Is this pairing up behavior?

[Jack L]

the two are about 7 months old, is 7 months too young for this to happen?

there is a piece of wood with a vertical flat surface, they have cleaned most of the algae off of it, they hang around it a lot and each other a lot.

[Eddie]

7 months is young but not too young in rare occasions. Hanging out together isn't an indicator. If they are shimmering (shaking) and performing runs over the wood, then they might be preparing to spawn. Usually there is some initial dancing before any of that though. The fish will swim towards each other and sort of bow while passing. It's very noticeable.

[JohnniG]

7 months is young but not too young in rare occasions. Hanging out together isn't an indicator. If they are shimmering (shaking) and performing runs over the wood, then they might be preparing to spawn. Usually there is some initial dancing before any of that though. The fish will swim towards each other and sort of bow while passing. It's very noticeable.

Good to know, thank you. Mine too, is just about mating age.

[alron2]

Can you tell anything about the sex by the ones that "lip-lock" and push each other around? Are they the same sex?

Thanks
Ron

[Eddie]

Can you tell anything about the sex by the ones that "lip-lock" and push each other around? Are they the same sex?

Thanks
Ron

No, males will lip lock with males and females will liplock with females. They are merely fighting.

Sexing discus is done while spawning. Some experienced breeders can figure out male from female occasionally...or rarely.

[rickztahone]

No, males will lip lock with males and females will liplock with females. They are merely fighting.

Sexing discus is done while spawning. Some experienced breeders can figure out male from female occasionally...or rarely.

Actually, the are right 50% of the time ;)

[Jack L]

interesting surprise
is this orange color normal?

90858

[Jack L]

eggs already eaten

[Eddie]

Out of curiosity, do you know for sure that they are 7 months old?

[DISCUS STU]

Out of curiosity, do you know for sure that they are 7 months old?

I have the same question, they look to be older and also larger than 7 month old fish. The orange egg color is normal.

Looks like you may have a real pair. Only time will tell. You may need to see wigglers, hatched eggs, to know.

Can you see the breeding tubes after they spawn? The females will be shorter and rounder, the males longer and more tapered.

[Jack L]

Out of curiosity, do you know for sure that they are 7 months old?

I will ask breeder again. i know when i received them, and i know what breeder told me for age. he said about 12 weeks old.

these were a little bigger than some of the others, not much though. i'll look for photos.

for whatever reason these blues have eaten WAY more then the other Ds and have grown faster than the others. but they started small and w/o color.

i'm assuming these are from the same brood too, so thinking that will make for deformed babies if they every get that far, right?

[Jack L]

I have the same question, they look to be older and also larger than 7 month old fish. The orange egg color is normal.

Looks like you may have a real pair. Only time will tell. You may need to see wigglers, hatched eggs, to know.

Can you see the breeding tubes after they spawn? The females will be shorter and rounder, the males longer and more tapered.

well they ate the eggs...
they are back to the wood now pecking at it.

the did a oustanding job removing the algae thought ! : )
wish they would do rest of tank.

i'll have to youtube breeding tubes, or search forum, not sure what they are.

[Jack L]

7 months is young but not too young in rare occasions. Hanging out together isn't an indicator. If they are shimmering (shaking) and performing runs over the wood, then they might be preparing to spawn. Usually there is some initial dancing before any of that though. The fish will swim towards each other and sort of bow while passing. It's very noticeable.

what are "runs over wood"?

i saw one of them swimming vertically over the eggs after the eggs were on the wood. is that a "run"

not to be tacky...but is the sperm visible in water?

[Eddie]

what are "runs over wood"?

i saw one of them swimming vertically over the eggs after the eggs were on the wood. is that a "run"

Yes

not to be tacky...but is the sperm visible in water?

No





See above

[John_Nicholson]

They are older than 7 months. Good luck with them.

-john

[Jack L]

thanks....they probably are, they were a little bigger the the rest upon receipt

but they ate eggs up, we will see if they spawn again i guess

[Jack L]

i dug up some old pics, i know you guess like buying big and fat Discus, but i have to say it is also pretty interesting (for me and kids) to see how they have changed and grown
90937

[DISCUS STU]

what are "runs over wood"?

i saw one of them swimming vertically over the eggs after the eggs were on the wood. is that a "run"

not to be tacky...but is the sperm visible in water?

Yes, that is a run and no you generally can't see the sperm.

[Jack L]

thanks

[Jack L]

2nd batch of eggs
saw the male doing runs
i thought they were eating them, but they are puffing water over them or something.

will see if these get eaten like first batch

Discus Stu, is that white nub on the closer fish the breeding tube?

91075

[Ryan]

Parents will mouth the eggs and fan them with their pectoral fins to keep them clean and keep water moving over them.

Yes, the white nub you see is the breeding tube.

[Jack L]

DAMN-IT, they ate them again?????

while the male was doing more runs, the female started eating eggs. some of the times she chased him off the run.

as fast as they lay then eat them, there could have been other batches and i never would see it.

is cannibal caviar normal?

looking closer, some eggs were clear, most were orange

[Ryan]

It's pretty common with young cichlid pairs. Most eventually get it right if you give them some time. Sometimes you have a fish that is a habitual egg or fry eater, but I've found that even stubborn fish usually get it right if you let them try long enough. I had a female koi angel who ate 12 - 14 spawns and everyone told me she'd never parent-raise, and then suddenly one day they were wrigglers, and then free-swimmers. So it's possible.

