Albino Breeding `Think Tank'

[noogiec]

Cliff's comments on albino attachment are interesting. My albino-pair tank is in a spare bedroom. I go in there no more than once or twice a day. During few days after spawning, I fed blood worms once a day. Did not wipe glass, vacuum, or otherwise disturb pair. Water change was done on other side of partition. Maybe this relative privacy had something to do with sucessful attachment.

Still trying to get a few good pictures of the fry. Can't seem to get close-up pics in focus. The "reverse stress bars" are fading as the fry get older.

[mmorris]

Mine are in my bedroom as well but I live alone so it would only be me disturbing them no matter where they were. I tried leaving them alone but the fry all died. The only limited success I had was when I fed the fry early on. A divider might help. Noo, how diligent are your pair with free-swimming fry? Do they try to round them up?

[noogiec]

Some of my breeders are very good at attracting new fry, and rounding up strays by slowly moving toward them and taking them up in their mouths. Other breeders move around the tank fairly quickly, making it hard for the fry to keep up, and these parents don"t round up strays. The albinos fall into the second category. The partition and lowered water level seem to help limit the movement of the parents, as well as help the fry locate and keep up with the parents.

[MostlyDiscus]

Nice Job Cliff. I tried some artificial raising with Vern Archers help but didnt have the luck he has had with it. He had babies all over.

I had a hatch rate of nearly 90 percent on one albino pair. Around 200 or more wigglers. Majority were on the cone but a few were scattered. I think my ph at that time was around 5.2, maybe 5.0. When I get my water right again I plan to pull a tank from my rack and set up for petitions and paint with white for back round. Black light or red maybe too.

Ed

[mmorris]

Ok, the first pair was from a breeder that already spawned the pair a least 5 times without
any attachment, so he gave up. When I went away on a trip
the pair spawn again but this time the fry did attached.
The second pair was a albino pair from my own stock, weekly artifically raising till I went on vacation, after coming back I notice some fry attachment on the pair.


Cliff

So far, none of us have reported albinos with good parenting skills. Cliff, how old were the fry when you returned from your trip? Roughly what percent out of an average sized batch do you think attached? What did you do with the fry when you returned home? Can you describe the pairs' parenting skills?

Ed - tell us about your albinos! Have you attempted to let the parents raise the fry? Any experience of the parents with free-swimmers?

[mmorris]

Mike, roughly a third of your albino fry attached. How did the parents behave towards the new free-swimmers?

[CliffsDiscus]

[QUOTE=mmorris;550490]So far, none of us have reported albinos with good parenting skills. Cliff, how old were the fry when you returned from your trip? Roughly what percent out of an average sized batch do you think attached? What did you do with the fry when you returned home? Can you describe the pairs' parenting skills?

Hi Martha,
Parental skill of the Golden Albinos are better then the AlbinoSnakeSkins thats not saying a whole
lot as the AlbinosSnakeSkins are more weaker then the Golden. The fry do not stay glue to the parents compare to the other types of Discus, they swim already at one week 3 inches away from the parents. The percentage of the batch, I can say since I was not there to
see how many eggs actually hatched out of each batch, but comparing to artifically raising
from the same pairs it was around 30 to 70 percentage less fry. What did I do with the parents raise Discus fry? I removed them and let the parent rest.

Cliff

[mmorris]

Thanks Cliff. It sounds like your albinos' parental skills weren't good either. Did you happen to notice if the pairs made any attempt to round up and attract the fry to themselves?

[CliffsDiscus]

[QUOTE=noogiec;550338]Cliff's comments on albino attachment are interesting. My albino-pair tank is in a spare bedroom. I go in there no more than once or twice a day. During few days after spawning, I fed blood worms once a day. Did not wipe glass, vacuum, or otherwise disturb pair. Water change was done on other side of partition. Maybe this relative privacy had something to do with sucessful attachment.

Hi Noogiec,
I am not sure if the privacy has anything to do with it success, because at that time 100 percent of the albinos breeder were artifically raised, I just didn't let the parents raise them.

Cliff

[CliffsDiscus]

Nice Job Cliff. I tried some artificial raising with Vern Archers help but didnt have the luck he has had with it. He had babies all over.

I had a hatch rate of nearly 90 percent on one albino pair. Around 200 or more wigglers. Majority were on the cone but a few were scattered. I think my ph at that time was around 5.2, maybe 5.0. When I get my water right again I plan to pull a tank from my rack and set up for petitions and paint with white for back round. Black light or red maybe too.

Ed

Hi Ed,
Thanks, Vern Archers is one of the very well known experts so babies all over is just a norm.

I only have some 4 ft shop lights in my hatchery and that seems work fine.

Cliff

[CliffsDiscus]

Thanks Cliff. It sounds like your albinos' parental skills weren't good either. Did you happen to notice if the pairs made any attempt to round up and attract the fry to themselves?

Martha,
Yes, not good parents. No round up but I should of kick the tank just to see if the parents
would do their little shaking. The fry were eating off the parents slime but they just grab
a bit and swim away.

Cliff

[mmorris]

Thanks Cliff, same experience. One good kick...

[Mrylln]

I use Brine Shrimp Direct's 100-200 micron particle GP Reef & Larval fish diet. Newly free swimming discus thrive on it. (I have no financial interest---or any other kind---in this company! They just make superb fish food.) I have eliminated beefheart and the mess and bacteria that come with it by using their prepared foods, and the fish are fine, fat, and fertile.

[kaceyo]

Hi Mary,
Good to see you posting here. Do you use the 100 to 200 micron food as a first food for artificially raising fry? Or along with parents feeding? When do you first introduce it and what method is used. ie, do you just add it to the water or is it used like egg yolk etc.
Thanks,

Kacey

[mmorris]

Thanks Mary. Will you be able to make it to the NE Discus Meet July 25th?