Fry Temp?

[Greg Richardson]

I'd like to know what temp u keep your fry at?

Most importantly though...........why u keep it there.

Thanks!

[White Worm]

Hey greg,,, I keep my fry at whatever temp the females belly is. Because they are still in there!!! lol (she ate em!). Must be nice to have em though.

[SSteino86]

Keep the temp relatively high. Not too high, just higher then you keep your adults and juveniles. A higher temp will speed up their metabolism and make them grow faster :).

[allan_mark76]

86

[Greg Richardson]

SSteino86. Thanks. Metabolism in your answer is a big part of why I want to start this discussion. Thanks for giving your reason with your answer.

I have heard two schools of thought on Fry temp.

One is yours. Higher temp, more activity, more eating thus higher growth rate.

Other thought is keep it lower because they will just burn off the food they eat faster by excessive swimming due to high temps and will eat just fine at lower temp.

I'm sure there are other thoughts out there in regards to both of these as well as some other reasons for certain temp.

Right now I'm trying to decide what makes sense the most.


Mike. Yep. But your time coming up. They will get it right.

Allen. Thanks for answering, but I'd like to know your reason for where u have your temp.

[John_Nicholson]

I keep mine at 82. Same as the pairs. I see no need to burn them up. In the long run they will still reach the same size. Might take them an extra 60 or so days but they will still get there.

-john

[Greg Richardson]

I keep mine at 82. Same as the pairs. I see no need to burn them up. In the long run they will still reach the same size. Might take them an extra 60 or so days but they will still get there.

John. Would it be fair to say by your statement better growth rate can be obtained with fry at a higher temp?

But that really only matters to people trying to sell them at a young age as in the end the same size can be obtained?

[pcsb23]

Greg, I keep mine at the same temp as my main tank(s) which is 84 to 86, Personally feel that discus are most happy at these temps and seem to be more disease resistant. When I've kept them at 82f or so I get probs. Growth rate is average I guess, but they are always active and feeding. So main reason is for disease resistance.
hth,
Paul.

[John_Nicholson]

The general thought is that the higher the temp the faster the growth but I have not done any real growth studies to confirm this.

-john

[Greg Richardson]

Paul. Thanks! Good to see. Another viewpoint and factor to consider most definetly which is disease! I can see where some might think fast growth if indeed high temp brings it that growth may not be worth the risk of disease.
Something to ponder indeed.

John. Thanks! Maybe some day I'll be in position tank wise to do a study to confirm this.

Maybe this thread will inspire others like the softwater thread studies going on.

Even though a lot of factors come into play in these studies to be fair ones, I sure like to see the hobby go in that direction as people are able to do so.

[kaceyo]

Hey Greg,
I usualy start to turn the temp up as soon as the eggs are laid. Why? The only honest reason I can come up with is cuz people more experienced than me told me to, lol. The reasoning is, as you said, to increase metabolisom, hence growth rate and appitite. I think sometimes we start out doing these things because it's what others do and sounds reasonable but as time goes by we come up with our own reasoning. John's reasoning sounds just as plausable. I'm starting to wonder if max growth rate is best for the fish in the long run. HTH

Kacey

[ShinShin]

There is no need to keep discus any higher than 82-84F except when treating with certain medications.This includes all discus - fry, juveniles, sub-adults, adults, and breeding pairs.

Higher temps require more food just to meet the metabolic increase. So, the fry can be fed extra feedings at any temp to increase food intake. Higher temps are not required to accomplish more growth.

Another thought is that many think higher protein intake increases growth. This is not exactly true. Fry need additional fat intake to accomplish faster growth - at least 12% more than adult discus. Fry use this extra fat for fuel as it metabolizes easier than protein. They can then increase body mass with the protein.

This is also true for bring female fishes into prime breeding condition with large spawns. White worms are the choice for this, not cbw's. The high fat content of the white worms is excellant for egg production.

At least this is what I have learned.

Mat

[Green Country Discus]

I have tried the lower temps, 81 with fry and like Paul said disease seems to be more of a problem. I have read that others think lower temps = faster growth and in this thread higher temps=faster growth. Like a lot of things in this game one must find what works for me. I like to leave the breeding/early growout tanks the same as I use for the breeders, 83-84, and the rest of our tanks never exceed 86 unless we have a heater prob or are medicating. So many issues yet to prove with these fine fish. I love it. Nice thread Greg.

[Greg Richardson]

Kaceyo. Thanks for your honest answer. We all have done that.
Doing what we hear the most.
I know though u are like I am and re-thinking a lot of our ways.
So far reading everyones post I think maybe the answer really only can relate to what our end goal is. What we do with our fish.

Matt.
So, the fry can be fed extra feedings at any temp to increase food intake. Higher temps are not required to accomplish more growth.

So u are saying no need to increase temp as the fry will eat all u want them to without the higher temp?
For the person though trying for rapid growth to get there at 2" or 2.5" would u say someone could get there faster at higher temp or u think it's a trade off with fish swimming so much and no need to cause they will eat all u throw at them?

Green Country Discus.
Like a lot of things in this game one must find what works for me.

I agree in the end it comes down to what works best for us.

[ShinShin]

The higher the temp, the higher the metabolism of the fish which then requires more food for energy production. So, yes, it is sort of a trade off to some degree. A fish would require, just say for discussion, "2X" amount of food at 83F and "2.5X" at 86F just to maintain the same level of energy. So there would be no gain with the"0.5X" increase in food.

I think many people overfeed their fry, too, with too many feedings and/or too high a protein percentage. The fish can only assimilate so much protein, excreting the rest as waste, a danger to water quality. Yeng points this out in his "Penang Discus" book.

[Greg Richardson]

Matt.
I think many people overfeed their fry, too, with too many feedings and/or too high a protein percentage. The fish can only assimilate so much protein, excreting the rest as waste, a danger to water quality. Yeng points this out in his "Penang Discus" book.

Water quality. Another factor involved here. Great point to bring up.

You mentioned white worms in your other post.
Haven't heard much about them. Where do you get them?
Thanks!

[Rod]

I raise my fry at 82, same as all the larger fish. At the moment its the middle of summer here and i'm battling to keep the tank temps below 88, the fry don't really appear any different at this temp. They are active and good appetites at both temps. The main reason i use 82 is to conserve my heating bill :D

[ShinShin]

Greg,

Try Aquabid. The Bug Farm is a reliable source.

[Alight]

Heard a talk by Dick Au last night. He uses 86 F to raise his fry and 80-84 to spawn and keep adults. He thinks they grow faster at 86.

I keep my fry tank at 83 F. I tried higher temps and saw no improvement in fry growth. Each batch of fry is so individual, though, that I'm not sure I could tell even a large difference in growth rates. I can only do one batch at a time, so I can't do the proper experiment. The best way to test would be to take to batches, hatched at the same time, split them in half, put half of each into two different tanks kept side by side, with one tank at 86, and the other at 82, with all food given to both tanks --blind the caretakers as to which tank was 82 and which was 86, then weigh all the fry before and after X weeks of time in the tanks.

[Greg Richardson]

Matt. Thanks. I'll check it out.