Breeding Discus: Vlog

Zante

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4th July
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIJ4sAMr8UE
 
I was worried about my two female discus, they were looking REALLY thin. I did a course of Kusuri de-wormer, and after it dissipated a couple of doses of primafix and melafix.

At the same time I've started target feeding them bloodworm.

I was telling today my friend at the LFS they were looking better and when I come back home... this!

WOOHOO!

The "woohoo" is not so much because of the possibility of discus fry, it is quite remote. It is just because they must really be better if they're feeling well enough to breed.

Mind you, it's the third time they spawn so I decided to start a journal. They are in a community tank, so I'm not trying to breed them, but it will be interesting to see how they fare. For the moment the male is defending the eggs quite ferociously.

EDIT:
Didn't take too long for the eggs to be eaten. Not to worry, young couple, so it's to be expected.

... next time...
 
12th July
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaez4AnGQvY
 
Caught in the act!

I have just added some sand so you'll probably see very little as there is a lot of crap in suspension, the water is clearing, but not clear yet.

Anyway, a week after the first spawning, they spawn again, so I must be doing something right!

Again I'm not expecting this lot to survive, but I am tempted to delay the setup of my soil tank and try and breed these two in "solitary confinement". That tank won't be available for a while yet (see the jaguar fry/juveniles series), so i have plenty of time to think about it.

Unfortunately the pair is very much disturbed by the two leopard snakeskins that have been fighting recently and have decided they MUST fight in that corner, despite the parents trying to chase them away.

UPDATE:
They have kept fanning and guarding the eggs for three days. Once I noticed a layer of mold on the, with the parents still tending to them, I put them out of their misery and scraped them off the glass.

Still, better than last time, when the eggs were eaten.

... oh well... next time, maybe...
 
5th August
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS0foviVANg
 
Caught in the act, again.

Apologies for the shaky video, i didn't have the tripod available this time.

This time there is the novelty of a leopard snakesking that has been aggressively pressing the female and fighting the male. I suppose he was trying to fertilize himself the eggs as he had his reproductive organ out.

I'm sorry I had to do this, but I had to seriously scare him away as he was creating chaos in the tank. He was being so aggressive even with the female that he looked completely berserk.

The jaguar fry are growing and soon they will be big enough to be given away, and it will never be too soon. Then I will isolate the pair so they can breed in peace. It will also be easier to keep pristine water conditions for them and the possible fry.
 
26th August
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HtJ41K1114
 
Ok, this is a boring video, there aren't even any fish.

I'm just presenting the tank where my breeding pair will live for the next few months.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnZQVYbAFuw
 
Just a quick update now that the pair has gone in the breeding tank.
 
Nope.
 
The male had a bit of a swim bladder issue due to overfeeding, but a day of no food and higher temp fixed that in no time.
 
They are nicely settled in, very friendly and confident. It's just a question of time.
I am skipping a few water changes to see if I can induce spawning with a large water change (dramatic water improvement) with some alder cone tea.
 
Sounds like a plan! 
good.gif
 Patience is the key.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Rg4qreyKA
 
A bit of chemistry to induce a spawn:

I have kept them without a water change for a whole week and then did a large water change. I also made an alder cone, peat and catappa tea, to lower the ph and fill the water with tannins to recreate a blackwater environment.

The water TDS measurement has gone down from 113 to 78 and the ph has gone from 7 to 6.5. There has also been a temperature drop from 31 celsius to 28 celsius.
All classic cichlid spawing techniques. Hopefully they will be spawning soon.
 
Finally!
 
I have spotted the female pecking at the cone.
Not much enthusiasm, but let's hope it's a good sign for tomorrow.
 
Nothing happened, and they were obviously disliking the breeding tank, so four days ago I moved them back to the bigger tank.
 
Now they are spawning on an amazon sword leaf.
Hopefully the leaf will work better than the glass.
 
My camera went for a swim a while ago so I can't take a video, I will be lent one tomorrow for an entry for my reef vlog, I will update this too.
 
Hmmm... that's new... they have already eaten all the eggs.
 

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