Linda's Contest Thread

[Lindad]

Last October, I acquired 6 heckle crosses from Larry Bugg in an attempt to add more blue to my 125g discus tank. About 2 weeks into quarantine, a pair formed and decided to spawn. I had not planned on breeding (at least not yet), but I went ahead and moved the pair into a 29g to see what would happen. I have bred angels for a several years, and have grown out a few baby discus, but wasn't sure that I was ready to dive into breeding discus.
Well, the pair spawned religiously every 7-10 days, and then would eat the eggs a day later - over and over and over. I never knew if the eggs were fertile or not. They would look fine, and then just be gone. When I finally gave up hope and said that I was going to move them to the 125g with their friends, suddenly they had success! It took *15* tries for them to figure it out!

Here is a picture of the parents (with eggs on the pot). Momma is at the top, Daddy is at the bottom. I will post baby pictures soon.

[Second Hand Pat]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Great looking pair Linda Looking forward to the baby pictures!!
Pat

[two utes]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

That's Awesome!
I'm glad you stuck by them and established that you have a confirmed pair. I know you will be amazed by how they take care of the fry, and how they grow form here, i know i was when mine did the same thing recently.
What are your plans for them from here?
Wish you the best of luck with your new batch of fry and look forward to seeing baby pictures as well

[Pices]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Wow what a nice looking pair. Seems like we have our plans and their plans are always different from ours. Intentional? I’m starting to think so.
Patty

[Lindad]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Ok. I finally went through all my pictures to find some decent ones to post. It's really difficult getting a good shot of tiny babies! (At least with my camera )
Here are the babies at 1 day free swimming.

[Lindad]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

The babies at one week.

[Lindad]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

The babies at 2 weeks. It's amazing to me how quickly they grow and start looking like little discus!

[two utes]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Your pictures look fine to me. Keep them coming please. I'm just curious if you are just relying on the parents to feeding the young, or are you complimenting them with anything?

[Lindad]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

A few days after the fry went free swimming, I started feeding them alternating small meals of Golden Pearls, Forrest's Aquabits, and microworms. By about 2 weeks, they were also picking at their parent's meals, so they also were getting Hikari Discus Bio-Gold pellets, Al's freeze dried black worms, and Cobalt Discus Hans flakes. The babies pretty much immediately took to everything, but they especially love the black worms! I quit with the microworms around 3-4 weeks, because they seemed to not be as enthusiastic about them anymore. (Maybe the worms were too small for them at that point?) With the Golden Pearls and Aquabits, I have a variety of sizes, so I just increase size as the babies grow. The Bio-Gold pellets are still a little large for them, but they like the broken pieces that are always in the mix.

[Pices]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

That really is amazing! What are white pearls? Kudos to you, you’re doing a great job.
Patty

[Lindad]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Patty - Thanks! I've been surprised at how well this first attempt has gone so far! Knock on wood!

Here's a link to Golden Pearls. It's a high protein pellet/crumble. (Basically the same idea as Forrest's Aquabits, just a different recipe.) I use size 4 (200-300 micron) for new fry, and larger sizes for juvies. You can get it in sizes ranging from 5 to 800 micron. I love the different foods that come in a variety of sizes, so everybody can eat the same diet.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Golden-Pearls-Fry-Coral-Fish-Food-Size-4-200-300-micron-4oz/251610803423?epid=1933129023&hash=item3a952c2cdf:g:1fsAAOSw9jVbLaGt

[Lindad]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Here are the babies at 1 month, enjoying one of Al's FDBW cubes.

[Second Hand Pat]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Hi Linda, the little ones look great. Over the next two weeks they should start rounding up and looking like discus.
Pat

[Pices]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Oh my gosh- they are SO cute! I love little baby discus at this stage. It must be very rewarding to get them this far.
Very cool post!
Patty

[Lindad]

Re: Linda's Contest Thread

Hi Linda, the little ones look great. Over the next two weeks they should start rounding up and looking like discus.
Pat

I'm actually falling behind with my updates - this was a few weeks ago. But they have really turned into little discus! I'll get a new picture to post soon!