Breeding Discus

[gklaw]

Pick this pair up from CL on Saturday. Have not started eating but already laying eggs after 3 days in new environment!

Hoping to see some babies in 3-4 days. Never breeded discus before and did not expect this pair to be so quick at it.

Will crushed flake food satisfy the need for the new borns?

[thefishwife]

Good luck with this! Its a fascinating process to watch!

[seanyuki]

Let the frys eat the mucus from the parent's body for the first 14 days and then start with a crushed flakes food......better lower the water level so the frys can find locate the parents.....just my 2 cents

[aqu@@]

I have seen the pair in person, nice pair in clear water. Wish to see the fries later on.

[Smiladon]

I would follow seanyuki's advice closely

As I mentioned earlier, you can also try microworms as food if crushed flakes dont work out. There is also Hikari first bites, NLS pellets (for fry)...lots of options. With my Angelfish fry, I found that live food increased the survival rate and the growth rate.

[gklaw]

Thanks for all the advice. Woke up this morning and all the eggs are gone. No sign of any wigglers. The parents had been guarding and fanning them for over over 2 days.

Got 6 rasbora espie, 2 black neon tetras, two cories, 2 long fin BNP and 4 other smaller discus in the same 55gallon tank. Do you think any of these are the culprits? Or, could the parents ate the newly hatched?

[Smiladon]

I blame the cories!

Actually, its very likely that the parents might have eaten them too.

I've noticed my Angels do that sometimes if they are stressed out (aka other fish in tank).

Maybe you can separate the eggs next time

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I've never bred Discus, but I think the experience is similar to Angelfish. I am sure you will get more advice from the many great breeders of Discus here

[April]

You don't breed discus in community tanks or tanks with gravel etc. And you don't start feeding after 14 days . 5'days free swimming you feed bbs. Most people Also don't sell successful breeding pairs. Did you see pics of parents with fry on their sides? If not they are discus who laid eggs and could be a pair. Not all males are fertile. Do some reading. Raising the fry is the hard part.'

[pisces]

good luck, may buy some baby from u on the future!!

[Smiladon]

Already mentioned the part that the male might not be fertile. I read somewhere (simplyDiscus?) that fish from certain sources get sterilized before they are shipped out so that the market price stays high --> it happens more for Asian Arowanas.

Anyways, try separating the eggs next time or you can setup a breeding tank for them (29Gallon bare bottom with sponge filter + cone or something similar [you dont NEED cone BTW] would do).

you can feed bbs or mircoworms too (live food is important - as I mentioned earlier)