How many times does it take for your discus to get it right?

[x2h]

My pair of discus spawned the 6th time 2 days ago ever since they came into my planted 75 gallon a month ago. They basically spawned every 5 days, never missed it. I think I can use them as my calendar now.

However, everytime they spawn, they almost always ate the eggs just around 48 hours when the eggs are turning into wigglers. The parents will guard the eggs well at the beginning, and at around 48 hours, they will get into some sort of fight, and then the female got reall yupset and started eating the eggs one by one. Breaks my heart to watch that. I am wondering if they will ever learn not to eat their children. Could anyone share their experience? How many times did it take for your pair to get it right? When should I say "nuf's nuf" and give up and raise the eggs artificially?

[x2h]

I just realized maybe this topic belongs to the breeding forum. sorry for the oversight. ok if the moderator moves it there. thanks!

[rdiscus]

Separate them next time ... good luck

[judy]

I have three pairs. With two of them, I have to remove the female once the eggs become free-swimmers. The snakeskin have been spawning since I got them about a year ago, the red turqs longer than that, about four years. The third pair is pigeon blood, and their fry never seem to attach, but both parents try their darndest until the free-swimmers are dead at the bottom of the tank. And I used to have a red melon pair, great breeders which I sold to an eager breeder, where the same problem with the female always cropped up. I dunno why, it just does with my pairs... they get especially irate after water changes...

[zimmjeff]

I'm still counting for my stupid pairs. I know the eggs are good because I have taken them and hatched them out. If i leave them with the fish they eat them after 30 hours or so.

[x2h]

I have three pairs. With two of them, I have to remove the female once the eggs become free-swimmers. The snakeskin have been spawning since I got them about a year ago, the red turqs longer than that, about four years. The third pair is pigeon blood, and their fry never seem to attach, but both parents try their darndest until the free-swimmers are dead at the bottom of the tank. And I used to have a red melon pair, great breeders which I sold to an eager breeder, where the same problem with the female always cropped up. I dunno why, it just does with my pairs... they get especially irate after water changes...

hey you just gave me a hint. i realized maybe it's hard for the wigglers to attach to the rims of my pot (in my avatar picture), and when they fell the female thinks they are not good and eats them? Myabe I should place a pot up side down and see if the eggs/wigglers attach better on that?

[stanrocks]

Separate them

[Keith Perkins]

An inverted pot or a spawning cone would definitely be something you should try. Either separating the female from the eggs or caging the eggs would be the next thing I would try. Obviously it would be tough to cage the eggs where she's laying them now. One parent can easily take care of most spawns for the necessary time.

[x2h]

ppl, i have good news. 2 days ago my pair spawned. tonight when i came home, the parent were guarding the wigglers! there are about 30 of them (originally about 200 eggs were laid), and the parents moved them from the side of the pot onto the sand surface of the pot. this is very encouraging! i am very curious how long the fries will last. thanks for all the useful tips!

[rdiscus]

Good to hear that ... and good luck!

[x2h]

Good to hear that ... and good luck!

thanks! this morning i checked them before leaving for work and the parents are still guarding the wigglers. the wigglers look darker than last night. i fed BH to the parents and they loved it. i hope to be able to say hello to the wigglers again when i return tonight! fingers crossed....

[Sean Buehrle]

My pair ate their eggs 5 times in a row. I decided to place a screen over the eggs to see what they would do with wigglers.
So far it's been good, they moved them to a sponge filter 2 days ago and haven't ate them, knock on wood. Should be another day or two and they will be swimming.
Try to help them along to the next step, maybe they won't eat the wigglers.


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[Scott293]

thanks! this morning i checked them before leaving for work and the parents are still guarding the wigglers. the wigglers look darker than last night. i fed BH to the parents and they loved it. i hope to be able to say hello to the wigglers again when i return tonight! fingers crossed....

Sounds good if they move them. It seems as if they move them they are home free. Next is hoping they attach. Mine seem to find a spot to put them and then stick their nose right in the middle of them all and sit there waiting for them to attach. Then, once a few attach the rest will follow. I have lowered my water level to get the top swimmers down by the parents which seems to help also.

[x2h]

ok tonight i came home and the wigglers are still there. occasionally one of two of them will rise into the water trying to swim or something. hopefully there will be freeswimmers tomorrow. hope they can then attach. do i need to worry about what to feed them or just let the parents take care of it? the female's color seems darker than usual, i don;t know what that means.

[Keith Perkins]

Mom darken up is a good thing, it helps attract free swimmers to her sides to eat. Absolutely normal and nothing to worry about. Are these guys still in a community tank? If so, without dividing them from the other fish or moving them all to a separate tank odds are free swimmers aren't going to last very long.

