If you do a Google search for Discus water parameters you will see a lot of conflicting information. Many Discus owners become obsessed with water parameters to a point where they take the fun out of the hobby. We as Discus owners ARE NOT chemists! So- don’t worry too much about the water parameters. The main thing to keep in mind is the water temperature. Discus will do well in just about any water parameters as long as they remain constant. Discus DO NOT like frequent change!
Here are the ideal water parameters for keeping healthy discus.
PH- between 5.5 and 7. Your best bet would be PH of 6. PH up to 7.8 is fine as long as it does not fluctuate. Anything above 7.8 is not good as it will stress out the discus. NEVER add any chemicals to raise or lower your PH!
Temperature- Between 82F and 88F degrees
Water Hardness- Doesn’t really matter. Don’t even worry about it.
Water Changes– How often you do water changes and how much water you change is completely up to you. Some people online claim that you must do 100% water change daily- This is 100% FALSE!! Even if I own the water company I wouldn’t replace all my water daily! You need to decide how often you will do water changes and how much water you replace. I personally do 50% water change once per month on my show tank! If you are trying to breed discus then get ready to do small water changes daily!
Water quality is a key element in maintaining and raising healthy discus. It is not as complicated as it sounds!
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding Discus Water Parameters or any other discus fish related questions.
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3 Comments
Rick Elliott
I’m a firm believer that water consistency is indeed the solution. Question:
I have some pairs forming and laying eggs. I keep a bare bottom system with internal bio filtration. Driftwood and plants with a tap water RO blend.
I feed live worms, live brine and bio gold pellets in an effort to keep the excess food to a minimum. Partial water changes every other day.
Water ph seems to be relatively stable I think primarily due to the driftwood.
My spawns are turning white within two days and rather than interfere with the parenting skills and the possibility of their being too young to spawn, males, , I’m concerned also about fungus. What’s the best method to address fungus during a spawn without disrupting the bio system.
Methyl Blue is out of the question. Any experience dosing with something such as Kordon Rid-Ick Plus just after laying?
Any other suggestions are appreciated.
Best-
discusguy
Hi Rick,
Excellent question. Do you know for a fact that the discus are male and female and not 2 females? Reason I ask is that if the eggs are not fertilized immediately they will get fungus and turn white. Have these 2 discus spawned in the past successfully or is this their first time? Have you seen the spawning process with this pair to ensure that the eggs are actually being fertilized?
I have had high success rates using Maroxy right after the eggs have been fertilized. Then I use it again a couple of weeks later. I also use Formalin once a week for 4 weeks. Follow the regular dosage on the Maroxy. Please let us know how it goes. Good luck! – Rob
discusguy
Hi Rick,
I more thing I forgot to mention, as soon as the spawning process is completed, you should lower your water temperature to about 83 degrees. Anything warmer than that will cause the eggs to get fungus.
Keep us posted. Thanks -Rob