Encouraaing Discus Breeding

[aidensmomma2000]

Well Ive moved my egg-laying pair to a tank where theyre alone and theyre not doing it! Is there any encouragement I can give them?  

[Woody]

Hello

Frequent water changes, high quality food, which you do right now since they bred for you, and time. I have never bred discus, but with Angels I found that some pairs bred within a week of moving, but the majority seemed to take a couple to a few months for them to settle in and breed.

They'll come around soon.

Woody

[BigDaddy]

Yeah... my questions would be:

1)  How long have they been in there?

2)  What size tank, how is it setup?

3)  Diet?

[aidensmomma2000]

Its a 30g corner tank, theyve been in there about 2 weeks and they get beefheart and bloodworm.

I guess it will take longer than 2 weeks! They used to lay vey frequently in the 80g, thought they'd be more comfortable alone.

[BigDaddy]

Well, if they've only been there two weeks... I'd say give them some time to get acclimatised to their new tank.

[Julie]

A little romantic music might help and maybe some bloodworms.

Julie

[Nelson]

A little romantic music might help and maybe some bloodworms.

Julie

...... romantic music? I'll bring the bloodworms

[Evan]

Temperature changes help,  ie WC with cooler water.  Just a couple degrees.


I have read also changing the lighting scedule helps but I don't know.

[TR]

Hi aidensmomma: All you can do at this point is wait until they settle down and acclimatize to their new surroundings.

The move to a 30 gallon is more than sufficent to breed a pair of Discus, the key at this point for you is to simply put more emphasis on the water quality v.s. the food you are feeding them.

If the water for the Discus isn't right or duplicated to where they originally were, where they had previously spawned, then its simply not going to happen.  

I would put more emphasis on the water quality for the simple fact that most experieneced discus keepers probably are already feeding their Discus foods such as Beefheart or Bloodworms.

Also.... you might notice that with fish at the spawning "stage" don't have appetites as great as usual, and if thats the case, then one needs to be careful not to add an excess amount of food as this starts to cause water quality problems - again the key to a successful spawn is the water quality.

Another thing that I have found is that when feeding bloodworms, they are cleaner and not as greasy in the water vs beefheart at that spawning stage.  And if you use beefheart while they are spawning use regular beefheart not the garlic one.

I was told by Discus breeders, that along with the acidic garlic smell we get in the water, that the chemistry in the water can become a little to harsh on the discus eggs, and should you need to add say any type of fungicide i.e. methleyene blue, etc, etc... the chemical properties from the garlic can counter it/off set it.

Aside from that, I hope you do great and and hope that things go well, seeing as it is really something to witness when you have a pair of Discus with a successful spawn of fry feeding off the parents.

Fun? YES.  Easy? NO.

PS: Julie... cute answer lol too bad they aren't like people, where romantic music would be all you would need lol, but you are right about the blood worms though.


                                     TR

[aidensmomma2000]

Theyre already getting the bloodworms...and they were spawning with the garlic beefheart.
I dont make it as strong as the garlic stuff they sell in stores- I feel mine is more of a maintenance than a treatment (and they LOVE garlic!)

I hadnt thought about cooler water changes- why would that stimulate them to spawn? I had assumed the opposite actually, only because when I was breeding bettas the water increased helped.

I love this hobby theres so much to learn! Its hard to get bored  :wink: Thanks to all.

[mseguin]

I may be wrong but it might signal rain, and therefore the flooding of the river basin.

[Mettle]

PS: Julie... cute answer lol too bad they aren't like people, where romantic music would be all you would need lol

Quite often you need booze, as well.  :lol:

[Evan]

right, discus spawn in the rainy season and the area floods with cooler water.   The WC with cooler water simulates that.  

As for the tank I had a Discus change mates and spawn the day after being moved.   That particular discus moves well though.

[aidensmomma2000]

Well they finally did it  
Ill have to get something so the eggs dont get fungus like last time though...whats that stuff called that turns the eggs blue?

[Mettle]

Whoohoo! Congrats!  

I believe Maroxy will help protect eggs from getting fungussed up. Can't remember what the other one is called.

[Evan]

meth blue.   Some people swear by it.   Others think it is not required.

When are the eggs turning white? Are all of them white?  Were the eggs good in the other tank?

If the water is in range it may just be the male is just going through the motions.  I would give them a few tries before adding stuff.  

I had a pair that was spawning often and most of the eggs turned bad.  A new male was put in the tank, the female went to him and almost the whole spawn is good, this is in an overstocked tank..

If you want to use the meth blue it will not hurt them and you just use a few drops.

[TR]

Hi Aidensmomma:

I'm glad to hear that things are going well for you so far. The product your trying to name is probably ( Methylene blue).

You can also try a product sold at  superpet /big Als.etc... called fungus cure, it's main incredient in it is called( Acriflavine) Both Methylene blue and Acriflavine act as a light sheathing  Antbacterial/fungus barrier on the spawned eggs.

I don't know if it may be already to late for you to add them in your case aidensmomma, usually the best time is a few hours after the eggs have been fertilized so it can begin to quickly take hold.

Asside from that give good airiation keep the temp at at least 86' this should make the eggs hatch by 52 hours, colder temp. will  make the eggs take longer to hatch.

Oh and aidennsmomma also be careful not to over use these fungus products than you really need to! the reason is that if you over do it, it can sometimes slow down or retard the slime production on the Discus parents that's needed to wean the fry.

Let us know what happens from there aidensmomma, good luck and if things workout I'll be the first one at your door lol :lol:

Hey they need God parents don't they :wink:

                                             TR

[aidensmomma2000]

Well I promised Nelson one if they ever hatch- he can be the pseudo godparent  :wink:

[aidensmomma2000]

I think theyre starting to get fungus (turning white)- they have every time (atleast 4 times in the old tank). I took the advice about a cooler water change and sure enough theres eggs    Thanks guys! I will have to get some meth blue and see how that goes with the next batch assuming these done make it.

Maybe I should start hatching some brine shrimp though just incase..

[BigDaddy]

Turning white just means they are infertile.  You'd know if they were fungus.. they'd be fuzzy