tips or tricks for breeding

[penangeruption]

i recently purchased 2 breeding pairs from an Australian breeder. the fish are in great health arrived in separate bags and were clearly labled as pair 1 and 2. they were put in my 4 x 2 x 2 tank with a divider in the middle. there is gravel, a terracotta breeding cone and a sponge filter on either side.
water perimeters.
ph. 6,5
tds 140
gh 4
kh 2
temp 29-30

im new to keeping discus and would really love these guys to breed im feeding 4 - 5 times a day, mixture of beef heart, blood worms, and a commercial discus pellet. and im changing about 20% a day and even using rain water wherever possible.
the behaviour is weird between the discus. one in each tank seems to chase the other and even nip at it. im wondering if these are the right pairs and is this behaviour normal. they have been in the tank now for a couple of weeks, i have been using artificial lighting but it seemed to spook them so now im just using natural lighting.
i was considering covering the outside of the tank and even removing the gravel, hoping for ideas thanks guys.....

[timmy82]

I would get rid of the substrate take out the divider and see who wants to be with who. Where in Aus are you? I'm in Townsville, I would also drop the temp a little around 28c I find works best a bit too warm and the spawns are smaller and normally end up eating them. TDS I try and keep under 100ppm. My water schedule my breeders get 3 - 4 small changes once a day in a row and left, I did use to continue with the small changes but found they wouldn't keep the eggs or the fry if I kept doing water so I leave them alone water wise for a week and then a few changes in a row. All pairs are different you just have to try different things.

[penangeruption]

Thanks timmy. Im in Mildura Victoria, I thought it might be a good idea to take out the gravel so I removed that and the divider out. There seems to be a bit of chasing going on ATM. Im not sure who is with who but. They are all out and about but and im hoping within a few days it might become a bit more obvious. Should I cover the fromt of the tank its not in a high traffic area but we do walk past them. I will lower the water temp to about 28 and try to lower the tds. Do u have any advise on lowering that im thinking using rainwater will probably do it as I dont have ro water.

[timmy82]

Rain water changes will do. I wouldn't cover the front they need to get use to you too and their enviroment. They can take a while to show who wants to pair with who that is just how Discus are. Some will pair right away and others can take a month or so. The thing with discus is you need to be patien and let them get it right too much messing around will make them take longer.

[penangeruption]

If they were already mated pairs would they repair with eachother or will they choise another mate. My understanding is that discus were went to mate for life is that true or will they choose a new mate.

[penangeruption]

Should I leave the lights off or turn them back on

[DerekFF]

For pairs with eggs, fry, or are actively spawning leave some sort of light on for them. Doesn't need to be a lot, just enough ambient light so that they can see at night still. Also pairs can be broken and force paired with others. It doesn't always work, but to do that you need to know the sex of all your fish you want to pair them with. They are not life pair spawners


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[penangeruption]

Is there a particular time of day that discus spawn or can it happen at anytime. Also is chasing a form of breeding behaviour or is it and the nipping more a bulling thing.

[timmy82]

Any time of day but seems to be more often in the arvo and early night. Nipping and aggression is a way of finding pecking order not pairing. If it was correct that they were sold as pairs the job should be easy to pick them in a day or two. My supplier don't sell them as pairs but does a great job at picking what I want. 95 % the time I get pairs and at a lot less than what they want to charge for pairs!

[penangeruption]

Will they still pair if this behavior continues or will they just continue to do this. I think next time im going to buy them around 8cm and let them pair off naturally

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Will they still pair if this behavior continues or will they just continue to do this. I think next time im going to buy them around 8cm and let them pair off naturally

Pecking order is natural in domestics and wilds. Pairing is also. Given the right conditions and they are old enough, you should see some type of bonding. Once you see that you just have to wait it out and see if they indeed pair off.