How to sex discus?

[jeff12]

At what age are they able to be sexed? Can you sex them by physically looking them? What traits and behavioral signs show up in either male and female? How about venting?

I am planning on getting some juveniles so how many should I get to at least get 1 breeding pair?

[Akili]

If starting with juveniles, six or more works. I am going with 10 this time. Best way is to let them pair up naturally,which happens about the time they are a year to fifteen months.

[briztoon]

Sexing discus is notoriously hard. The best way is to watch them spawning and to view their breeding tubes. Females will have a fat roundish breeding tube that protrudes much more than a males, whose breeding tube is much more triangular, pointed and smaller.

When discus reach sexual maturity, and they starting courting behaviour, you can attempt to sex them by viewing their breeding tubes.

With that said. If you are confident in your fish keeping skills and experience, and have researched keeping and breeding discus, and your goal is to breed discus, my inexperienced advice is to buy a breeding pair rather than buying a group of juveniles, growing them out and hoping for a pair to form. It might be cheaper to buy a group of 10 juvenile discus than a confirmed pair, but it takes a lot of time, food and water, which all cost money, to grow out a group.

[Akili]

Seeing the juveniles grow to adulthood is an accomplishment in its own right. Buying a breeding pair (even a proven ones) does not guarantee that it will spawn right of the back for you .I had brought home a pair that had spawned a few times before and it did not spawn for the next 8 months. By this time, the fry that I had got its second spawn were nearly adults. It was very frustrating since I had paid a lot of money that pair.