slightly weakly acidic.

In addition, regarding water quality issues, you must not suddenly change the water quality in the fish tank. You should promptly clean up the excrement in the tank to avoid polluting the water body.

When changing the water, it is recommended to change it 2 times a week, and each time just replace 1/3 of the water in the tank. When changing the water, do not rudely pour water directly into the tank. Instead, reduce the impact of the water flow on the discus fish and inject it slowly, otherwise it can easily frighten the discus fish and cause environmental discomfort.

2. Water temperature

When raising discus fish, it is advisable to keep the water temperature between 25℃-28℃. If the fish themselves are relatively healthy, then water temperatures above or below this range can easily cause some adverse symptoms or even illness.

3. Bait

Discus fish are an omnivorous species of fish, so during feeding you should also pay attention to dietary combination and must not feed them only the same kind of food for a long time.

Specifically, the bait can be chosen from: small fish, small shrimp, small shellfish meat, small insects, thin earthworms, bloodworms, beef heart, shrimp meat, fish meat, squid, chicken, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, etc.

In addition, you can also add some multivitamins and color enhancers to the bait. Color enhancers can be extracted from nature, such as spirulina, astaxanthin, and so on.

4. Mixed keeping

Generally speaking, it is best not to keep discus fish in mixed tanks. If you must keep them mixed, you can choose moonfish, zebrafish, molly fish, etc. of the same size for mixed keeping.

Overall, discus fish are still quite tenacious in vitality. Even for beginners in fish keeping, as long as this daily management is done well, discus fish can be kept lively and healthy.