Help Discus Fry Not Attaching

[Ghipsi]

Hi, I have a pair of Discus that I moved to a 100ltr cube tank, after a week they layed eggs but the male (has been an egg eater in the past) started to attack the female, he chased her around and around until I removed him.
The female has beeing doing a lovely job looking after the eggs & wrigglers (she is very placid & not nervy at all), the fry are more or less freeswimming today but I have noticed a major foo-par on my part as I didn't think about the black sealent on the tank
The female is busy catching fry (100+) and spitting them in a corner but they are not staying long, one fry has attached to her but the rest keep on going to the black sealant around the bottom edges of the tank.
what can I do? can I do something in this tank or would I be able to move mum & fry to anouther tank (with clear sealant ).
Be very greatful of any help. Thanks, lisa.

ps the female is a Silver Pigeonblood with plenty of grey peppering.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Pigeon Blood based strains do not turn black when they breed like other strains, a signal to the fry that they are the parents. This is very common for these strains. Only thing you can do in that tank is lowering the water level till it is almost touching the adults dorsal fin, always use an airstone instead of a sponge filter in these cases. Some people have said it is a pheromone problem but not everyone thinks this is the case. You will probably need to move them into a clear silicone tank for best results.

 

[mike os]

if she is still spitting them then they are not ready for freeswimming... probably tomorrow. IME PB's are not a problem for fry to find

 

[Ghipsi]

95% of the fry are swimming about now & not sticking anymore. Should I put some light coloured substrate down to hide the black sealant or swap tanks? (would need to move Angelfish about to free up the correct tank).
Thanks, Lisa

Piccy dark as flash used.

 

[Ghipsi]

Problem solved , all safely moved to a new bright tank.
Thanks, lisa.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Good to hear. Gravel should definitley not be used in a Discus breeding tank.

 

[joecoral]

Why would the colour of the silicon have any impact on the fry attaching to the parents?

 

[Ghipsi]

Why would the colour of the silicon have any impact on the fry attaching to the parents?

Hi, Discus usualy darken in colour when they spawn. The fry are attracted to dark areas making it eaier to find the parents so they can feed from them.
Unfortunatly Pigeon Blood Discus (and some other light colour veriaties) do not darken. When the fry become free swimming they are attracted to something dark (the black sealent in this case)
Unfortunatly I lost this batch of fry but have learnt from my mistake & will hopefully make sure that I get it sorted next spawn. .
Lisa.

 

[joecoral]

Ah, I see, thanks for clearing that up