San Merah's

[dinnese]

My San Merahs laid eggs again a couple of days ago and this time after they were done spawning I put a plastic gutter guard screen over the eggs to prevent them from eating the eggs and to help confirm whether the male is doing his job. At this point they've laid eggs at least a half dozen times or more. Today I checked in on the tank and noticed that almost all the eggs are white. I realize that it means that the eggs are no longer fertile but my question is am I to conclude that the male didn't fertilize the eggs "OR" could it be that my water is to hard? I have a GH of approximately 143.2 ppm. I do have a RO/DI five stage unit that I purchased awhile back just in case I needed it for breeding but have refrained from using it for now because it's one less thing to worry about (simple is best) and I've heard that it is possible to breed Discus in harder water conditions. Looking for input. Thanks.

[Larry Bugg]

Are you sure it is a male? Has it ever had wigglers? Could be two females.

[dinnese]

I've witnessed what I would consider the male make passes behind the female several times in the past and they do display male and female characteristics. Such as the female rolling up on her side for the male etc...

[Larry Bugg]

I've witnessed what I would consider the male make passes behind the female several times in the past and they do display male and female characteristics. Such as the female rolling up on her side for the male etc...

Two females will do the exact same thing. Until you have fertilized eggs you can't rule that out. I hope it is a male. I love San Merahs!!

How about a pic?

[pastry]

Just let them keep breeding. I've had a pair in my community spawn in several parts of the tank and nearly all eggs turn white but then have a dozen or two wigglers appear when it looked hopeless. In the same tank, another pair that has even spawned in the same places have had hardly any eggs turn white and get large spawns. Just my observation... weird and I don't know if one pair is better at keeping stuff cleaner than the other or what. Oooh... and also... it took the first mentioned pair several tries until finally getting a few wigglers (which again, appeared out of a mass of eggs that turned white and already had fungus covering them). So keep your eyes peeled!

[Allwin]

What is ur tds to start with? Possibly 2 females as well else the male is still young. Too much water movement can affect the fertilization process also. Any pictures of this fish?

[dinnese]

If you look under Kenny's Discus you'll see that I've posted pictures of the pair labled as "San Merahs from Kennys November Shipment".

[Larry Bugg]

Oh yeah, I saw that post. Very nice San Merahs. Give them some time. Probably just a young male. With red discus the male usually tends to be more orange than red. Looks like a male to me.

[dinnese]

So what I've gathered so far is that the hardness of the water isn't really a big concern and could rule that out as a probable cause for the eggs turning white?

[Second Hand Pat]

So what I've gathered so far is that the hardness of the water isn't really a big concern and could rule that out as a probable cause for the eggs turning white?

I am pretty sure the GH can affect the eggs when to hard. I target a GH of about 70 ppm or 4 degree GH.

[Allwin]

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y385/allwinrajeshpaul/sm_zps0e5034b5.gif

Just clarify me, from the picture left one looks male to me and the right one looks female(right?). Beautiful San Merah's indeed.

[dinnese]

Yes

[Rudustin]

Kenny has told me that when san merahs have coloring all over that most are male. I am delighted to think, since I have an order for two of them for this shipment that females also come totally one color. They are very beautiful

[fishaddict]

What is your water temp? I know that when I kept my pair at 86 degree or more the fertilization rate drop drastically. I keep them at 82-84 and see a drastic improvement.

[dinnese]

I keep my water temp between 82 and 84 degrees. Although I'm not an expert at sexing discus, one thing that I'm starting to learn is that it is better to determine the sex of your discus by the size of their tubes. The females tube will be larger and a longer while the males will be shorter and less pronounced.