If left inside the tank, the food can turn the water and sicken the discus fish. And with any fish, the water is the most important. This is their habitat; it should be kept clean at all times. With the discus fish, being that they originate from the Amazon River where there is a warm climate, the water inside your tank should simulate the temperature which is round 25-30 degrees Celsius. Since Discus Fish are very sensitive to water quality, make sure that you keep your aquarium clean. 50 percent of the water should be changed every week and you have to keep the water free from chlorine and heavy metals. To do this, a water purifier will be able to do the trick. Keep in mind that Discus Fish thrives in the Amazon River basin where the water is slightly acidic and soft. So, many breeders tend to ask how they will be able to determine the gender of their discus fish. Although this may seem difficult, many top breeders have provided different information to do so. And you may find that it is easier than you may think. 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. Setting up A Discus Fish Tank: Helpful Tips to Raise Your Discus Fish As an aquarist, you probably know that discus fish are one of the most sought after species of fish today. They are colorful and they are also fun to watch inside the aquarium. However, the problem with discus fish is that they are very hard to maintain. This may be a problem if you live in a place where hard water is abundant as you will need to bring down the hardness of the water as well as the PH. A reverse osmosis filter will be able to strip everything from the water and this will also lower the PH level as well as the hardness. Feeding Discus Fish is not that difficult to do. Keep the water slow moving and with temperatures between 82 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. When adding other fish to your tank, make sure that your discus fish is the largest in the tank. Because they can be somewhat protective of their area, bigger fishes can injure them or worse kill them. Fishes that can live together with the discus fish are plecs and small tetras.