If my Discus Breed

[DiscusKeeper403]

Quick question.


If my Discus were to breed, and I decided to raise the fry, how long do I wait to remove the babies from the parents? 2-3 weeks? Approx. what size would they be in this time? If I wanted to sell the fry to a local pet store, how big do you think they would need to be? What is the minimum size for a grow out tank? I understand I would need to be doing water changes at least once a day? I would like to make it most size efficient, because I don't have much room and just converted my quarantine tank into a water holding tank to age my water. Just wondering because it looks like I may have some pairing activities going on.

Thank you,

Connor

[Chad Hughes]

Quick question.


If my Discus were to breed, and I decided to raise the fry, how long do I wait to remove the babies from the parents? 2-3 weeks? Approx. what size would they be in this time? If I wanted to sell the fry to a local pet store, how big do you think they would need to be? What is the minimum size for a grow out tank? I understand I would need to be doing water changes at least once a day? I would like to make it most size efficient, because I don't have much room and just converted my quarantine tank into a water holding tank to age my water. Just wondering because it looks like I may have some pairing activities going on.

Thank you,

Connor


Connor,

When to remove fry from parents is a loaded question. Some remove them earlier than others due to stress levels placed on parents. You also have to consider consecutive spawns. If your parent discus are going to spawn again (they sart to shake at each other) then you need to move quickly. Parents will eat fry and spawn again. In a perfect scenario parents are removed from the fry (not fry removed from parents) when the fry begin to take adult foods (like blood worm and beefheart). Once they are off the parents and eating regular foods, you can take the parents out.

I'd grow the discus out in no less than a 55 gallon tank. Size at which to sell is market driven. What size does your local store want? If they want 1.5" discus, then sell them at 1.5". Naturally the price goes up with age and size. If you can grow them out longer, you'll likely get more per fish.

If you have spawning activity going on in your current tank, make sure that you take a close look at your water. Be sure that you are around the 55-80 TDS for your breeders. This is important for hatch rate. If your TDS is already there, then you are set. Typically with a TDS this low, your water will be about 6.5 to 6.8 Ph which is good for slime coat generation on the parents. Always test your Kh at this point as well for a level of 3-4 dKH to ensure that you don't have a Ph crash. GH should be 3 to 6. This normally will fall in line with the recommended TDS above.

Another thing to keep in mind is if this is their first spawn and they are young (less than 14 months old), your male might not be fertile. Don't lose hope if the first spawn is not successful, they eat the eggs, they eat wigglers, etc. Some get it right the first time, some take months. You'll have to be patient.

I wish you the best of luck with your pair! Best wishes!

[judy]

I like to leave the babies with the parent (my females always gets removed at the wiggler stage because they turn cannibal at that point for some reason) for about a month. During that time I will have begun feeding them BBS and Cyclopeeze -- starting at about five days old-- and moving them up to pulverized flakes and chopped frozen bloodworms. It seems the combination of dad's milk and the supplementary food, which is what they will ultimately grow up on, gives them a solid start; I've never had the mysterious four-week "die-off" that some folks see with their little ones.

[DiscusKeeper403]

Thanks for the info guys, totally forgot about this thread. hahah!


I guess if they did start to breed I would just have to cull the eggs, because I don't have room for a 55 gallon. :(

I would also have to invest in a R/O unit, as my water is hard and a moderately high pH.

[judy]

um, you wouldnt need to cull the eggs in the display tank if there are otehr fish in there. they or the wigglers would get eaten, no worries.
btw an easy way to lower Ph is to add CO2. you can DIY with a pop bottle setuo.

[Chad Hughes]

If you have hard water the eggs won't hatch. I don't think you have anything to worry about!

Best wishes!

[Yassmeena]

Connor,

When to remove fry from parents is a loaded question. Some remove them earlier than others due to stress levels placed on parents. You also have to consider consecutive spawns. If your parent discus are going to spawn again (they sart to shake at each other) then you need to move quickly. Parents will eat fry and spawn again. In a perfect scenario parents are removed from the fry (not fry removed from parents) when the fry begin to take adult foods (like blood worm and beefheart). Once they are off the parents and eating regular foods, you can take the parents out.

I'd grow the discus out in no less than a 55 gallon tank. Size at which to sell is market driven. What size does your local store want? If they want 1.5" discus, then sell them at 1.5". Naturally the price goes up with age and size. If you can grow them out longer, you'll likely get more per fish.

If you have spawning activity going on in your current tank, make sure that you take a close look at your water. Be sure that you are around the 55-80 TDS for your breeders. This is important for hatch rate. If your TDS is already there, then you are set. Typically with a TDS this low, your water will be about 6.5 to 6.8 Ph which is good for slime coat generation on the parents. Always test your Kh at this point as well for a level of 3-4 dKH to ensure that you don't have a Ph crash. GH should be 3 to 6. This normally will fall in line with the recommended TDS above.

Another thing to keep in mind is if this is their first spawn and they are young (less than 14 months old), your male might not be fertile. Don't lose hope if the first spawn is not successful, they eat the eggs, they eat wigglers, etc. Some get it right the first time, some take months. You'll have to be patient.

I wish you the best of luck with your pair! Best wishes!

What is TDS?

[Chad Hughes]

Total Dissolved Solids.