Post by jgentry on May 12, 2009 9:18:41 GMT -6
This is my method, there are tons of different ways to do it and you can find a lot of great info online, some conflicting, but still a lot of good info
My discus are in a display tank, if you are serious I would recommend keeping pairs in seperate tanks. But if you have a group together in a tank you can still raise fry successfully dispite what anyone will tell you. You just have to remove the eggs.
First off if you are in the middle TN area our water is very hard. The PH is not really high but the water is really too hard to have much success hatching discus. The key to getting around this is preperation. You need to have 5g of R/O water ready for when they lay. You also need a seeded sponge filter. I keep 2 sponge filters in one of my sumps at all times incase I need to set up a hospital tank or a fry tank. That way you do not have to worry about cycling the tank. You also need to provide your fish areas to lay eggs that can easily be removed. A small flat rock, a breeding cone, flower pot, PVC pipe, etc. It just needs to be something that you can remove once the eggs are layed on it.
-When I see a pair about to lay. I mix 5g of R/O water and 5G of
water from the display tank into a 10g tank.
-I place a sponge filter into the 10g tank ran by a very small air pump that will just barely prodice bubbles and a heater set at 85.
-add 1 drop of methylene blue per gallon to prevent fungus on the eggs
-Once the pair has layed gently remove the item the eggs were layed on without ever exposing the eggs to air.
-place the eggs in the 10g tank on the opposite end of the tank from the sponge filter
-The eggs will hatch in 48-72 hours and will be wigglers if all is going well.
-generally fry will live off there egg sacks for around 1 week but i start providing fry paste on 2 day after hatching. Discus normally eat off there parents slim coat and this is the closest food to that available from a store.
-do a 50% water change daily starting on day 4. The water needs to be 50% R/O and 50% tap. You should age the water to allow CO2 to to dissapate. The easiest way to do this is in a tub or plastic garbage can. You need a heater and air stone. I mix 20g of R/O and 20G of tap at a time to have enough for a weeks worth of water changes. Put the water together in the tub/trash can and set your heater to the temp of your tank and add the air stone. Leave it running and use this water for water changes. Refill it with the 50/50 mix as needed.
- If all is going well you should have anywhere form 50-300 discus fry. Once they start swimming I begin offereing newly hatched brine shrimp, crushed flakes, and alge waffers along with the fry paste. You should feed small amounts 5-10 times per day
- once they are swimming freely around week 2 I change out the air pump for a stronger one and up the water changes to to 75% daily. If you are having any die offs you should up your water changes.
-depending upon the size of the spawn at week 3 I move them to a 30g tank a continue feeding 5-10 times daily and doing 75% water changes daily. You cannot do to many or to large of water changes. Any hint of ammonia or nitrite and you will start lossing fish immediately. Any nitrate and you will loose fish and stunt them very quickly.
- Once they hit 1.5-2 inches you can sell them
Baby discus are extremely sensitive to water conditions and require perfect water along with large number of feedings. These 2 things do not go together, hence the need for daily water changes. Not providing clean water will lead to your fry dying. Not providing large numbers of feeding a day will lead to your discus being stunted and runts and worthless. Raising discus takes a 2-3 month commitment that cannot be comprimised in any way. It is a great challenge to anyones fish keeping skills and can be rewarding, just know what you are getting into and what you are going to be required to do.
-
My discus are in a display tank, if you are serious I would recommend keeping pairs in seperate tanks. But if you have a group together in a tank you can still raise fry successfully dispite what anyone will tell you. You just have to remove the eggs.
First off if you are in the middle TN area our water is very hard. The PH is not really high but the water is really too hard to have much success hatching discus. The key to getting around this is preperation. You need to have 5g of R/O water ready for when they lay. You also need a seeded sponge filter. I keep 2 sponge filters in one of my sumps at all times incase I need to set up a hospital tank or a fry tank. That way you do not have to worry about cycling the tank. You also need to provide your fish areas to lay eggs that can easily be removed. A small flat rock, a breeding cone, flower pot, PVC pipe, etc. It just needs to be something that you can remove once the eggs are layed on it.
-When I see a pair about to lay. I mix 5g of R/O water and 5G of
water from the display tank into a 10g tank.
-I place a sponge filter into the 10g tank ran by a very small air pump that will just barely prodice bubbles and a heater set at 85.
-add 1 drop of methylene blue per gallon to prevent fungus on the eggs
-Once the pair has layed gently remove the item the eggs were layed on without ever exposing the eggs to air.
-place the eggs in the 10g tank on the opposite end of the tank from the sponge filter
-The eggs will hatch in 48-72 hours and will be wigglers if all is going well.
-generally fry will live off there egg sacks for around 1 week but i start providing fry paste on 2 day after hatching. Discus normally eat off there parents slim coat and this is the closest food to that available from a store.
-do a 50% water change daily starting on day 4. The water needs to be 50% R/O and 50% tap. You should age the water to allow CO2 to to dissapate. The easiest way to do this is in a tub or plastic garbage can. You need a heater and air stone. I mix 20g of R/O and 20G of tap at a time to have enough for a weeks worth of water changes. Put the water together in the tub/trash can and set your heater to the temp of your tank and add the air stone. Leave it running and use this water for water changes. Refill it with the 50/50 mix as needed.
- If all is going well you should have anywhere form 50-300 discus fry. Once they start swimming I begin offereing newly hatched brine shrimp, crushed flakes, and alge waffers along with the fry paste. You should feed small amounts 5-10 times per day
- once they are swimming freely around week 2 I change out the air pump for a stronger one and up the water changes to to 75% daily. If you are having any die offs you should up your water changes.
-depending upon the size of the spawn at week 3 I move them to a 30g tank a continue feeding 5-10 times daily and doing 75% water changes daily. You cannot do to many or to large of water changes. Any hint of ammonia or nitrite and you will start lossing fish immediately. Any nitrate and you will loose fish and stunt them very quickly.
- Once they hit 1.5-2 inches you can sell them
Baby discus are extremely sensitive to water conditions and require perfect water along with large number of feedings. These 2 things do not go together, hence the need for daily water changes. Not providing clean water will lead to your fry dying. Not providing large numbers of feeding a day will lead to your discus being stunted and runts and worthless. Raising discus takes a 2-3 month commitment that cannot be comprimised in any way. It is a great challenge to anyones fish keeping skills and can be rewarding, just know what you are getting into and what you are going to be required to do.
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