My BD spawning pair...

[mikel]

I think it's their third try, and as you can see, the eggs are turning white again (the pretty daddy doesnt have a clue). And why are they so stubborn about the intake pipe...there is a perfectly good cone available:confused:. They were really angry when I dropped the water level during the water change this morning...mike

[Ed13]

I think it's their third try, and as you can see, the eggs are turning white again (the pretty daddy doesnt have a clue). And why are they so stubborn about the intake pipe...there is a perfectly good cone available:confused:. They were really angry when I dropped the water level during the water change this morning...mike
I'm blue with envy Mike!

[Eddie]

Killer Blues Mike, the fish in the 3rd picture, on the left. Is that one from Kenny? That is one show quality fish man, I love that one.

Eddie

[Tito]

AWesome Blues!

[mikel]

Thanks guys. And yes, one of the fish, the male with the trailer and the deep blue sheen, is from Kenny. He is my favorite fish! mike:)

[Eddie]

Thanks guys. And yes, one of the fish, the male with the trailer and the deep blue sheen, is from Kenny. He is my favorite fish! mike:)

How old are the fish Mike?

Eddie

[mikel]

Hi Eddie: The two fish that you see here....the Blue one with the trailer is about 1 years old. The female one is about 1.5 years old. She is older than the boy, and she does a great job laying the eggs, but he is not so good at making the magic happen. But I cannot stop them, so I gave them the whole tank to themselves to play. I am hoping that Kenny will make available the grade A BD that my blue male was a part of during the december shipment in 2008....You might be able to go back in archives and see that shipment....Kenny picked him out for me. He was my "one fish" purchase from Kenny, and Kenny picked the "most beautiful Blue fish" in the lot. He even called me and asked if I wanted the best "presentation overall" fish, or the "biggest size wise"...and I chose the former, and he picked this baby for me. He was spot on! mike:):):)

[mikel]

I had to siphon out the white rotting eggs on the intake pipe this morning (once again, third failed attempt)...The pair attacked my hand with their heads and tried to use their body to shield the eggs from the siphon. Once again, I had to push them away, all the while feeling really sad because I know these eggs meant the world to them. The tank is clean now, and the female (the greener one) just stare at where the eggs used to be, sulking and looking miserable. The boy of course, is swimming around looking for something to eat....I feel bad, but those eggs were beginning to be covered with fungus, and I dont want them eating the rotten eggs, or being anywhere around that!! yuck! Moved the cone to the other side...maybe they like it there better?mike:(

[mmorris]

They're a beautiful pair, Mike. :) Avoid the temptation to throttle him as you wait for him to mature. :D My sapphire male non-fertilized something like 8 batches before he got his act together.

[Jorge]

I'm with Eddie, Kenny sent you a really beautiful BD!

Congrats Mike, and give him time to mature!

[mikel]

Thanks guys, I actually could care less about a successful spawn. But I also feel like I need to let them do their thing, because that's what they do....That's why I let them have the big tank all to themselves. I am sort of led into this by the two fish, and I guess they are determined to do what they want to do...and I am learning from all of you along the way. The male fish can take all the time he wants....I just want him healthy and happy. mike:)

[joanr]

They do get upset when you pull the eggs, especially the Blues, they seem to be better parents than some of the other strains. Since they insist on using the tube, can you stocking it up to the top of the intake tube and move the cone in that general area? I don't think they would use a netted intake tube, and just may try out the cone next time.

[mikel]

Thanks Joan for the suggestion. It may well work! I will have to get to a store and get me a pair of cheap ladies panty hose and use that as the sheath to the intake tube. mike:)

[joanr]

Looking at the pics I see your HOB is still turned on. I never had a successful spawn until I stilled the water flow movement in the tank and just ran with a sponge filter on the other side of the tank. The male can't fertilize the eggs properly with all that water flow. I also dosed the eggs very lightly with some green to prevent fungus. Of course it's hard to be there at the precise hour of the spawn so when you see them getting ready, turn down the HOB. Just my experience, but that seemed to do the trick.

[mikel]

Oh...that makes sense, given that the male sperm would be liquid, and flowing water would actually not be helpful in the watery environment. If I catch them doing it in the act, can I shut off the HOB filter until they are done, then turn it back on? This way, maybe I can just remove the bio-wheels and float them in the tank for the hour long process to try to save the bacteria colony on the wheels, then restart the HOB with the wheels re-installed once the spawning is completed? I really dont want to kill all the good bacteria in the bio-wheels,

Also, when you say green, do you mean Malachite Green, as in the chemical that is paired with formalin in Rid -Ich? If so, can I simply use a weak dose of Rid-Ick (perhaps 1/2 or 1/3 teaspoon per 10 gal? Regular dose is one teaspoon per gallon? ...mike

[Disgirl]

This makes me wonder, how long after fertilizing occurs before it is safe to start up regular water filtration and water movement in the tank? How long do the eggs need to sit undisturbed to start growing baby discus?
Barb :)

[joanr]

I didn't turn the HOB back on until they were a few days free swimming, and that was with a pre-filter and turned way down. I did do water changes during this time, and that was scary, always worried about killing a fry by mistake. I used to scoot them back to their parents when they wondered too far away, talk about having too much time on my hands...

