How much does a discus fish cost, and how to keep them in a community tank and care for them well, and how to pick one?

Discus fish, although called “angelfish”, are only distantly related to angelfish. They are brilliantly and richly colored, covered in stripes, and from a distance their head, body and fins are hard to distinguish, resembling a discus on a track and field field, hence their English name “discus”. Here we take a look at how much a discus fish costs on the market? What fish can they be kept with? How to raise them so they grow well? How to pick one?

1. How much does a discus fish cost on the market?

There are a great many varieties of discus fish, and prices vary widely between varieties. Even within the same variety, prices differ greatly according to size, body shape and body color. Small discus fish are relatively cheap, almost all under 35 yuan. As an ornamental fish, discus fish generally cost several tens to several hundred yuan each. For an ordinary variety kept at home with a size between 8 and 10 cm, the price is around 60 to 100 yuan.

2. What fish can discus fish be kept with?

It is understood that discus fish can be kept together with fish such as the German blue ram, neon tetra, cardinal tetra, rummy-nose tetra, red-tailed black shark, peppered corydoras, upside-down catfish, suckermouth catfish and Chinese high-fin banded shark.

3. How to raise discus fish so they grow well?

1. Water quality for keeping: For discus fish, the keeping temperature should likewise be maintained at 28°C. The pH should be between 6.0 and 6.5.

2. Keeping style: Discus fish have very high space requirements, so a very large space is needed to keep them. For every 1 cm of fish, at least 1 liter of water is needed, so that the fish have enough room to move around.

3. Activity area: Generally, discus fish like to move about in places with water algae, and suitable water fleas and rocks should be provided.

4. Equipment needed: Raising discus fish generally requires essential materials and equipment such as a fish tank, filter, heater rod, bio-sponge and air pump.

4. How to pick one?

1. Eye socket: The eye socket of a juvenile discus fish is not necessarily red, but the smaller the eye the better. Be careful that the eye membrane is not white or asymmetrical left and right. Generally, the redder the eye socket of a discus fish, the better its condition. Also, the brighter the better; dull, lusterless eyes often mean disease.

2. Fins: The fins of a discus fish must be able to stretch freely and show no signs of damage. The pelvic fins should form a “V” shape, and the scales must be smooth with no scratches.

3. Sides of the body: The vertical stripes on the sides of a discus fish's body must be symmetrical left and right and even in thickness.

4. Body shape: The rounder the body shape of a discus fish, the better. Roundness is divided into three aspects: the outer circle, the inner circle and the roundness of the mouth. The outer circle is the circle formed from the mouth to the dorsal fin and then to the tail and to the anal fin; the inner circle is the circle formed by the bases of the dorsal and anal fins.

5. Body of the fish: The body of the discus fish should have no white spots, no overall darkening, and no shrinking of the fins or tail or other early signs of disease. The fish should show no abnormal behavior such as rubbing against objects in the aquarium.

6. Size: It is best to buy fish around 5 cm, as this makes it easier for the discus fish to adapt to the environment. Fish above 7 cm are on the one hand often much more expensive, and on the other hand you cannot enjoy the fun of raising the fish yourself. Moreover, we all know that the water quality differs from place to place, and discus fish produced by some farms that mainly breed discus fish are raised in a soft-water environment treated with anion softening in order to ensure hatching survival rates and growth survival rates, and are very difficult to keep alive once brought home.