EGG EATER!

[alexfl73]

Hi All,

I have a Marlboro Red and a PB who have recently paired up (or I think ). From what I notice, the female is the Marlboro Red and the PB is the Male. They have laid eggs on 4 different occasion during the last 3 weeks. I have not seen who is laying the eggs, but I do notice the PB coming over and shimming and going over the eggs with his tube (fertilizing??). I wish I can verify the Marlboro laying the eggs, but I have never seen her. The problem is after the PB fans them for a while, the Marlboro will come after and eat them up. It does not happen right away as they both take turns fanning them. Im not sure what to do and any suggestions are greatly appreciated:confused:

[mcsinny99]

Hi All,

I have a Marlboro Red and a PB who have recently paired up (or I think ). From what I notice, the female is the Marlboro Red and the PB is the Male. They have laid eggs on 4 different occasion during the last 3 weeks. I have not seen who is laying the eggs, but I do notice the PB coming over and shimming and going over the eggs with his tube (fertilizing??). I wish I can verify the Marlboro laying the eggs, but I have never seen her. The problem is after the PB fans them for a while, the Marlboro will come after and eat them up. It does not happen right away as they both take turns fanning them. Im not sure what to do and any suggestions are greatly appreciated:confused:

Just keep letting them try, they will figure it out.:) Mine took 7 tries to get it.

[AADiscus]

If they are done spawning then pull the male. If they are fanning then they are completed. The mom can raise them by herself.

[alexfl73]

im just not sure who is who...does the male fan or do they both fan?...also...can the female go over them after they are laid or is that only the male to fertilize?

[alexfl73]

also..it seems like its the female who is eating the eggs

[discus-mike]

also..it seems like its the female who is eating the eggs
My female does more of the fanning and it took them 5 trys before i got some fries, i did loose alot of eggs each time about 100-200 eggs ,dont worried you will be surprise it just take time on my next pair i know what to expect, Good luck

[John_Nicholson]

I have found that with new pairs it is normally the female that eats the eggs. They will normally figure it out in time. If you don't want to wait get some of the plastic gutter guard from Home Depot or Lowes and cover the eggs. At least that way you will know if the eggs are fertile.

-john

[dogfish101]

hi i have a pair that have layed eggs many times .they are young .the male eats the eggs as soon as they come out .he has done this at least 5 times .i am still waiting for him to give it up and be a parent .he dont even seem to be interested in his job .just lunch
have fun & good luck :)

[alexfl73]

I now have a 3rd one, A blue Cobalt that is eating the eggs. I now confirmed that my PB is the female (I saw her laying the eggs). I now think that the Marlboro is a male (confused!!:confused:). The blue cobalt now pushes the PB away and eats the eggs as she lays them. Im trying to figure out if its a male or an aggresive female. I want to seperate them for breeding but I need to make sure who to take out!. Here is a link to all three in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD4OpZeYHFQ

thank you!!:confused::confused:

[Peachtree Discus]

can't watch the videos in the office :o so, they are in a community tank? they are likely to be eaten in a community tank regardless.

i had a male and female that appeared to be paired...but the male would eat the eggs as soon as they were laid, everytime. turns out, he was eating the eggs because he was paired with another female. as soon as i took out the rival female, the true pair laid and the male did not eat the eggs.

100-200 eggs? i haven't seen the size of the fish, but 200 eggs seems like a lot. maybe you have two females laying eggs.

[John_Nicholson]

200 eggs may be 2 females but then again it may just be a healthy female. I seldom took the time to count spawns, but the largest I ever counted was 453 in one spawn, pulled them at 14 days. The next week a pulled a marboro red spawn that was 352. If you are raising spanws of less then 100 then somethnig is wrong or your fish are past their prime. Good luck and remember most of the time their instincts will straighten out over time and they will be successful.

-john

[alexfl73]

they are in a tank with a total of 7 discus and 75 rummy noses. I plan on pulling them out, however, I am having a hard time finding out who is paired with who. I was hoping that by now I could figure it out. Im seeing tubes stick out from several discus, I hope I dont have all females!!...

[doc3toes]

from the video i would wonder if your PB and your MR are both females. The BT might be a male. is that a stendker BT? because my male stendeker BTs all have trailers on their dorsal fins. keep watching! you'll figure it out in time. and yes 2 females will pair up and lay eggs.

