suggestions for dad?

[roundfishross]

hello i have never started a new thread but here we go. ok my altum flora x red turk pair have spawned again for the second time in less than 2 mos. both were huge spawns and were tough on the parents.after the first i raised the temp in yhe tank from 84 to 86 in hopes of getting them really conditioned for the next round, well they were inpatient and as sonn as they started to look nice again had another huge spawn(well over 100@ pea size now@ about 14days give or take)and mom but mostly dad look like hell. what should i do to get them to lay off spawning and fatten up??:D any water additive suggestions would be appreciated, thanks all:D

[zamboniMan]

Well, you could put a tank divider in between them for a while:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=73637

I suggest you go with the egg crate from home depot it's more sturdy and it should lessen some of the cons of putting a tank divider in to separate a pair.

Or you could up your feedings and not worry about. I'd probably try this but I'm sure a lot of people will disagree. When I'm breeding fish I look at it as the fish know when its time to breed and when its not so let them decide. Lots of people will separate fish until they're very healthy looking and then put them back together without issue. There are risks to this which I find outwiegh the benefits but thats just my opinion.

Good luck,
Josh

[roundfishross]

thanks josh , i dont intend on splitting them up. thought of letting just a few fry remain with them,they are eating well, was wondering about maybe some sort of salt treatment to help heal ragged fins?:D

[zamboniMan]

As long as you don't have plants in there you can do that. It may or may not make a noticeable difference.

[roundfishross]

no plants 20h ,bb heater and two sponges, not evan a cone this time!
they didnt seem to mind;)

[kaceyo]

Putting a divider between them is the only way to give them a break without seperating them. If you leave a few fry with them and they decide to spawn, they'll spawn anyways and may kill the fry.
They shouldn't need anything special, just lots of good, clean water and good diet to recover.

Kacey

[Jhhnn]

My pair spawns quite regularly, if unsuccessfully because they're still in the big tank. They never look any the worse for wear, which leads me to think it's the rearing rather than the spawning that's tough on yours. Might try just taking their spawn to give 'em a recovery period... Lots of fresh water and some salt to help 'em along...

[scottthomas]

The fry can be a huge wear on the parents. I have a male that likes to keep all the fry to himself. I have left the fry on him for 3 weeks and he looks ragged. After I pull the fry I put a divider between the pair or move them to a community tank for a break. They heal much faster and eat better than leaving them with fry.

[roundfishross]

certainly not the rearing these fish live in practically surgically clean tanks with at least 50 % daily water change, and are only fed color bit my heart mix ,and lots of cbw's. to suggest that they would spawn in inadequit conditions and rear over 100 fry for 14 days is rediculous!!:D

[roundfishross]

My pair spawns quite regularly, if unsuccessfully because they're still in the big tank. They never look any the worse for wear, which leads me to think it's the rearing rather than the spawning that's tough on yours. Might try just taking their spawn to give 'em a recovery period... Lots of fresh water and some salt to help 'em along...

it's not the act of spawning but all those fry biting them continously that makes them look ragged:)

[Jhhnn]

I hope you didn't think I was suggesting your methods were inadequate. I didn't. If their condition is not to your liking the next time they spawn, take the eggs. Repeat until you are happy with their condition, then let 'em rear their young. As you said, and I agree, it's the rearing of young that makes 'em look ragged. It's one way you can force 'em to take a break from that, if you want.

That's all I had to offer, honest.

[joanr]

certainly not the rearing these fish live in practically surgically clean tanks with at least 50 % daily water change, and are only fed color bit my heart mix ,and lots of cbw's. to suggest that they would spawn in inadequit conditions and rear over 100 fry for 14 days is rediculous!!:D

I think John meant that rearing the young was what was making them look a tad burnt out, not a reflection on the way you keep discus. Do you also have a community tank that you could return the pair to for awhile? I did that to give a pair a break, and they remained paired but did not spawn again until I put them back into the breeding tank. Of course that's just one result, not to say it would work out for your situation.

[Eddie]

certainly not the rearing these fish live in practically surgically clean tanks with at least 50 % daily water change, and are only fed color bit my heart mix ,and lots of cbw's. to suggest that they would spawn in inadequit conditions and rear over 100 fry for 14 days is rediculous!!:D

Wow

[roundfishross]

would be afraid to plop these guy in one of my comm tanks the fish have never been mixed previously ,gona try the egg crate divider.



hey eddie ,whats wow?:D


i have signed up to the photo buckett thing ,i will try to get some fry pics to upload

[roundfishross]

My pair spawns quite regularly, if unsuccessfully because they're still in the big tank. They never look any the worse for wear, which leads me to think it's the rearing rather than the spawning that's tough on yours. Might try just taking their spawn to give 'em a recovery period... Lots of fresh water and some salt to help 'em along...

i did miss understand when you said this ,re read it twice ,sorry didint mean to be harsh, i do have o.c.d.d. and its time to do water changes lol , lots and lots and lots of discus:D

[Rod]

Take the fry earlier than 14 days, there is no reason to leave them that long. 5 to 8 days is plenty imo.