Need some advice

[Oneten]

Hello got some question was wondering if any one can help are give me some good tips.....

I got a breeding pair of discus and they lay a couple month agao my tds was about 86 and i only get 19 free swimmer but they all went missing in the tank, I had a air filter wich is black and they all went to the filter but a couple of time some went by the parent but by the filter alot. Then the number start going down till they were all gone. So I got a new tank and made a overflow siphon out of white pvc take the heather out so the tank is all white and nothing is inside it apart from the pipe. My friend told me to drop the tds to about 60 to get a high hatch rate and i did but it taking them a long time to lay again, at the moment the tds is 70 and the ph is 7.80 to 8 so is that good are do i need to change stuff around.

1/ Should I leave it and wait are should I change stuff around if so can i get some advice
2/ my friend say i should not worry about ph only tds really need to get right
3/ my temp is 27.5c is that good
4/ I do dailey water change and feed them 3 to 4 times a day

the fish are eating really i feed them live and frozen food with other stuff, there are cleaning the slate for a long time now.
every thing i just say is all the things i do and would like to know if i am doing anything wrong, they have lay before so what wrong now.......

[Keith Perkins]

I would say your friend is right about pH, as long as it consistent that shouldn't matter. It's possible the female is just in a normal rest period or perhaps they're unsettled by the tank changes, either way time is necessary. You could try doing a WC with water at 25c, cooler water often triggers spawning. This might work is they're simply unsettled by the tank changes.

[rdiscus]

Yes ... some pairs stop lay eggs when moving to new tank
Your TDS 86 is good, don't need lower ... and don't worry about PH

Skip your WC for 1 week then >70% WC with cooler water, hope you will see some eggs :)

[Keith Perkins]

Yes, skipping the WCs for a week and then hitting them with cooler water is also a way to go. Plenty of things to try out there.

[nc0gnet0]

1/ Should I leave it and wait are should I change stuff around if so can i get some advice

How are you going to prevent fry from getting stuck or sucked into the overflow siphon? Most breeders prefer a sponge filter as a means of filtration for breeding, if attachment is a continueing problem you can either remove it for a while (make sure you dont leave it out to long) or wrap it in cheese cloth. Personally, I think your overthinking this a bit when all that is needed is a little more paitience. You should have gave them a few more trys before doing an overhaul on thier tank.



2/ my friend say i should not worry about ph only tds really need to get right

*Unless extreme, this statement is generally correct.


3/ my temp is 27.5c is that good
It's a little on the cool side, but shold be fine, I prefer 28.2 C



4/ I do dailey water change and feed them 3 to 4 times a day
that is fine as well

*As to whether or not you need to lower your tds for a better hatch rate, you will get alot of varying opinions, but chances are nobody that is giving that advice is using your water. TDS is a catch all, but doesn't tell the whole story. It's great tool to use, but you have to learn your water first. For instance Rdiscus may get great hatch rates in his water at 80 TDS, while in my water I need to lower it to below 40 TDS for a decent hatch. It's not just the tds that matters, but the amount of calcium that makes up part of that TDS reading. If your freind has bred discus and lives close enough to where he is using the same water supply as you, I would give his advice a try and lower it to 60 and see if you notice a difference. If hatch rate is still poor, and eggs are turning white at of before the 24-20 hour mark, then bump it down a bit more. Eggs that turn white only after 40-48 hours typically are unfertile eggs and your male needs to mature more.

[Oneten]

Thank for all u advice will you know how i get on