nc0gnet0
10-21-2010, 04:48 PM
Ok this will be a bit winded so bear with me.......
I have 3 pairs of fish in involved in my current scenario/puzzle. Pair 1 is a Ogon Yellow/White + ARSG. Pair 2 is an Alenquer cross (solid type) and a Red turq. Pair three is a new pair that I just received from Kenny (actually all the fish came from Kenny with the exception of the turq) consisting of a PE and a LSS (contest winner).
Ok Pair one has had a succesful spawn and the fry are 3 1/2 weeks old. Perfect parents.
Pair two have been spawning together for 8+ weeks and recently I have been getting over a 95% hatch rate. However, somewhere between wigglers and 1st day of free swimming, the fry get very weak and die. They do attach, but don't seem to remain attached. This has happened the last 4 spawns, and its not the parents eating them or lack of effort, I can just see the fry are weak. My protocol is after the pair lay the eggs and they settle in, I remove 50% of the water and add meth blue. I then add in fresh water and top of the tank giving me a 1/2 recomended dose of MB in the tank. I do 30-40% water changes everyday and only very light feedings until wigglers, then no feeding. My tank temperature has been set at 28.2C until the last spawn.
Pair three reside happily in a community tank (125 g) with 7 other adult discus. I have only had them about three weeks and they have laid three times (actually they are about to lay again). There eggs never make it if left in the community tank.
Ok now is where it gets interesting and what most of you are thinking up to this point is thrown out the window.
I removed the OYW+ARSG pair from thier fry last friday and into a 29 gallon breeder. That same day, the Alenquer+turq pair layed eggs, in which I treated with meth blue same as always. I had talked with Al regarding my issues with the the turq pair and he suggested two things. One, raise the temperature of the tank after the spawn, and two, possibly see if the OYW+ASRG pair would foster them. So, on the day after the eggs where layed, I removed them from the turq pair and placed them in with the OYW pair and screened the eggs. Also, this tank had no MB.
Now, to make things really interesting, it just so happened that on the day that I removed the eggs from the turq pair, the PE+LSS pair layed eggs in the community tank. As I fed the community tank and watched a red melon sneak over and start eating the eggs while the PE+LSS pair were distracted,, I thought what the hell, and removed these eggs from the community tank and placed them in with the Alenquer pair and screened them. My only real intent was to see if any wigglers would form, thus confirming the pair.
Luckily, both pairs bonded well with there foster eggs. I again got a great hatch with the AQ/turq eggs (in the OYW tank). Wigglers were fine. On day 2 1/2 they went free swimming and began to attach to both parents (even the albino :D). However, by the end of the day, same scenario, one by one they started dropping like flies.
Now back to the Turq pair with the PE eggs. I got a smaller hatch with those eggs, not suprised considering the current in the community tank. But I would say about 50 wigglers. They went free swimming at the 48 hour mark and have attached as to be expected. While still on day one, I can see a noticeable difference with these fry and there energy level. If these fry go on to stay healthy, what is the problem with the Alanquer/Turq fry. Is it possible they are just genetically not a good match? Opinions? What should I try next to get a succesfull cross with this pair?
I have 3 pairs of fish in involved in my current scenario/puzzle. Pair 1 is a Ogon Yellow/White + ARSG. Pair 2 is an Alenquer cross (solid type) and a Red turq. Pair three is a new pair that I just received from Kenny (actually all the fish came from Kenny with the exception of the turq) consisting of a PE and a LSS (contest winner).
Ok Pair one has had a succesful spawn and the fry are 3 1/2 weeks old. Perfect parents.
Pair two have been spawning together for 8+ weeks and recently I have been getting over a 95% hatch rate. However, somewhere between wigglers and 1st day of free swimming, the fry get very weak and die. They do attach, but don't seem to remain attached. This has happened the last 4 spawns, and its not the parents eating them or lack of effort, I can just see the fry are weak. My protocol is after the pair lay the eggs and they settle in, I remove 50% of the water and add meth blue. I then add in fresh water and top of the tank giving me a 1/2 recomended dose of MB in the tank. I do 30-40% water changes everyday and only very light feedings until wigglers, then no feeding. My tank temperature has been set at 28.2C until the last spawn.
Pair three reside happily in a community tank (125 g) with 7 other adult discus. I have only had them about three weeks and they have laid three times (actually they are about to lay again). There eggs never make it if left in the community tank.
Ok now is where it gets interesting and what most of you are thinking up to this point is thrown out the window.
I removed the OYW+ARSG pair from thier fry last friday and into a 29 gallon breeder. That same day, the Alenquer+turq pair layed eggs, in which I treated with meth blue same as always. I had talked with Al regarding my issues with the the turq pair and he suggested two things. One, raise the temperature of the tank after the spawn, and two, possibly see if the OYW+ASRG pair would foster them. So, on the day after the eggs where layed, I removed them from the turq pair and placed them in with the OYW pair and screened the eggs. Also, this tank had no MB.
Now, to make things really interesting, it just so happened that on the day that I removed the eggs from the turq pair, the PE+LSS pair layed eggs in the community tank. As I fed the community tank and watched a red melon sneak over and start eating the eggs while the PE+LSS pair were distracted,, I thought what the hell, and removed these eggs from the community tank and placed them in with the Alenquer pair and screened them. My only real intent was to see if any wigglers would form, thus confirming the pair.
Luckily, both pairs bonded well with there foster eggs. I again got a great hatch with the AQ/turq eggs (in the OYW tank). Wigglers were fine. On day 2 1/2 they went free swimming and began to attach to both parents (even the albino :D). However, by the end of the day, same scenario, one by one they started dropping like flies.
Now back to the Turq pair with the PE eggs. I got a smaller hatch with those eggs, not suprised considering the current in the community tank. But I would say about 50 wigglers. They went free swimming at the 48 hour mark and have attached as to be expected. While still on day one, I can see a noticeable difference with these fry and there energy level. If these fry go on to stay healthy, what is the problem with the Alanquer/Turq fry. Is it possible they are just genetically not a good match? Opinions? What should I try next to get a succesfull cross with this pair?