[alexfl73]

CONFIRMATIONS AND UPDATES...so far I now have confirmed that my Blue Turq and Red Panda are females. I also think my Marlboro Red is a female but I’m not sure. They all seem to have interest in my intake tube right after a water change. They have all laid eggs at the same time and I’m having a hard time distinguishing if My Marlboro is also laying eggs on the same tube or If it’s a male fertilizing the eggs. I am posting a new video for suggestions. Thank you!:confused:

[alexfl73]

heres the latest video clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeH0xRzh6rI

[AADiscus]

It's hard to tell because your video is a little dark but I would guess all females. Something to remember when you have spawning in a community tank......a hormone is released into the water and getting all the other fish froggy. :D

[inkfam]

If you dont mind, What gallon tank do you have and how often do you do water changes? Also, do you have live plants? Sorry to ask all these questions but your discus really seem to be thriving and look very content!! Would you mind showing a picture of your complete aquarium?

Thanks

[rfeiller]

in the wild it is the male who takes care of the fry more then likely. the femle ovulates every 6-8 days and needs to spawn so she goes on to find another male. years ago there use to be a belief that discus pair for life, i can assure you that having had hundreds of pairs that is not the case.

many times two females will spawn together.

originally discus where a lot stronger. wild fish will produce spawns of 400 or more at one time. it is through inbreeding that they have degenerated to the low fertility they have today.

through inbreeding/line-breeding the first thing to go is fertility, the second is the immune system.

try putting a spawning media into the tank such as a piece of 4" diameter pvc pipe about 10 inches long. a few minutes after the completion of spawning move the pipe with eggs to another container to hatch. then you will know if the eggs are viable and you truely have a pair.

good luck

[CliffsDiscus]

in the wild it is the male who takes care of the fry more then likely. the femle ovulates every 6-8 days and needs to spawn so she goes on to find another male. years ago there use to be a belief that discus pair for life, i can assure you that having had hundreds of pairs that is not the case.

many times two females will spawn together.

originally discus where a lot stronger. wild fish will produce spawns of 400 or more at one time. it is through inbreeding that they have degenerated to the low fertility they have today.

through inbreeding/line-breeding the first thing to go is fertility, the second is the immune system.

try putting a spawning media into the tank such as a piece of 4" diameter pvc pipe about 10 inches long. a few minutes after the completion of spawning move the pipe with eggs to another container to hatch. then you will know if the eggs are viable and you truely have a pair.

good luck


Hi Richard,
Great to hear an old time Discus professional on this forum. Are you back into the Discus,
still got that ElCamino. I think the last time I saw you was at your house along with Bing
Seto and Dick Au.

Cliff Young

[rfeiller]

next to my dog, the discus since i was 15 and i'm 62 now has been my obsession. because of other demands i broke away from discus, but i sure miss the discus and my friends in the hobby. i do not have discus at this time, i travel too much.

good to hear from you, how are your discus doing? are you still selling to local shops?
what are you working with now?

take care

Richard

[CliffsDiscus]

Richard,
Thanks, I am doing fine. I started an aquarium service business, so during the holidays seasons it fairly busy, surprise how many people don't clean their aquariums till its Thanksgiving or Christmas. I still supply the local shops with the Discus supply, expecially
since the saltwater market has really slow down. Oh, remember Shingrala Discus in
Santa Cruz, little Rick has been coming around my place lately. Currently Discus bred
in my hatchery are the bread and butter type as they move out faster, can't have
Discus sitting in my tanks too long as the price of electricty is so high.

Take Care!
Cliff Young

[rfeiller]

good for you, this area needs good quality discus from strong strains. and the tank cleaning at Xmas couldn't come at a better time!

by the way i didn't know they were still around.

happy holidays
rich

[alexfl73]

UPDATES: So Far my frustrations with breeding continue. I have 7 Discus of which 5 are now confirmed females. it becomes a slugfest during egg laying time as they all fight with each other and begin to eat each other’s eggs as they come out. I have two other Discus which do not seem to care and I’m hoping one of those if not both of them are males. I mean what are the chances I purchased 7 discus and they would all be females.?? From what I have been told males take a longer time to mature than females. I m assuming most of my discus are about 1 year old. Im just not sure how to proceed at this point. Do I need to go out and purchase confirmed males? Does that even guarantee pairing??.. All frustrating now!!... Any suggestion greatly appreciated!:confused::confused::confused::confuse d: