Feeding and water changes during spawning

[chelltom]

cool so they have at least 100 fry swarming them the bigger ones from the first batch disappeared so I am assuming they became snacks

[Brianmcq]

Might try this on next batch if this one doesn't go well. Kind of worried parents will freak out if I approach with a net as they are so protective. Hoping they will take care of the fry at least 2 weeks would be great .

I use a turkey baster to remove the fry.

[chelltom]

I remove the fry 2 to 3 days after free swimming this is before the next spawning. Young pairs will spawn weekly they may be too immature to take care of the fry or the spawn may be too weak and die. I visit one hatchery awhile back the breeder was removing the fry around 4 days after free swimming, asking why the breeder said that he knows the pairs are going to kill the fry.

Might try this on next batch if this one doesn't go well. Kind of worried parents will freak out if I approach with a net as they are so protective. Hoping they will take care of the fry at least 2 weeks would be great .

[Brianmcq]

I remove the fry 2 to 3 days after free swimming this is before the next spawning. Young pairs will spawn weekly they may be too immature to take care of the fry or the spawn may be too weak and die. I visit one hatchery awhile back the breeder was removing the fry around 4 days after free swimming, asking why the breeder said that he knows the pairs are going to kill the fry.

Ive been try different things to see what works best for me. One that is working really well is removing the fry on day 8 as Ive been feeding newly hatch brine shrimp since day 5. The fry grew quickly with minimal losses.

[CliffsDiscus]

I remove the fry 2 to 3 days after free swimming this is before the next spawning. Young pairs will spawn weekly they may be too immature to take care of the fry or the spawn may be too weak and die. I visit one hatchery awhile back the breeder was removing the fry around 4 days after free swimming, asking why the breeder said that he knows the pairs are going to kill the fry.

[chelltom]

Thanks Brian the new batch started wiggling yesterday and still a few from the old feeding on the parents we will see what happens today

[Brianmcq]

Hey Brian so 5 or six got to swimming stage then the parents decided to lay about 100 more eggs , its been about 3 days since laying the new batch and the 5 or six remaining are continuing to feed off the parents not sure if this will last very long but we will see. I am thinking once the new ones start wiggling and dropping the parents may chase off or eat the remaining few from the earlier batch ? Your thoughts ?

I have found that when there are only a few fry left the parents seem to stop looking after them and focus on raising another brood.
The chances of the of the five or six surviving is slim but not impossible. With each spawn the parents will get better at raising there fry. I have one pair that had spawned 12 times before getting it right. good luck. Brian mcq

[chelltom]

Hey Brian so 5 or six got to swimming stage then the parents decided to lay about 100 more eggs , its been about 3 days since laying the new batch and the 5 or six remaining are continuing to feed off the parents not sure if this will last very long but we will see. I am thinking once the new ones start wiggling and dropping the parents may chase off or eat the remaining few from the earlier batch ? Your thoughts ?

When I started breeding discus there was a lot of stress. No stress from the discus all the stress was mine.The thing is the discus are going to do what they want. If they eat them, it can be for a number of reasons and not much we can do. Some times it takes a new pair to get it right.
I just hat a batch of about 100 wrigglers, the numbers have dropped. now they are about 50 or so. The funny thing went to look for the wriggles this morning none to bee seen, so I decided It would be a good time to clean the tank. As soon as I put my hand in the tank the discus got defensive. They had moved the wriggles to on to a black sponge filter I just couldn't see them.
Good luck hopefully they will raise the ones that are left. Keep us updated thanks Brian Mcq

[Brianmcq]

When I started breeding discus there was a lot of stress. No stress from the discus all the stress was mine.The thing is the discus are going to do what they want. If they eat them, it can be for a number of reasons and not much we can do. Some times it takes a new pair to get it right.
I just hat a batch of about 100 wrigglers, the numbers have dropped. now they are about 50 or so. The funny thing went to look for the wriggles this morning none to bee seen, so I decided It would be a good time to clean the tank. As soon as I put my hand in the tank the discus got defensive. They had moved the wriggles to on to a black sponge filter I just couldn't see them.
Good luck hopefully they will raise the ones that are left. Keep us updated thanks Brian Mcq

[chelltom]

Only a few maybe a dozen made it through this spawn still in wiggler stage but starting to drop off the wall and parents are getting a little panicky ... We will see what happens, I hope they don't get so nervous they eat the remaining few

[Willie]

I feed as normal following the spawn and during the wriggler and free swimming stages. Have not had the parents confuse the fry with food.

50% water changes every other day until the fry get big enough not to get sucked up into the siphon.

[chelltom]

Interesting to read what others are doing about feeding when breading.
My breeding pairs are on a central water system in separate 20gal tanks all the water is straight well water which has a High TDS.
When I want them to breed I take that tank with a breeding pair of the central system just by turning a valve. The the water in that tank replaced by RO water to lower the TDS and Ph. Once they spawn I don't feed for a few days. I find feeding during the first few days can be disruptive so no feeding for 3 days. On the 4th day I feed them very little just once a day, when I see wrigglers I switch the tank back to the central system with a slow water feed slowly bring it back to full well water. Once the fry are free swimming I continue to feed sparingly as I don't want to stimulate the pair int spawning behavior, which often results in the fry being eaten. On day 5 of fry free swimming I begin feeding fresh hatched BBS. I commence normal feeding of the adults, as soon as I think they are past the stage of them wanting to eat the fry and they are more concerned with raising them.

Interesting , pretty cool to be able to switch with the turn of a valve

[Brianmcq]

Interesting to read what others are doing about feeding when breading.
My breeding pairs are on a central water system in separate 20gal tanks all the water is straight well water which has a High TDS.
When I want them to breed I take that tank with a breeding pair of the central system just by turning a valve. The the water in that tank replaced by RO water to lower the TDS and Ph. Once they spawn I don't feed for a few days. I find feeding during the first few days can be disruptive so no feeding for 3 days. On the 4th day I feed them very little just once a day, when I see wrigglers I switch the tank back to the central system with a slow water feed slowly bring it back to full well water. Once the fry are free swimming I continue to feed sparingly as I don't want to stimulate the pair int spawning behavior, which often results in the fry being eaten. On day 5 of fry free swimming I begin feeding fresh hatched BBS. I commence normal feeding of the adults, as soon as I think they are past the stage of them wanting to eat the fry and they are more concerned with raising them.

[chelltom]

Tom over time you will notice that certain people are only on the site at certain times. If you look at Pat's posting & reply pattern, it's almost always between 5-7am then she's a ghost as she takes care of other priorities in her life. Al usually is on in the mornings pretty early as well, then depending on how busy his day is, you may see other replies as the day progresses. Jeep is a late night poster. Liz typically late morning or afternoon, and then might skip for a few depending on how she is feeling.
Sorry if those observations seem weird to you all, I tends to notice trends of behavior in the peeps I relate to

Good to know I tend to hit the site throughout my workday when I get a break here and there just in case anyones tracking ..LoL

[danotaylor]

Al the purpose of my tracking arose from wanting to anticipate when certain peeps would answer certain types of questions…always with good intent
Thank you Liz