DISCUS EGGS

[Lee Discus]

Hi all

i been haveing a problem for the last 4 weeks and hope some onecan maybe help me?

well i have 6 discus breeding pairs, 3 of them in a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft tank all 3 are divided up in there own section of ther tank, and also i have the other 3 discus breeders divided up in the 5ft x 2ft x 2ft tank.

and they have all breed very good for the last 2 years (2 of the breeders have only breed with me for the last 6 months )

anyway to make a long story short....for some unknow reason for the last 4 weeks they have all breed once or twice a week and i have watched the males all do there job's but no eggs of all 6 breeding pairs have hatched in the last 4 weeks. all parents take care of eggs for up to 3 to 4 days then they give up and eat them. l still feed them the same foods (tetra bits, blood warms, beef heart and flake food), water temp is the same as always on 30, ph is the same as always 6.4 - 6.8...nothing has changed in the tank, i havent added anything new at all to the 2 tanks


but in the last 4 weeks maybe 2 or 3 times a few eggs might hatch only but such a small amount, maybe 2-5 eggs only, and that has only happend 3 times in the last 4 weeks

anyone know what the problem is please?

thank you

Lee

There are 2 factors involve to determine hatch rate. or may be 3.

1. Fertile males - you have them. Being able to make the run and most importantly able to touch the eggs with his spawning tube.

2. Conductivity - controls pliability of egg shell for easy penetration of sperms. and water exchange through the semi permeable membrance for proper developement of eggs. 100-150ms.

3. Depending on the strain of the male. set Ph at the most active range and viability for the sperms. for Bar type-6.2-6.8 Barless- 5.8-6.0 Wild - lower than domestic. Heckle-4.0-4.5. HTH

Using the same parameters on all different stains will result a low hatch rate.
hth
Jimmy.

[rfidiscus]

Have you checked for ammonia or traces of chlorine in your water? They could be getting through and destroying the eggs. I was having terrible luck with my hatchouts and sure enough it was a trace amount of ammonia getting through our 1 cubic yard of carbon pre filter.... a little amquel for each batch of water and now we are keeping at least a 85% hatchout on our 100 pairs...
Good luck
Tom Meador