eggs!

[vgw2007]

This evening while on the phone with my mother in-law I was staring at my tank, when I suddenly spotted some discus eggs. I was so excited and hardly speechless that I had to cut the call short and further investigate- Sorry Sharon :antlers:


http://members.shaw.ca/vgw2006/firsteggs.jpg

Not long ago I lost a Blue Diamond due to bullying by a Pigeon Blood. Soon after, I had come accross a beautiful shipment of mixed discus. I decided to take the bully out, leaving me with just one other Pigeon Blood in my 45 gallon planted tank-Co2 injected. I took the bully to the store, and returned with what I believe to be 3 Blue Turqoise... This has only been a month-maybe, and all four discus seemed to co-exist very well.

I can not believe that I have eggs so soon. Two of four discus are totally protecting the eggs, and I hope the eggs will get fertilized next. Will see if the eggs turn dark... - I am so thrilled, and I can hardly wait to see what will happen next.


http://members.shaw.ca/vgw2006/the_pair.jpg
the pair- I could not even tell you if they are male or female...

The fact that I have eggs gives me some sense that my fish are healthy, which is a great feeling. Beside my four discus I currently have two Siamese Algea Eaters- they better not eat eggs... and I have nine Rummy Nose as well as several Amano shrimpies. Quite crowded I would say, but so far so good.


http://members.shaw.ca/vgw2006/tankdec07.jpg
This shot was taken a couple of weeks ago.

I started keeping discus not too long ago, and I am pretty well lost as to what to do next... I would prefer to let it be and let it evolve...

I have been doing 50% water changes once per week. Hardly ideal for breeding from what I have read... I have been feeding the discus frozen blood worms, krill, brine shrimp & beef heart mixture. Should I make changes to my ways... What to do next... Any comments and or suggestions are much appreciated.

I got some beginners luck here, and I will read more on how to deal with this beautiful sight and experience!

[Tropical Haven]

Congrats on your eggs and I share your enthusiasm but the chances of the eggs becoming wigglers are slim to none especially in a community tank. What I would do is get a 29 gallon tank setup with an established sponge filter and get ready to transfer your pair into that tank if you plan on breeding them. This is what you will need to do if you plan on breeding them. Again congrats and I hope everything works out for you. Nice pictures, keep them coming. :D

[Kindredspirit]

Wow Sharon! That one picture with the eggs is .......awesome!! Could be a postcard for xmas!:D

[fishmama]

Congrats Sharon...how fun! Nice photos too.

You can watch and let them learn for awhile in your community planted tank. I concur with Scott if you plan on raising fry.

[Kenny's Discus]

Cool! I remember when I had eggs in my first community tank the eggs were laid on the driftwood also!:p Hopefully they've been fertilized so you can see some wigglers soon. Gonna be fun to watch!:) Congratulations!

Kenny

[vgw2007]

Hi- and thanks for your comments. This morning the eggs did not look as good as they did last night, and a few turned white-ish. Discus pair still guarded the eggs. Will see what happens... I guess that keeping the pair in a separate tank would up my future chances... I just have to convince my better half that another tank is OK. By the way, Sharon is the mother in-law ;)

[doc3toes]

congrats. where do you live? those fish look a lot like mine. do you know what cross they are?

[Kindredspirit]

By the way, Sharon is the mother in-law ;)


I was wondering why you said "sorry, Sharon'!.......that is too funny! There was a thread that Nicole took out and she said 'pat me on the back' ....and a poster went with her name being Pat...and it was for a while!!

I see that LISA......thought you were Sharon too;) I started it though...sorry!:o


Great picture still!

[vgw2007]

Hi every one - just a little update.

The eggs sadly turned white and disappeared over a few days. It was a totally unexpected & amazing exprience for me & the family nonetheless! I am not in it for the breeding, but I am interested and considering a 2nd tank if this happens again. It would be amazing to witness a full cycle of life! First and foremost I have to research the reproduction process, and I would love to be able to know whether I indeed have a male in my tank... Two discus loyally protected the eggs till the end... Because I had eggs does not mean that I also have a male... or does it? Anywho- so much I do not know...

Thanks all for your comments & thoughts.

[sublevel007]

I believe you should go into photography as a profession

[sublevel007]

congrats on the eggs as well.

[vgw2007]

First of all thank you for your comments so far!

Second, I have another batch of eggs, almost 30% more, but otherwise similar results. Eggs are turning white -ish and numbers appear to decline with time. I can not believe that we have more eggs- so soon ;)

Can somebody tell me what we got here? Do I simply have some healthy females laying eggs, but I might not have a male fertilizing? I read a piece (including drawings with lines over fins) on analyzing the male/female thing, but my discus are likely not even fully mature yet... For me it is still unclear to determine.

At this point I am not seperating the fish to another tank, as breeding, at this pont is not my primary focus. Perhaps in the future I will get a smaller tank as well as a bigger... for now I am not changing things... but again I would love to see the eggs fertilized etc... very exciting!

Happy Holidays to all:antlers:

[tonymaccs]

Great photos! Brilliant.
One thing you know for sure is that at least one is a female. If you catch them in the act you will know which one. Then if you post some pics of the one in doubt that are as clear as those other photos, you should get some high probability opinions from the experts.
I dont think you mentioned your water parameters- hardness/conductivity, temp, etc. This would also give some pointers as to the possible problem.
Otherwise keep doing what you are doing.
Tony

[vgw2007]

Few days ago the same pair started to repeatedly ram the magnetic aquarium glass cleaner, and eventually they approached it vertically... I immediately suspected eggs were on the way, they laid perhaps 60-ish, and this AM as I was leaving for work I noticed that I had some wigglers and more were working themselves out of the eggs! A first for me! I wanted to call in sick to witness and record this moment, but I could not do that. ;) I can hardly wait to go home and see what is left.

Since my post "eggs!" I have upgraded my tank to a 75 gallon tank, and the pair still seem eager...

When I get home, I will post some shots, and hopefully I can capture some more with wigglers later... If they survived the day...

bye for now...

[Elite Aquaria]

Congratulations....It is a great felling when you finally get wigglers...now just wait until they attach to the fry...that will definitely be a sick day...:D

[vgw2007]

Got home this evening and all was gone...


http://members.shaw.ca/vgw2006/rubbing.jpg
the initial rubbing


http://members.shaw.ca/vgw2006/rubbing2.jpg
some more rubbing


http://members.shaw.ca/vgw2006/eggs.jpg
and then there were eggs...


I was so excited to see the eggs hatch this AM as I was leaving the house... No idea what happened during the day, but I assume that the fry got lost (dark driftwood and background), eaten, and the parents are young and learning... As promised in my previous reply/post, I have inlcuded my latest visuals leading up to this event... I so wish I had taken a few shots this morning... It was an incredible sight...

At least now I know that I have a pair, the eggs had been fertilized this time around, and some of the eggs even hatched... conditions: Ph 6.4 temp 84.0 water changes 40-50% once per week