Wrencher_Scott Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 11:55 AM, Fish Folk said: Discus pair spawned again! Not ready for this! Very pleased… but my expectations are low. Questions, I'm really curious. What temp do you keep them at and does it vary much? What do you feed them? What do you keep the nitrates down to? What is hardness and pH? TIA! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 3:51 PM, Wrencher_Scott said: Questions, I'm really curious. What temp do you keep them at and does it vary much? What do you feed them? What do you keep the nitrates down to? What is hardness and pH? TIA! I feed them largely a variety of frozen foods: bloodworms, Spirulina brine shrimp, mysis, daphnia I don’t really measure nitrates. I just change water 1x weekly, 30%-50% Source / city water is soft. 3 drops KH. pH fluctuates from 7.5-8.0. It lowers in the tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrencher_Scott Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 1:09 PM, Fish Folk said: I feed them largely a variety of frozen foods: bloodworms, Spirulina brine shrimp, mysis, daphnia I don’t really measure nitrates. I just change water 1x weekly, 30%-50% Source / city water is soft. 3 drops KH. pH fluctuates from 7.5-8.0. It lowers in the tank. And water temp? And does it fluctuate ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 5:43 PM, Wrencher_Scott said: And water temp? And does it fluctuate ? About 82-85°-F steady 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 Up late for an evening photo op… “Amazon Grace” Big Blue is huge. Kind of have to see him in person. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 What would you say the hardest part of Discus keeping is? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 On 5/25/2022 at 10:13 PM, Jeff said: What would you say the hardest part of Discus keeping is? Honestly? For me it is not buying more. They do well in very warm water. Plants sometimes struggle. Unless your water is ideal, breeding is a bit of a challenge. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Burke Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 I really luv the turquoise discus. Can’t wait till I’m in a place to get them….. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 Amazon Grace… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 After receiving good feedback on another thread, I have decided to do a very “low expectation” try at breeding discus. I am going to patiently work first with this young pair of Cobalt Blues I got for a steal at my LFS. They have spawned twice here in a 40 gal breeder. Their first spawns were almost certainly eaten (likely BNPs). I have watched numerous videos on breeding Discus. I’m going to try some things learned, as well as just blundering ahead with my own ideas. Failures and successes, you can follow along here. I welcome input! Just don’t be offended if I am slow to learn from your experience. I’d like to make my own mistakes a bit here. First off, I’m making a sponge divider and taping up lighter colored backing and siding. This keeps BNPs on left, and allows for undisturbed water changes. I also cranked the temp up from 8°-F to mid-80°s. Sponge filters are tank-left. Airstone is tank-right. Here is a talk-through with water still a bit cloudy… I just checked USPS tracking… yay! Here is my first breeding cone… Now for its introduction (shhhh!!!)… Ok. Fed them. Now we shall be patient. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 YAY DISCS!!!!! I totally agree, I think this is just a good 1x project to see if you can do it (and I think you can). I like the set up! Why is the substrate a potential problem? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 On 5/28/2022 at 2:33 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: YAY DISCS!!!!! I totally agree, I think this is just a good 1x project to see if you can do it (and I think you can). I like the set up! Why is the substrate a potential problem? Thanks! Well, most breeders go with bare bottoms to keep down TDS, molm, bacterial infections, fungus… all of which can multiply in substrate. Additionally, the dark color risks attracting fry away from parents leaving them starving. Plus there are MTS in there. Might eat eggs, fallen fry, etc. But since I’m just looking for a low-number run, I’m fine with this. We shall see. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 Ah I gotcha. Makes sense because Discs are in much higher temps- bacteria does love that. What if you added a layer of white gravel on top to reflect? If you're still going with the substrate try. Looks like you were already using white 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 On 5/28/2022 at 2:44 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: Ah I gotcha. Makes sense because Discs are in much higher temps- bacteria does love that. What if you added a layer of white gravel on top to reflect? If you're still going with the substrate try. Looks like you were already using white 🙂 I’ll keep that idea in mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrencher_Scott Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 @Fish Folk Can you clarify what temp your were at before you raised to mid 80's 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 On 5/28/2022 at 2:49 PM, Wrencher_Scott said: @Fish Folk Can you clarify what temp your were at before you raised to mid 80's It was right about 81°-F. Now it’s 86°-F. Upps their metabolism. Triggers spawning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 Ah the cone! