Breeding Problems - I need HELP, too.

[samuca12]

I have a pair of Discus who are doing fine laying eggs on the ceramic cone. The eggs hatch and the fry stay attached to the cone. The parents take the fry and place them on the other side of the cone. However, they don't produce the slime for them to feed. They all end up dead after a few days. They keep laying eggs every 3 weeks and the same circle goes on.
Question: Why don't they produce the slime ? Is it because they are first time parents and experience comes with time ? Aren't they supposed to know that they need to produce the slime ? Is lowering the PH do the trick ? How far should a lower the PH ? How do I lower the PH ? Thanks a bunch for your help !!!

[nc0gnet0]

Leave the PH alone. First of (and it is fry btw, both singular and plural) exactly how many days do they make it? Do they make it 2-3 days past free swimming (this is when they are officially born) or are they dieing before the go free swimming? Are tha parents by any chance albino's? Photo's would be nice......


Rick

[John_Nicholson]

You act like the pair makes a derision on whether or not to make slime. Discus don't think..all of this is controlled by instinct and hormones. How old are the fish and what color type?

-john

[samuca12]

Hi Rick, thanks for your response. Very few of the fry go free swimming. Once they do, the parents catch and put them back to the cone. I just see the fry attached to the cone feeding from the hatch egg surface (I think). I don't believe that they go 2 - 3 days past free swimming. They just disappear from the cone. I think the female is eating, but I can't separate the parents because they are supposed to take care of the fry with the slime from their body. The attached picture shows the female taking care of the eggs that she just laid today. The male is a Blue Diamond. Please advice. Thank you !

[samuca12]

Hi John,
The female is Leopard Pigeon (see picture) and the male is Blue Diamond. I just don't understand why they keep laying eggs over and over without the ability to take care of the fry. This is my first time dealing with Discus. I never had issues with all my previous freshwater fishes. By the way, do you know why the female Discus has a bunch of black spots like pepper ? Does it mean that she is not pure breed ? I am not certain on the age of the discus. Thanks !

[Skip]

it is a "CHARACTERISTIC" of the any fish that has Pigeon Blood in it.. they will pepper due to genetics and a dark environment makes the "BREAK OUT" even more..

[samuca12]

Warlock, thank you for your reponse.

[jimg]

they are probably eating them before they get a chance to get to the parents to eat. maybe they will get it right in time. and if they do become free swimming and don't attach lowering the ph can sometimes help a lot with the slime coat.

[John_Nicholson]

More than likely someone crossed a non PB with a PB. That leads to peppering. There is no problem with removing the female if she is the one eating the fry. Having said that I one would not make this cross and 2. would not breed that female. Most people want as little peppering as possible.

-john

[ShinShin]

That fact that the PB darkened tells me she is producing slime. I think you are off base in dignosing the situation. The fry attempt to leave the substrate where they hatched or the parents moved them (common occurance, instinctual) in about 3 days. The parents, esp. young parents, try and put them back. They give up soon. If they are young fish, their reproductive cycle has not yet matured, and they want to lay again. They either eat the fry, then lay, or lay and eat the free swimmers before the eggs hatch. They soon get into a breeding groove. I suggest you get a good discus book and read it.

Mat