Discus Fish Disease: How to Deal with Them As a hobbyist who is currently taking care of discus fish, you have to remember that aside from knowing how to raise them, you also need to know about the diseases that may afflict them. By learning about the different kinds of diseases that may affect your discus fish, you will be able to tell if your discus fish already has the disease and also know how to treat them. Keeping Discus Fish: It s all about the Water First of all, you have to keep in mind that discus fish are considered to be one of the most beautiful types of fishes that people love to have in their aquarium. The aesthetic quality of discus fish is really eye catching and once you are able to see one, you will surely want one as your own. You may add some ornaments in your tank. Although they can survive without them, ornaments wont only make your aquarium look good, but they can also provide shelter for them for their protection and for their spawning. Also, some plants can help clean the tank. Secondly, and to some most importantly, your aquarium water should be strictly kept at a certain level, both in temperature and in pH level. There are a variety of methods that breeders use to know the gender of a discus fish, most of them are used when the discus fish have already grown. While they are still young, it is virtually impossible to determine its gender. Also, be warned that over handling the fish may result to its death. So you need to have a very keen observation so that you will be able to truly determine the sex. Generally, it is recommended that the discus fish should be the largest fish in the tank. It has always been said that prevention is better than cure, so knowing what signs to look out for to determine whether there is something wrong with the tank or with your discus fish. To be honest, it s much more bothersome to be treating illness rather than just plainly keeping a routine of maintaining a clean tank, at least you can put it in your schedule. First of all, you have to keep in mind that discus fish originated in the Amazon River basin. They thrive in streams and lakes surrounding the Amazon River. They also come from the cichid family of fish and they like deep water. For this reason alone, you may want to get the largest and deepest aquarium that your home and budget can allow.