Aside from that, they need more looking after, providing them with an adequate environment where they can breed and live healthy. This is not to dissuade you; fish owners know how rewarding an aquarium can be. To many, this relieves stress effectively. So if you plan on getting some discus fish or have already purchased some, here are some tips on how to keep the environment suitable for the discus fish. Basically, they will need extremely clear water and you also have to maintain the temperature as well as the pH level of the water at a constant level. Also, you need to monitor the quantity of heavy metals, nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia in the water. It is highly recommended that as a discus fish owner, you need to use a reverse osmosis filtration unit inside the fish tank where you keep the discus fish. However, you need to keep in mind that although discus fish are considered to be high maintenance fish, you will find that there are other species that can also thrive with the discus fish. And, the best thing about these fish species is that they go along with discus fish and can really enhance the look of your discus fish aquarium. And if you re not that experienced yet in maintaining a fish tank, keeping discus fish can be quite complicated. But if you ask many long time discus fish owners, they will tell you that these problems will be only in the beginning, and all your efforts will be rewarded with a beautiful and mesmerizing fish. This means that the water should have an acidity level of pH 6 and it should also be soft water. These are the things that you need to remember when you are planning to keep discus fish as pets. Always keep in mind that water chemistry is always important when you consider taking care of these types of fishes. Make sure that you keep the pH level of the water at 6 and also the temperature at a constant 82 to 86 degrees F. If you want to add other species of fish in the discus fish aquarium, make sure that you try adding catfish, plecs, small tetras, and other gently and slow moving fish from South America.