discus babies???

[mobilecow]

HELP
My discus decided to lay eggs on their cone... I saw the female laying eggs - not sure if the male has done anything - there's one hanging around - i think i should separate the cone and the female into another tank, right? Please advice - i am kinda freaking out...
Shawn

[dandestroy]

let it ride and observe nature doing her thing.

[mobilecow]

I stepped out and came back and all the eggs were gone...

[Greg Richardson]

Figure out who the pair is. Stick them in a 30. If they eat their eggs again the next time protect the eggs so you can be sure you have not only a male but he is fertile and doing his job. Or just protect the eggs the very next time.

[fishmama]

Don't be in too big a hurry...let them practice. Mine practiced for 4 mos in a community tank and I made sure I saw wigglers before placing them in their own 30 gal breeder. Hard to tell sometimes if you have a true pair until you confirm the male is fertile.

[Tropical Haven]

I totally agree, let them lay for another month or so and see if things improve.

[mobilecow]

I sort of know who the parents are... Well - I figured out the male because he was giving the eggs a going-over when I saw it and the only one he allowed near them was what I assume was the female... they're still holding the area of the tank with the cone.

You reckon it's best to just leave them to their resources till they figure out what to do and not move them into a separate tank, then?

The irony is that this wasn't the pair I had expected to mate... I got a couple of blue diamonds that are larger and were stalking out the cone last weekend - thought they would be it but i was wrong. Question is do I buy another cone? this pair seems have claimed it and what if the other pair wants to lay?


Thanks for all the advice:)

[White Worm]

Live them to practice a bit. You may want to put another cone in at the other end to give others an opportunity to show you pairing behavior. If not, they will find a place to lay if they are ready enough.

[mobilecow]

Sorry to bring up the post again... My discus pair have staked out the end of the tank where the cone is and won't let anyone near it without some pecking... The male literally is standing by the cone, less than an inch away. Is this cause to worry?

On a side note, it seems like I may have another pair - they're always together and I think trying to access that cone... Do I just buy them another cone or do they have to vanquish the first pair (sorry - am not familiar with discus mating rituals)

Also, what happens to the rest of the fish in there? I've got 4 more who aren't paired up or anything (including the one tiny one that won't grow) - should I put them in another tank? I have a 45g that is running but I can re-home the livebearers into something smaller. Or my bro has a 65g tall tank (36" x 24" x something) that he has cycled but hasn't decided what to do with yet...

Thanks a lot

[poconogal]

Sorry to bring up the post again... My discus pair have staked out the end of the tank where the cone is and won't let anyone near it without some pecking... The male literally is standing by the cone, less than an inch away. Is this cause to worry?

On a side note, it seems like I may have another pair - they're always together and I think trying to access that cone... Do I just buy them another cone or do they have to vanquish the first pair (sorry - am not familiar with discus mating rituals)

Also, what happens to the rest of the fish in there? I've got 4 more who aren't paired up or anything (including the one tiny one that won't grow) - should I put them in another tank? I have a 45g that is running but I can re-home the livebearers into something smaller. Or my bro has a 65g tall tank (36" x 24" x something) that he has cycled but hasn't decided what to do with yet...

Thanks a lot
Hi, as far as your first pair, you can just let them be - nature will take its course. The second possible pair, you can let them be as well. They may challenge the first pair for the spawning site and oust them, or not. You can put in another cone if you want - doesn't meant that the second pair will want to use it, though. But for right now, with young newly formed pairs, they are getting in some practice. Later on, if you want to raise fry, you can move your good pairs to separate tanks.

I have 3 pairs in my tank and all of them were shivering at the same time one night. My first pair defends their site. Second pair chose a plant leaf in the middle of the tank. Third pair tried to move the first pair out of their site, but it didn't work, so the third pair chose a spot on the opposite end of the tank. The 4 other Discus in the tank stayed at the front and were okay. There were some turf wars going on for a bit though.

[mobilecow]

Does the shimmer thing they do with their fins mean they want to do something then? I've seen all 4 do it recently - maybe one other one too... Tks

[poconogal]

The whole body shivers, not just fins. A pair will shiver at each other before spawning. Mine go back and forth, first the female shivers, then the male, then the female etc. It doesn't look anything like when they flick or twitch their fins.

[mobilecow]

They're at it again - same pair, same cone :) laid eggs and the male's going over them as we speak... i'm very tempted to haul the pair and cone out into another tank and see what happens... this whole stress of mating is killing me (yes ME - my gf checked my blood pressure at 140/90)

[poconogal]

My first pair got a little further with each spawn until they finally got free swimmers. Yours need some time to practice. I'd let them be until you have a confirmed pair, that is, until you see wigglers. Then you can try to put them in their own tank if you want.

Breathe deeply and stay calm! :D

[surya_niki]

Hi Shawn,

Thou I'm new to this community, I would like to say that you have witnessed one of the best things nature has to provide and thats the mating ritual between discus. If you really keen on knowing about their parenthood , do seperate the pair into a seperste breeding tank. After that, sit back and witness the ritual.

I agree that you might loose the eggs in the begining but I bet you that once they the parent instinct takes over you will not dare step into their territory. Be ready to be a father for few hundreds :)

Happy Fish Keeping

Regards,
Surya

[mobilecow]

Hi Surya
Thanks for advice :) How big a tank should I separate them into? Tks
Shawn

[surya_niki]

Hi,

You can move them to a breeding tank between 10-20 gal. Say anything between one and half to two feet tank. And in future you can use this tank as your breeding tank for Discus.

Regards,
Surya