Discus breeding, Help &Tips.

[Lennie]

So  I found a pair of discus I liked locally which have successfully raised many clutches before. I can also easily reach the parameters they keep their fish, which is great!

 

I need some tips with breeding and help to some of my questions.

 

First question:

I don't understand why keeping the pair in an empty tank is the better idea.

 

I currently have one 50x50x50cm cube (125 Liters) tank in my bedroom, which is currently a female betta sorority/ community tank. 

I have many tanks that I can move those fish to right now. Also red lizard whiptails, pygmy cories and sparkling gouramis will be a part of their own breeding project tank in the fish room. So majority of fish are leaving that tank already. As well as snails. So only 5 female bettas and one L199 are what I have there mainly, which I can easily move to another tank.

 

- The guy who breeds them told me to keep them in a tank with 3 corners covered with white film. He said they have better results of fry attaching to parents that way. 

Why is an empty tank a better choice than a planted tank? 

I don't understand why such setups are preffered for breeding when we normally want quite big tanks for discus in general.

He keeps and breeds them in this type of setups:

So, What makes such setup better rather than more naturalistic tank of mine? Wouldn't my tank be more ideal if the pair is kept there all alone, with an addition of a clay tube for laying eggs just like above?

 

Second Question:

He said he keeps his fish directly in an RO water, with ph of 6-6.5. Temp of 27-28C. 

Isn't 27-28C a bit low for discus? Also normally  I buff my RO with gh+ even for those that like soft water. He said he does not use anything. Isn't empty RO water with 0 gh bad for them?

 

 

Third question: 

My fishroom racks allow shorter tanks for better maintenance due to height limit of racks as fishroom is in the basement. So I usually go with a height of 25cm. Would 100cmx40cmx 25cm high would be a decent grow out for future babies until a certain point?

 

Fourth and last:

He said the fish are around 2.5 years old. How profilic this age is for discus breeding? Would it be an okay investment considering their age for the future?

 

Many thanks in advance.

@Fish Folk @Torrey Tagging you guys maybe you may have an opinion and/or some tips to share.

Please feel free to tag anyone that may help 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@jwcarlson

[jwcarlson]

I've not bred them, but I know the tank being lighter colored is because the fry will attach to darkest thing in the tank (typically).  As far as "natural", plants are basically nonexistent in discus' natural habitat.

Basically, the fry might have a difficult time finding their parents. 

As far as bare tanks, because of the "optimization" of growth/shape, discus people usually feed A LOT.  Especially in the first couple months.  Which means dirty tank and trying to maintain that with plants/substrate can be very difficult. 

Best of luck, though, it sounds like the person you bought them from knows what they're talking about. 

[Lennie]

On 7/1/2023 at 11:12 PM, jwcarlson said:

but I know the tank being lighter colored is because the fry will attach to darkest thing in the tank (typically).

that's interesting

 

On 7/1/2023 at 11:12 PM, jwcarlson said:

As far as "natural", plants are basically nonexistent in discus' natural habitat.

Ah, what I meant was, they are not covered with light backgrounds, sitting in an empty tank under light. You get me? These fish have never been into their nature anyway. But having decorations and potentially places to hide make fish feel safer and comfy I think

 

In a barebottom tank, I can't be sure if fish breed as a response to stress. I personally don't think fish always breed because they are "happy"

On 7/1/2023 at 11:12 PM, jwcarlson said:

it sounds like the person you bought them from knows what they're talking about. 

Yup he seems helpful and nice. I've talked other people who sell confirmed pairs too but they did not sound like they know what they are doing as much as this guy does.

[Fish Folk]

Awesome 😎 

1. Discus prefer quiet, zero stress, total focus when spawning. That’s why they typically are only spawned in a single-pair aquarium, not other fish.

2. Low, low mineral content is crucial for spawning viability. pH and temperature are less important than low TDS.

3. For first month, fry feed off parent’s slime coat. After that, as long as water is the same chemistry, fry can grow out in other tank sizes. Bear in mind — as already mentioned — that standard practice for Discus fry is heavy feed / deep & frequent water changes.

