non breeding discus

[ben1968]

Hi .... sorry if this has been adressed before, but a search didnt raise anything. I have 4 discus of 2.5 years in my tank,and a "pair" called Felicity and Freddy.
84281
Felicity has been for years on and off "courting" Freddy, but he seems uninterested, She fights off fat Timmy and captain Nemo all the time and dotes over Freddy for days on end. question is, why dont they breed?

Tank stats: 93gal tank, 17gal 5 bay filter aged 2.5 yrs,foam primary regularly cleaned.
Ph 6.85-6.87
100l water change every 2 days with 2 day carbon filtered tap/rain water (rainwater daphinia tested)
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate under 20, oxygen 17.
Uv, filter oxygen

Fed tq beefheart, brineshrimp, mini pellet, and bloodworm.

Any info greatfully accepted thanks.

[sdrexler078]

Have you tried putting them in their own breeding tank

[Larry Bugg]

How do you know they are male and female?

[John_Nicholson]

The fact that the fish are named makes it hard for me to take this seriously but here you go.....The most natural thing for a HEALHY fish to do is spawn. I would take the suspected pair out of that tank and put them in a bare bottom 29 gallon tank. I would change 50% of the water daily and set the temp to 82.

-john

[ben1968]

Hi guys....thanx for yer responses.

1, the 3 males all have bull noses and a bit protruding, the female thinner and no bit.....she acts differently from the other 3, bossy and protective.

2, I dont have facilities for breeding tanks, only the show tank

4, I spend between 2 and 10 hours per week looking after these guys, have a bespoke heating system and have spent hundreds of hours and thosands of pounds on these 4 fish, so am a bit miffed that them having names and being no different to us than a cat or dog (just harder to keep) makes this post less serious!

perhaps i wont bother with the "serious" side of breeding numbers, just keeping pet fish.

[Rudustin]

Hi guys....thanx for yer responses.

1, the 3 males all have bull noses and a bit protruding, the female thinner and no bit.....she acts differently from the other 3, bossy and protective.

2, I dont have facilities for breeding tanks, only the show tank

4, I spend between 2 and 10 hours per week looking after these guys, have a bespoke heating system and have spent hundreds of hours and thosands of pounds on these 4 fish, so am a bit miffed that them having names and being no different to us than a cat or dog (just harder to keep) makes this post less serious!

perhaps i wont bother with the "serious" side of breeding numbers, just keeping pet fish.Ben, I agree with you! All my discus have names and I have about thirty discus and I don't think your post is not serious. John tends to be the old grumpy man on this forum and he thinks that we are all crazy if we think of our discus as pets. Ignore that part of his statement and glad you asked the question. It is very difficult to sex fish unless they are spawning and when they are preparing to do so there are several signs of their sex however in most cases you can't really tell unless you actually see them spawn and even then I have had two females spawn with each other so that isn't a fool proof way of determining their sex either. The rest of John's reply is to be noted and followed. In a separate breeding tank ( I use a twenty gallon long) the possibility is greater if the fish are male and female or even female and another female to be likely to spawn. I have had several spawning however in my two show tanks but of course the eggs get eaten by other fish. Good luck and don't give up on asking questions here on SD. Best Regards. Rufus

[ben1968]

Thankyou Rufus....dont feel so bad now.....perhaps start a thread as to naming your discus! Well, phaps it will never happen then, as have used up all my points and more in the household getting the system i have now. Darent ask for more space in the scullery for a breeding tank! Perhaps one day i will buy a breeding pair, but wont be until these 4 have had the best and longest life possible. I think that they make great pets, and get far more attention than their 4 legged counterparts (even though everyone thinks theyre marine!)

[Rudustin]

I quite understand! LOL!