I'd have to look at my notes about what I treated the eggs with. It was either blue or green, it's been quite a few years since I've had a discus tank. But really, you could get a sponge filter, or two, with airlines going now and they would be cycled in no time, and then you could float the wheels and turn off the hob no worries. During the first 24hrs after the spawn I would have the least amount of water flow. Your male will get it right sooner or later. I learned what to do before, during and after by reading all the posts in the breeding discus section. Everyone has their own tips and tricks and most are good sound advise. I haven't looked in that area much, but at one time it was just full of info.

[mikel]

Thanks Joan, I appreciate your advice. mike

[joanr]

I just went back to all my posts during 2003-2004. I found out what I was using on the eggs. Here it is:

Maroxy, it works very well, is colorless and doesn't appear to harm the eggs. Dose about 1hr after eggs are fertilized. I only use the initial dose.

I also noted that I did not turn on any power filters for quite awhile. The tiny fry will exhaust themselves trying to swim against the currants and will die off.

[Darren's Discus]

Beautiful pair.


cheers

[mmorris]

This makes me wonder, how long after fertilizing occurs before it is safe to start up regular water filtration and water movement in the tank? How long do the eggs need to sit undisturbed to start growing baby discus?
Barb :)

I give them a couple of hours after laying them but then keep the flow fairly low.

[joanr]

I can't wait to see some fry from that pair, they are stunners! But BD males are late bloomers, it can take them up to 2yrs old before they get going properly. My BD male tried 22 times before he got it right....lol.

[mikel]

Ok, so it's 7:30 pm Saturday night here in good old Milton, and my blue diamond pair is going at it again on the intake pipe. This time, I have turned off my Emperor bio-wheel as suggested by Joan...but I am watering the wheels every 5-10 minutes to keep them wet and the bacteria colonies alive, hopefully. I have also switched off the air pump so no more bubbles. The tank water is absolutely still so let's see if the boy can do his thing and get it right this time. Too bad I dont have film in my camera...or I would take some pics.

It seems that the boy is not all that good at following the girl and her egg trail. I think he is very inexperienced...but nice to look at, nonetheless. Wish they would finish so I can get the filter back on....dont want to destroy the bac colony.

So, if the power filter or bubble filter should not be on for the sake of the baby fry, then how do you keep the nitrogen cycle-bio-filtration going? Wouldnt ammonia etc levels go up and harm the fish? mike

[Disgirl]

I give them a couple of hours after laying them but then keep the flow fairly low.

I think she is saying you can turn the filter(s) back on but very low flow after 2 hrs. Just put some plastic wrap over your bio wheel and that will keep it from drying out during the short time it is turned off. The bac. will be fine. Good luck with everything!
Barb :)

[mikel]

Ok, I am watering the wheels. I tried floating the wheels in the tank, but of course these two took exception and decided to attack them instead of spawning...so I put the wheels back on their hinges and started watering them every 5 or 10 min. So long as the bacteria will be fine, I feel better. Thank you Barb! mike

[joanr]

Correct, keep it off for the first hour or so after the male fertilizes, but when you do get eggs fertilized and they eventually go free swimming you are going to have to turn off the power filter. Hang it on another tank or float the wheels. That's why I'd always keep a cycled sponge filter in the breeding tanks. If you don't have a sponge filter with an airline inserted that is cycled then you will need to turn the HOB way down and get a pre-filter over that square intake end. They didn't use the cone again? You could probably net or wire off the intake tube. LOL, the female sure is stubborn about that. Like I said, the BD males mature slowly, it took my Big Blue 22 times to finally get it right. All those tries and I was having to make RO water and keep everything just perfect for them, it did pay off eventually.

[Disgirl]

it took my Big Blue 22 times to finally get it right. All those tries and I was having to make RO water and keep everything just perfect for them


Now that is real patience Joan! Hope they gave you a big healthy spawn after all that you did for them! How are yours today Mike?
Barb:)

[mmorris]

Did he make passes at all Mike? I couldn't quite tell. I believe if you soak the wheels in water the bacteria will die. They need the oxygen. For the couple of hours you needed to leave the filter off I wouldn't have worried about the wheels at all. You'll have to mess with the filter all over again when fry go free-swimming. :D I don't really have a set way of managing the filter when that happens. I play it be ear, I guess. If the parents round up the fry nicely, then I don't remove the sponge. I turn it down though. If the fry are all over the place I remove it entirely for a day or so. I've also put the sponge in a hob and attached a nylon stocking over the intake. How are things looking now?

[mikel]

Hi Martha, Barb and Joan: This morning, everything seems ok. There are a few white specks, but not many. I think over the next 12 to 24 hrs, there will be a lot more white specks. I did see the boy go over the eggs, but I am not sure if he is doing anything productive, or if he is shooting blanks....who knows? This morning, both were very defensive with my hand as I clean the tank, but we have made it into a fun game (at least for me). They are serious about protecting the eggs, but I just dont know if the boy did anything.

The bio-wheel was started quite soon after I think they were done last night (I think about an hour of spawning activities). I think playing it by ear is the best way to go..thanks mike

[mmorris]

Fingers crossed. :)

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

Mike, amazing pair. im super jealous bro! :p

[mikel]

Thanks Jason....you have some nice fish yourself!!! mike:):):)

[Jhhnn]

Beautiful fish- maybe this spawn will work out...

It's interesting how my 2 near solid blue scorps, from Kenny, have the same dark marking on their side as your male... except w/ mine, the mark is on their right side... apparently an artifact of shared ancestors...

[mikel]

Blue scorpions are my second most favorite strain, after the BD family of strains (Like B Sapphire, Angel blue, super blue angel etc)...yours must be real eye-catchers! Post picture? mike:)