4. Discus can live 10 years or more. 2-year old adults should be in prime breeding condition. Hard to say how often they’ll spawn. Probably once a mon, depending on whether they’re raising fry.

I recommend Gabe Posada at Jack Wattley Discus as a reference point. He does a lot of teaching online.

[Lennie]

Thanks dude

On 7/2/2023 at 12:29 AM, Fish Folk said:

1. Discus prefer quiet, zero stress, total focus when spawning. That’s why they typically are only spawned in a single-pair aquarium, not other fish.

So do you think my cube tank would still work for them without any other stocking? Or should I better get a fresh new tank with similar size? 

 

I think they will be sad if I keep them in a small barebottom tank :') But if they wont breed in my cube then that makes it pointless.

On 7/2/2023 at 12:29 AM, Fish Folk said:

2. Low, low mineral content is crucial for spawning viability. pH and temperature are less important than low TDS.

My tds reads 24-25 from RO. 6 ph, 0gh,0kh. 

 

On 7/2/2023 at 12:29 AM, Fish Folk said:

3. For first month, fry feed off parent’s slime coat. After that, as long as water is the same chemistry, fry can grow out in other tank sizes. Bear in mind — as already mentioned — that standard practice for Discus fry is heavy feed / deep & frequent water changes.

Nature is amazing. The fry free swim directly? If so, maybe adding a quiet bottom dweller as a cleanup crew might be a nice idea, until next spawn. Don't you think? Like pygmy cories, or snails?

 

On 7/2/2023 at 12:29 AM, Fish Folk said:

I recommend Gabe Posada at Jack Wattley Discus as a reference point. He does a lot of teaching online.

Gonna be checking them our asap!

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

The parents will be very territorial. Pygmy corys are everywhere. I’d go with otos as they’ll love that soft water and will do a great cleanup job and be unobtrusive. 5 in a tank that size should work. some keepers have hypancistrus plecos in with their discus as they eat meaty foods too. 

People do planted discus tanks and they can be very successful I think when you start off with the intention of breeding the pair you’re going to see setups like the one above - sides are masked, ugly terracotta cone, no other fish etc. I guess what I’m saying is that tank could be great for them minus the other inhabitants and your chances of breeding would be ok not higher like they would in a breeding setup. They’ve been conditioned to breed in these conditions so if you change variables it will be unpredictable what their response will be. In addition, as brought up by 

Personally I think it’s a worthwhile experiment. Otos or hypancistrus might breed in there too! 
 

[Lennie]

On 7/2/2023 at 5:43 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

The parents will be very territorial. Pygmy corys are everywhere. I’d go with otos as they’ll love that soft water and will do a great cleanup job and be unobtrusive. 5 in a tank that size should work. some keepers have hypancistrus plecos in with their discus as they eat meaty foods too. 

People do planted discus tanks and they can be very successful I think when you start off with the intention of breeding the pair you’re going to see setups like the one above - sides are masked, ugly terracotta cone, no other fish etc. I guess what I’m saying is that tank could be great for them minus the other inhabitants and your chances of breeding would be ok not higher like they would in a breeding setup. They’ve been conditioned to breed in these conditions so if you change variables it will be unpredictable what their response will be. In addition, as brought up by 

Personally I think it’s a worthwhile experiment. Otos or hypancistrus might breed in there too! 
 

Thank you very much.

 

I also agree those type of pure breeding tanks look ugly, and I can't imagine fish being happy in such environment. Maybe I should buy one of those cones and give it a try on the planted tank, as my plants already handled discus temps in that tank before due to summer being quite hot here

 

If it doesn't work, I can give it a try with an empty tank.

 

Wish me luck 🙂 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@LennieWe wish you luck and success as well as have fun!! Maybe start a journal and take us on the ride too!