Fish Head
02-17-2003, 08:51 PM
Hello all.
This is my first post to this forum. I had originally intended to briefly introduce myself and briefly tell the story of how I began keeping discus, but that post was unsuccessful due to a browser problem, and I didn't feel like typing the whole thing again. So I'll save that for later--it's actually, I think, an interesting tale.
But for this post, I've actually got a question about my pair. I've had my discus, four of them in a 55 gallon semi-planted tank for about a year and a half. I've had success in keeping them since I learned to properly care for them. The fish have been healthy in that time, and, as I said, two of them even paired up. Now I haven't the time or the space to devote to successful rearing of fry or extra tanks, so I want to make it clear that KEEPING only, not breeding, is my goal. I've got some older fish from a smaller tank in with them, a couple of tetra and a cory cat that I just wasn't willing to part with despite recommendations to keep only discus. I've had no problems with compatibility as these fish keep to themselves and are not in any way affected by nor do they affect the discus. I also would not think of breeding this pair since while the female has, I think, excellent form, the male is a slight bit stunted with a hump on the head (he's just under four inches long).
Now, after that long-winded intro, here's my question: Since the pair began to lay eggs back in December of 2001, they have always done the courtship dance as I like to call it with grace. I've never had fry survive past the wriggler phase, but as I said, it was never my intention to breed. That is not the issue. The deal is that recently, I've noticed that they fight while attempting to mate. Something the male is doing or not doing during the process seems to be upsetting the female. I don't have alot of knowledge about discus behavior, but is this normal? Is their fighting something like a quarrel? Or could there be some other factor causing this? The temperature is always between 82-84F. I have two filters, a Penguin Biowheel 330 and a Fluval 304 canister (I know canisters are not well liked around here, but I think I get enough oxygenation from the Penguin). I filter through peat. I don't do large water changes, but I do 10-15% daily. I know most of you would recommend more, but this this has worked for me to keep them healthy. The fighting was pretty bad today, and I just wondered if this was normal with a pair or if anything should be done to stop this aggressive behavior between two fish that got along great until now.
Thanks,
Dan
This is my first post to this forum. I had originally intended to briefly introduce myself and briefly tell the story of how I began keeping discus, but that post was unsuccessful due to a browser problem, and I didn't feel like typing the whole thing again. So I'll save that for later--it's actually, I think, an interesting tale.
But for this post, I've actually got a question about my pair. I've had my discus, four of them in a 55 gallon semi-planted tank for about a year and a half. I've had success in keeping them since I learned to properly care for them. The fish have been healthy in that time, and, as I said, two of them even paired up. Now I haven't the time or the space to devote to successful rearing of fry or extra tanks, so I want to make it clear that KEEPING only, not breeding, is my goal. I've got some older fish from a smaller tank in with them, a couple of tetra and a cory cat that I just wasn't willing to part with despite recommendations to keep only discus. I've had no problems with compatibility as these fish keep to themselves and are not in any way affected by nor do they affect the discus. I also would not think of breeding this pair since while the female has, I think, excellent form, the male is a slight bit stunted with a hump on the head (he's just under four inches long).
Now, after that long-winded intro, here's my question: Since the pair began to lay eggs back in December of 2001, they have always done the courtship dance as I like to call it with grace. I've never had fry survive past the wriggler phase, but as I said, it was never my intention to breed. That is not the issue. The deal is that recently, I've noticed that they fight while attempting to mate. Something the male is doing or not doing during the process seems to be upsetting the female. I don't have alot of knowledge about discus behavior, but is this normal? Is their fighting something like a quarrel? Or could there be some other factor causing this? The temperature is always between 82-84F. I have two filters, a Penguin Biowheel 330 and a Fluval 304 canister (I know canisters are not well liked around here, but I think I get enough oxygenation from the Penguin). I filter through peat. I don't do large water changes, but I do 10-15% daily. I know most of you would recommend more, but this this has worked for me to keep them healthy. The fighting was pretty bad today, and I just wondered if this was normal with a pair or if anything should be done to stop this aggressive behavior between two fish that got along great until now.
Thanks,
Dan