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Burke Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 Failures are just figuring out how not to do it. Therefore failure = success. (If squint and the light hits it just right). man, I know a lot of ways not to do things 🙃😉 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 Out of everything there, the only concern I'd have for you is substrate. I've had Discus spawn in the past in tanks with black painted glass backs and bottoms without too much of an issue with them feeding from the parents slime coat. Bare bottom would be the best recommendation I have for you, or a pseudo bare bottom. Per talking with a few breeders over the years, knew a German Diplomat who was big into Discus, and his success stemmed from a simple tank with a dusting of sand at the bottom. He claimed the key food for him to get good spawns was a constant fresh supply of blackworms. The purpose of the dusting of sand was because of a presentation he sat in done by Hans (from Discus Hans) who mentioned that he had noticed during some collecting trips and documented footage of wild Discus that they blew water towards sandy substrates to find small inverts for food. According to this guy, when he went with a sand dusting and started feeding blackworms, he would see his Discus blowing on the substrate to blow the sand away from the blackworms before eating them. Per taking the recommendation of blackworms from him, I actually went from having a healthy Discus tank to having pairs setup shop in the tank and start to spawn. This was also in a display, so like your current setup I was breaking the 'rules' of having substrate. YMMV when it comes to substrate vs. bare bottom vs. the pseudo bare bottom, so be sure to take notes on what you see so you know what works best for you, your Discus and your workflow of maintaining their tank. I will always advocate keeping breeding tanks simple, so bare bottom or pseudo bare bottom would be my recommendation. That said, you might have success with your setup. Just because one method works for most, doesn't mean it works for all. It's about finding what works for you 🙂 Good luck with the pair! I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for sure! Plus, I call dibs on some local Discus 😁 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Burke Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 On 5/28/2022 at 3:03 PM, Tihshho said: Out of everything there, the only concern I'd have for you is substrate. I've had Discus spawn in the past in tanks with black painted glass backs and bottoms without too much of an issue with them feeding from the parents slime coat. Bare bottom would be the best recommendation I have for you, or a pseudo bare bottom. Per talking with a few breeders over the years, knew a German Diplomat who was big into Discus, and his success stemmed from a simple tank with a dusting of sand at the bottom. He claimed the key food for him to get good spawns was a constant fresh supply of blackworms. The purpose of the dusting of sand was because of a presentation he sat in done by Hans (from Discus Hans) who mentioned that he had noticed during some collecting trips and documented footage of wild Discus that they blew water towards sandy substrates to find small inverts for food. According to this guy, when he went with a sand dusting and started feeding blackworms, he would see his Discus blowing on the substrate to blow the sand away from the blackworms before eating them. Per taking the recommendation of blackworms from him, I actually went from having a healthy Discus tank to having pairs setup shop in the tank and start to spawn. This was also in a display, so like your current setup I was breaking the 'rules' of having substrate. YMMV when it comes to substrate vs. bare bottom vs. the pseudo bare bottom, so be sure to take notes on what you see so you know what works best for you, your Discus and your workflow of maintaining their tank. I will always advocate keeping breeding tanks simple, so bare bottom or pseudo bare bottom would be my recommendation. That said, you might have success with your setup. Just because one method works for most, doesn't mean it works for all. It's about finding what works for you 🙂 Good luck with the pair! I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for sure! Plus, I call dibs on some local Discus 😁 Get in line buddy. 😋 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 On 5/28/2022 at 4:08 PM, Ken Burke said: Get in line buddy. 😋 I can meet him at a LFS though 😁 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Burke Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 Me too. With considerable effort. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 @Tihshho and @Ken Burke good to my word, if and when I raise up Discus, I'll reserve some for both of you if you're still interested come that time. I have no designs on making money in this hobby. I just enjoy working with nature to "make more!" 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted May 29, 2022 Share Posted May 29, 2022 On 5/28/2022 at 12:23 PM, Fish Folk said: Now for its introduction (shhhh!!!)… I just fell out of my chair, laughing!!! 🤣🤣🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted June 4, 2022 Author Share Posted June 4, 2022 Excited to see that my Cobalt Blue Discus pair have spawned again! This time, I’m sort of ready. They’ve used the spawning cone, and are adjusted to a higher water temperature, higher rate of water changes, and most importantly: NO PLECOS! There are still a million ways this can fail. But for my part, I am encouraged by their taking to the new breeding set up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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