Breeding My Discus

Great journal DevotedToDiscus, thanks for sharing and good luck!

DevotedToDiscus said:

I am super careful with my fish,

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I didn't doubt that for a second!

Just wanted to raise the alarm in case it was something you had not considered.

ZoddyZod said:

DevotedToDiscus said:

I am super careful with my fish,

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I didn't doubt that for a second!

Just wanted to raise the alarm in case it was something you had not considered.

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Thanks man, glad you did for anyone else who may consider a similar method of water changing

Well there is now some serious love action going on. They spent most of the day cleaning the pot and quivering at each other, now they are doing a few dummy runs.......

Success!

After a day full of flirting they finally got to it. There must have been 2 hours of the female doing dummy runs with the male looking on, and while the GoGo Bar style show may have been intended to get him in the mood for love...........I mean come on! 2 hours, really!........poor guy.

Once they have finished their business I will distract them with some food, while I place a guard over the eggs. As this is their first real go outside the community tank they may be tempted to eat their own eggs. The guard will stop them eating the eggs, while still being able to watch and fan them.

nice one

Tizer said:

nice one

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Thanks mate...... still a way to go and a heap of hurdles to cross before I can relax with a new brood, but here's hoping.

Phase one complete. They will now get 24/7 of dim lighting so that they can watch their eggs and fry. I will maintain this lighting for at least 2 weeks. Sounds harsh not giving them any real rest bite, but it increases the chance that the fry will survive, and not get eaten by mistake in the dark.

That is soo freaking cool! Congratulations. I cannot wait to see pictures of the babies! Well done. Such striking fish.

Dieses Madchen said:

That is soo freaking cool! Congratulations. I cannot wait to see pictures of the babies! Well done. Such striking fish.

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Thanks.... They should hatch in 48 hours and be free swimming in 2 - 3 days after that, but still need to be excepted by Mum and Dad. Being a young couple it is always a bit hit or miss. Hope my luck will last

How interesting and exciting! Just wanted to reply to keep tabs on this blog

You have some absolutely stunning fish!!

So is it really as much work keeping discus as everyone says? I've got a LONG way to go before I'd consider keeping them... but how beautiful

thisguyek said:

How interesting and exciting! Just wanted to reply to keep tabs on this blog

You have some absolutely stunning fish!!

So is it really as much work keeping discus as everyone says? I've got a LONG way to go before I'd consider keeping them... but how beautiful

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Thanks for nice comment...... If you are going to keep farmed fish, I personally say that they are not at all difficult to keep, and actually quite hardy. Wild fish are a little different as their immune systems are not as robust. All they really need to stay fit and healthy is good clean water and a quality food. That is not difficult to do, as on average I invest around 15 minutes per day maintaining my main tank, and maybe 30 minutes on a weekend. Sure if you want to breed them and grow your young fish they will need more attention. I think people fail when they try to introduce them into community tanks with incompatible tank mates. That does not mean you can't have discus with other fish, it just means you need to select the appropriate tank mates, but that goes for all fish really. I keep mine with a school of cardinals and some corys, and they all get along and enjoy the same conditions as they all come from the same regions of the world. When you decide the time is right don't have any hesitations

Sadly, my man fish didn't have much lead in his pencil and most of the eggs were not fertilized .......... However, this is actually very common on their first attempt, so I am not worried. I removed the guard and let the female clean away the eggs, which she did straight away. I have seen this before and they usually produce a second batch very quickly, and with more success. So I am confident of another batch of eggs over this weekend. Will keep you posted.

DevotedToDiscus said:

Sadly, my man fish didn't have much lead in his pencil and most of the eggs were not fertilized

.......... However, this is actually very common on their first attempt, so I am not worried. I removed the guard and let the female clean away the eggs, which she did straight away. I have seen this before and they usually produce a second batch very quickly, and with more success. So I am confident of another batch of eggs over this weekend. Will keep you posted.

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I hate to say that I kind of giggled when I read this. Not because the eggs didn't hatch (i was looking forward to baby pics!!) but because I have never heard it phrased as "not enough lead in the pencil"

Sorry the 12 yr old adolescent mind that i occasionally have

1st thing, this is an amazing post, i have wanted to keep discus for years but never ever felt ready to take the plunge, i used to read a lot of stuff by tony sault who is known for discus breeding.
2nd shame about the babies, hope it works out next time
thanks for a great post