[x2h]

Mom darken up is a good thing, it helps attract free swimmers to her sides to eat. Absolutely normal and nothing to worry about. Are these guys still in a community tank? If so, without dividing them from the other fish or moving them all to a separate tank odds are free swimmers aren't going to last very long.

thanks for easing my mind. i guess you are right about losing the fries in the community tank. i have another 29 gallon community tank where 2 pairs of rams take turns to spawn. each time after the hundreds of wigglers turn into swimmers it's party time for the 15 cardinal tetras. if i keep all the fries, there are probably tens of thousands by now lol. well i am getting a 55 g, then i won't lose fries anymore. my wife watched the wigglers with a telescope (because they are too tiny), and asked me when is the 55 g coming. and she used to yell at me about my petsmart receipt!

[Scott293]

ok tonight i came home and the wigglers are still there. occasionally one of two of them will rise into the water trying to swim or something. hopefully there will be freeswimmers tomorrow. hope they can then attach. do i need to worry about what to feed them or just let the parents take care of it? the female's color seems darker than usual, i don;t know what that means.

No need to worry about feeding until about the fourth day of free swimming. I start BBS on the 3rd day, then feed them on the fourth. They aren't very interested but nibble a bit. On the fifth day they seem to start eating.

[steakman]

Congratulation, x2h. Can't wait to see the pictures of them swimming around.

Good luck.

[Stag]

Way to go, I am really hoping mine start laying soon!

[zimmjeff]

don't ever keep the receipt number one rule. good luck.

[x2h]

don't ever keep the receipt number one rule. good luck.

i am not sure i understand that...:confused:

[zimmjeff]

don't let the significant other see the prices

[x2h]

don't let the significant other see the prices


lol i got it now. i can hide the bill but i can't hide what i bought. anyway i try to solve the situation into a win-win. so my trick is to get her interested in the hobby and now she's much more supportive.:)

[Keith Perkins]

Truly glad I could be of service. A separate 55 or 29 for you lovebird discus might just be the ticket. As was said above, starting to feed bbs around day 4 or so is the norm. Some people start later than day 4, maybe 7 or so, but I normally start around day 4 or 5. IMO a day or two one way or the other isn't that big of deal, discus aren't THAT picky.

[x2h]

here's the latest. this morning when i checked the wigglers, they now have 2 black eyes and a big tummy, and are all jumping up and down. guess today is the day to have free swimmers? on the other side, the female starts to clean up the pot again, looks like she is ready for another spawn (duh!).

[Sean Buehrle]

here's the latest. this morning when i checked the wigglers, they now have 2 black eyes and a big tummy, and are all jumping up and down. guess today is the day to have free swimmers? on the other side, the female starts to clean up the pot again, looks like she is ready for another spawn (duh!).

Bout 6-7 days till they swim


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[x2h]

Bout 6-7 days till they swim


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- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ok maybe tomorrow then, b/c today is only the 5th day since spawning lol.

[maxpain]

i have a pair that has spawned 11 times now. each spawn was different. mom would eat the wigglers, fry didn't attach, fry attached and doing well only to have mother knock down the egg crate divider and ate the babies, etc etc. i tried many different techniques I've learned from the forum. i manage to raise 2 fry on the 6th spawn. finally, this spawn, they were perfect. i didn't have to mess with lowering the water, separating parents, or anything like that. I just did my daily WC and feedings, and after 3 weeks, they are are about 200 healthy fry still with the parents. So, what I've learned and what many people have mention here, just be patient. Btw, this was a young pair that I raised from a group of juvies.

i have another pair that yield about 30+ fry on their 7th spawn. same scenario but this one i separated the father because he wanted to mate again but the female wasn't having it.

good luck and have fun with them.

[Keith Perkins]

ok maybe tomorrow then, b/c today is only the 5th day since spawning lol.

I'd be watching them then, because for me free swimming occurs on day 5.

[nc0gnet0]

Free swimming should occur between 24-36 hours after hatching. Complete attachment can take up to another full day or more. Alot of times you will see batches of fry floating around in a gelatenous goo, all stuck together. Don't fret, they will get free without intervention, just be patient and let nature take its course.

[x2h]

i have been out of town for the last two days. long story short, the wrigglers were all gone when I came home. my wife also didn't see how it happened. maybe they were eaten by the parents, or by the community fish. but at least this time is a break through. once my 55 gallon is set up, i am going to have a much better chance of success! thanks for all the helpful hints everyone!!!

[x2h]

ok, since then to now, there's been three more spawns. the first two spawns, the eggs became free swimmers again and then disappeared overnight. the currently third batch of eggs are one day old today. i think i will step in this time and rescue the wigglers into a breeder. am going to get a brand new 55 gallon tomorrow as well!

68508

[Keith Perkins]

Nice pic. Better luck with this batch. Taking advantage of the $1 a gallon sale?

[zman78]

Beautiful photo, Wow! :D Good luck with wigglers.

[x2h]

Nice pic. Better luck with this batch. Taking advantage of the $1 a gallon sale?

thanks. yes i bought a new 55 gallon from Petco for $55 plus tax. sweat deal. ;)