force pairing?

[grantbudd74]

Ok I have 2 confirmed female leopards as I have seen them both lay eggs together as they paired up! So I went to an importer and got 2 confirmed male leopards.

I have had them in a tank a 3 footer for 2 weeks now and the female is becoming very aggressive as I think she is still committed to the other female.

I want these to pair up and the males were pairing up previously with other females before I brought them home to try with my two.

So:

What would you do? I have plenty of tanks available and I can divide the current tank in half but the divider will allow the females to see each other...

Should I take one male and one female and put them into separate tanks and see what happens.

All I have in each tank is a plastic plant for cover, 4 sponge filters, 2 heaters (its winter time) and one pvc tube glued down vertically for breeding.

Any thoughts

[Eddie]

I'd just toss a female and male together. If they start fighting, let them, unless one or the other starts getting some physical damage. In which case, I would use a divider to separate the 2 fish, keeping them in the same tank.

There is no need to keep the females so they can see each other, keep them separate forever to break their bond.

Eddie

[grantbudd74]

I just put one into her own tank and left the other with the two boys overnight. I will put one of the boys with her tomorrow or on the other side of a divider I have.

Q: I am using sponge filters for the first time and have a couple in the tank Each filter has four filter sponges so there are eight in total. Its 3 foot x 18 wide and 13 high tank. Problem is I get cloudy water...

I did a 75% WC last night and 24hrs later its cloudy again :-( Is this normal? I am used to canister filters and am thinking I wasted all my money on air pumps and filters. I went with the advice of my LFS who said what I bought was more than enough filtration for the size of tank. The filters have a directional water outlet rather than bubbles going right up to the top of the water... I cant go throwing 150 ltrs of water away a day.

Thx

[Eddie]

What do mean you cant go throwing 150 liters every day?

Maybe the filters are cycling and that is the reason for the cloudy water.

Eddie

[grantbudd74]

when I do a wc the water is waste water and it goes down the drain or on the garden. I put the sponges in the sump of my pro 3 which is running my 6x2x2 for over a month to cycle.

[mmorris]

I I cant go throwing 150 ltrs of water away a day.



I 'throw out' over 300 ltrs a day on just one grow-out tank. If you have a water issue (cost?) you need to sort it out now, before you have fry. Did you cycle the sponges?

[grantbudd74]

Hi yes I believe they cycled in my canister filter? Is this correct? If not Ill net them and put them back in my main tank.

I did this on the advice I got here previously. They sat in the base of my huge canister filter for a month.

With throwing out water I do not mind if I had a huge fish load but 4 discus in a 3 foot tank is not much fish load I would think?? I had set it up for a 25% water change each day until I got eggs or something along these lines of laying where I would do more.

Obviously things are diff when it comes to fry and clean water is a must so I can divide these tanks in half with glass if needed?? Still cloudy water is a sign of non cycled sponges or poor water circulation?

As mentioned b4 I have only used canister filters before so the water is always clear.

THx

mmorris

[mmorris]

They sat in the base of my huge canister filter for a month.

With throwing out water I do not mind if I had a huge fish load but 4 discus in a 3 foot tank is not much fish load I would think?? I had set it up for a 25% water change each day until I got eggs or something along these lines of laying where I would do more.


mmorris
If the sponges sat in the canister filter for a month and the canister filter did not stop filtering until you removed the fish and sponges, then yes, it is cycled. It may take a bit for the bacteria to catch up to the current stocking level though. Is that a 30 gallon tank (125 liters)? Four discus in a 30 gallon tank is over-stocked.

[grantbudd74]

not too sure I was told that it would be good for 2 pairs. the tank is 3 foot long x 18 inches deep and 13 inches high.

[mmorris]

Overstocked - people generally recommend 10 gallons per discus. Some people overstock, but 1) they cannot neglect the tank for even a short time 2) they are particularly vulnerable in a power outage.

[grantbudd74]

I get 138 ltrs but its not full to the brim so I guess your calculation is correct... I really thought half this would be enough for a pair....So much conflicting advice...:-(

Shame this all costs money...So one pair per tank then?

[grantbudd74]

I guess I will have to re-think this whole breeding setup thing then....I will go for a pair in one tank and see if this cloudy water goes away...Thanks for the advice and yes the sponges stayed in the tank until I needed them.

grant

[grantbudd74]

Mmoris: what would you do as far as my original question with my 4 fish?

[Tito]

Cloudy water ussually means you do not have enough beneficial bacteria yet. Your filter may be cycled but it takes a bit more bacteria after the cycle to out feed the bacteria that cause the cloudyness. If you keep changing the water you will make the process last longer.

[grantbudd74]

ahh ok thanks.. Something so simple that I have not come across from always using canisters...!

thx

[mmorris]

Looking again, your tank is a bit larger than I thought. I figured 12 inches instead of 13 and then rounded 33 gallons to 30. Sorry. If the tank is full it should hold 36 gallons - a bit snug, but if you keep up the wc's, you should be alright. I would separate the four fish into two pairs - out of sight, out of mind. :) Hopefully...

[grantbudd74]

So I have dividers which are clear and as of now I have one pair in one tank and one in another.

In one tank there is no divider and in the other I have a divider as these fish are the more aggressive. They spend a lot of time looking at each other.

Do I leave them as is until they start to pair if at all or let both pairs be together in their own tanks or divide each fish so there is one pair only in one tank but they are both separated?

I hope this reads ok?

[Willie]

Sounds like you paid a good price for confirmed males. I hope you started with a 6-week quarantine before doing anything else.

After quarantine, put a male and a female together in their own tank. Don't let them look at other discus, just each other. You'll know in 3 weeks max if they are going to pair off.

Good luck, Willie