Are these blue diamonds? One trait of blue diamonds, at least years ago, is that the males would not be fertile until they were well over a year old, maybe even 2. That probably has nothing to do with a pair that eats them as they lay, but it's something to keep in mind if they make it farther than this stage. Female discus do tend to mature earlier, but in this case you may not get very far for another year or so.

Maybe someone with current blue diamonds can chime in and let us know if that's still the case. The constipation/large feces issue still persists in the strain, so I'm wondering if the slower maturing time does as well.

[Jack L]

hi, thanks, yes...they are blue diamonds.

i was able to see sperm (i assume that is what it was) being emitted from the tube onto the eggs before it dissolved into water.

[ssevasta]

This might sound like a stupid question but do you still have the other discus in the tank or is the pair alone? Also you might want to get a breeding cone, I know that there used to be a member on this forum that made them. I think her name was Barbara iirc. Maybe another forum member that remembers who I'm talking about can chime in. Also I've seen many breeders use a wire mesh to cover the eggs so the parents couldn't eat them. One last thing is that it's going to be a nightmare to raise fry in a tank with substrate and objects that are darker than the parents. You might want to convert the tank to a bare bottom, just make sure that you keep your sponge filter in a bucket of tank water with the airline still hooked up. Good luck and I wish you the best with your excellent pair :-)

[Jack L]

Hi, yeah this is happening in the corner of the display tank.

Wasn't trying to breed them.

I can try the wire if I catch it in time, but I am thinking to give it time and see what happens.

What is the issue with darker things?

[ssevasta]

Discus fry are naturally attracted to dark objects. This is the main reason that it's so difficult to raise white or albino strains. Many breeders who are working with those strains will cover 3 outside sides and the outside bottom of the tank with either white or light blue paper or paint so that the fry see the parents as the darkest object in their environment. Many other breeders also lower the water level as well to make it easier for the fry to find their parents. One other tactic used by breeders working with whites or albinos is to use darker surrogate parents or to not use color enhancing foods with their breeding pairs.

[Jack L]

Discus fry are naturally attracted to dark objects. This is the main reason that it's so difficult to raise white or albino strains. Many breeders who are working with those strains will cover 3 outside sides and the outside bottom of the tank with either white or light blue paper or paint so that the fry see the parents as the darkest object in their environment. Many other breeders also lower the water level as well to make it easier for the fry to find their parents. One other tactic used by breeders working with whites or albinos is to use darker surrogate parents or to not use color enhancing foods with their breeding pairs.



okay thanks!

way back when...20+ years ago in one of the community tanks i had going a pair of convicts decided to raise a brood, not sure if Ds do that or not.

[ssevasta]

Yes discus are one of the very few types of fish that will raise their fry. If they do reach the stage where the fry attach themselves to the sides of the parents, you'll find a wealth of knowledge on this forum about what you need to do from there out. You should buy yourself the two books written by Andrew Soh. One is called Discus the Naked Truth and the other one is Discus Problems and Solutions. I own an autographed copy of each and they're both a tremendous help. I actually got them several years back when a forum member secured some autographed copies.

[Jack L]

Yes discus are one of the very few types of fish that will raise their fry. If they do reach the stage where the fry attach themselves to the sides of the parents, you'll find a wealth of knowledge on this forum about what you need to do from there out. You should buy yourself the two books written by Andrew Soh. One is called Discus the Naked Truth and the other one is Discus Problems and Solutions. I own an autographed copy of each and they're both a tremendous help. I actually got them several years back when a forum member secured some autographed copies.

i'll look them up thanks, hopefully they are not a couple hundred bucks like some other Discus books i've seen
thanks

[ssevasta]

There's a seller on eBay that's selling both books. The first one is $75 plus $4 shipping and the 2nd one is $80 plus $4 shipping. Here's a link to the first listing http://m.ebay.com/itm/THE-NAKED-TRUTH-DISCUS-AQUARIUM-BOOK-by-ANDREW-SOH-/151810468673?nav=SEARCH the 2nd listing is shown on the bottom of the page

[Jack L]

There's a seller on eBay that's selling both books. The first one is $75 plus $4 shipping and the 2nd one is $80 plus $4 shipping. Here's a link to the first listing http://m.ebay.com/itm/THE-NAKED-TRUTH-DISCUS-AQUARIUM-BOOK-by-ANDREW-SOH-/151810468673?nav=SEARCH the 2nd listing is shown on the bottom of the page

thanks

[Jack L]

more eggs, this time they didn't eat them until the next day. seems like progress...?

[Jack L]

they continue do lay eggs, seems to be about weekly, they are leaving them for about a day before they finish eating them. i'll let it go for a while in hopes they figure it out, an some point i may screen them off, but i'm going to need to read up on dealing with a brood.

in the past, the fish that bread for me did it w/o my help.

[ssevasta]

Some pairs will eventually figure it out and others won't. With the ones that don't figure it out, that's where the wire mesh covering comes into play.

[Jack L]

several more attempts up to now. but this time there are about 2x to 3x the egg count and they have gone the longest w/o eating them. it is 3 days now.

question, a few have a white fungus on them. searched board, posts say let it go, or use MB. but i was curious if the fungus shows up on the rotting eggs or some other reason?

thanks.