Breeding Discus

As we all know discus are not the easiest fish to keep, in fact you should really only consider keeping these fish once you have gained a lot of experience by keeping easier species. I do not wish to deter anyone from attempting to keep and breed these lovely fish, but perhaps more than any other species, great care should be taken in almost every aspect of their care. I feel it is important to talk more about their care and maintenance rather than give an account of a spawning. This is because a well maintained pair that feels secure will breed regularly without any extra prompting from us.

Tank selection is the first thing to consider 15 in should be the minimum depth. Although 18 in is better, Discus can grow quite large and so they need quite a bit of space. A tank 36 in x 18 in x 18 in, is really the minimum size you should consider for keeping an adult pair. Or a 48 in x 18 in x 18 in could be used to house a group of six smaller Discus and grow them on until some pairs form naturally. They also require quite high temperature of at least 82 degrees Fahrenheit. If you intend to keep any other fish with discus please bear this in mind and select only fish that are happy at this temperature.

A diet high in protein is also required, a lot of professional breeders use beefheart as the main staple food, with various other things added to it such as: - spinach, bloodworms, flake food, and vitamins. Since most professional breeders use a mix similar to this I will bow to their superior knowledge and also use it.

The last thing to consider, but just as important as everything else is the water quality. The water should be very soft with a pH of 6.5, incidentally when the water is this soft a very careful eye, must be kept on the pH level. Because the pH could very easily fall dramatically, due to the low buffering quality of soft water. Ammonia and nitrite should both be zero, and nitrate should be kept as low as possible (Under 20 ppm). This is not as easy as it sounds, due to a diet high in protein lots of ammonia will be produced, which ultimately means a lot of nitrate. To combat this more water changes than usual need to be done. I personally do water changes at the rate of 40 % per week, every week this keeps the nitrate in my tank at about 12 ppm on average.

At this point I should mention that Discus rarely succeed in raising a brood at the first attempt. One pair of mine took 18 attempts before they got it right. The first signs of a pair beginning a spawning process, is that they will start to defend a small patch of the tank. Soon after this they will select a site and begin cleaning it. They may in fact begin cleaning several sites before they settle on one, both the male and female will defend their territory with equal vigour. Once the territory is claimed and the sight chosen, egg laying will begin. This is done in the usual Cichlid fashion. Where the female passes over the site and lays of row eggs, followed by the male who fertilisers them. It is worth mentioning here, that if the water is to hard, the outer membrane of the egg will become tough and the eggs will not be fertilised. And even if they are the baby fish will be unable to hatch. Once the egg laying his complete both parents will care for the eggs by fanning them and removing any infertile eggs. The eggs will hatch after about 48 hours, but the fry will remain in the same place for a further 12 hours or so, after this time parents may decide to start moving the fry around the tank and hiding them in different places. Depending upon the temperature the fry will become free swimming at the age of about one-week. This is when it all becomes worth while because at this stage the parents begin to secrete a special food for the fry, from between their scales. This means the baby's appear to be feeding on their parents. (Make the most of this, because in fish breeding terms, this is as good as it gets) .

The fry rely on this food for about one week. After this they will begin to look around for more usual for food, such as baby brine shrimp, or powdered flake, and of course liquidised beefheart. Once they are fully weaned from their parents the fry can be separated. Young discus grow incredibly fast and under ideal conditions could reach 2 in, in diameter by their twelfth week. At this size they are ready to be sold.

More Discus Pictures
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