© Ovidiu Iordachi AdobeStock_56056120
Discus courtship behavior
How do discus court?
When courting, discus tremble all over. Their dorsal and ventral fins tremble particularly badly, without these being pinched. As a rule, the male wants to get the female to lay her eggs.
Why do discus tremble?
Discus generally tremble in this form when excited. This is e.g. B. the case in the mating season. However, tremors can also occur when new fish are introduced into the aquarium.
How can discus pair formation be promoted or recognized?
Pair formation can be promoted by optimizing the water parameters and husbandry conditions. A temporary separation of the animals does not encourage pair formation.
Pairs that belong together separate themselves from the other animals and stake out a territory. They defend their territory against other discus. Everything is cleaned up in the station. The male stands in front of the spawning ground with trembling movements. After all, they spawn regularly. Young pairs should try out the first attempts in the community tank before they are placed in a breeding tank.
Top4 for discus breeding:
Discus breeding forms and breeding colors
All cultivated forms and cultivated colors of Discus can be crossed with each other.
There are many different breeding forms and breeding colors of discus. Sometimes these look very different. So there are surface blue and red discus.
All breeding forms and breeding colors can be crossed with each other. Most of the time, half of the young are a mix of both parents. 1/4 of the young looks like the male and 1/4 looks like the female.
Sometimes all boys are a motley mix. Sometimes the young look almost uniform. It depends on the gene type of the parents.
Discus are often crossbred in this way to make even more money. Similar young can be further crossed with each other. This is how new color forms are created, which are then sold again at high prices. It is questionable whether this is still the point of aquaristics or just a purely commercial business.
Discus eggs / discus spawn
Why discus eggs turn white
Discus eggs often turn white within a few days of spawning. They are then usually eaten by their parents. Often such eggs are unfertilized.
Causes Of Unfertilized Eggs:
- The male is still too inexperienced and fertilizes poorly.
- The eggs are pre-produced. If the eggs originated in completely different water, e.g. B. at the dealer than in the home aquarium, it can take a few spawning acts until the eggs are developed in the body of the female according to the local water.
- The current in the water is too high. Male semen has a limited shelf life in water. You can usually tell when spawning is imminent. If the current is strong, the filter should be switched off for a short time.
- The conductance of the breeding water is unsuitable
- KH/GH values are too high.
In many fish, unfertilized eggs remain clear until touching or moving the eggs creates a tiny hole in the egg case. This will cause the yolk to coagulate. Eggs that have died in this way are attacked by fungus. The fungus then also grows around fertilized eggs. It is unclear whether the eggs die directly from the fungus or whether the fungus just robs them of their oxygen supply.
Fungal infections also occur if the water hardness is too high. The osmotic pressure then damages the eggs.
A common cause of fungal eggs is too high a pH value. In an experiment at pH 6.5, almost all discus eggs fungus. At pH 5.2 almost all discus eggs developed.
Possibly the development of spawning fungi can be curbed by humic acid preparations.
Discus Breeding / Breeding Discus
How difficult is discus breeding?
In a community tank there are inevitably pairs, which then spawn constantly. Even under very unfavorable conditions in some pet store tanks, discus will spawn.
As a rule, a couple separates first. The pair becomes significantly more aggressive towards other aquarium inhabitants. Then the pair begins to spawn and fertilize. Both animals guard the clutch, sometimes taking turns. Females and males can be dark in color and get bite marks from fighting with other discus.
When breeding, it is difficult to rear the young animals optimally. Healthy animals only grow up to a considerable size and beautiful body shape when they are very well cared for.
The mostly poorly grown animals in the pet shops are the result of a lack of rearing and early removal to the trade. These animals rarely grow into imposing beasts. They also usually have a shorter life expectancy because they are prone to disease. Under optimal conditions, these animals can usually be nursed back to health.
In order to breed discus fish, several larger tanks are necessary for the rearing of a single brood. Because these basic requirements are usually missing, breeding is considered extremely difficult. But the effort is worth it, because you are ultimately rewarded with beautiful offspring.
When are discus ready to spawn?
Discus spawn for the first time at about 12 months. This is independent of body size. First courtship attempts are made earlier.
A harmonious pair may lay eggs every 5 to 7 days. The female is often so stressed that she no longer grows. Breeders separate courting young fish so that the animals cannot be influenced in their development or growth.
A breeding tank is required for breeding.
The larvae can only be optimally reared by the parents in a separate rearing tank. The targeted feeding of the young animals, e.g. B. with Artemia, is very difficult in a community tank. In the community tank, the parents are stressed by the constant presence of predators. Young fish can also be sucked into the filter in community tanks.
The breeding tank should be at least 50 x 50 x 50 centimeters. If the animals are already preparing to spawn and the water parameters are not completely unsuitable, the water parameters should not be changed. Otherwise, the water values should slowly be adjusted to a pH value of 6.5 and a conductance value below 200 µS. 120 µS is ideal. Sometimes 50 µS or only 15 µS are recommended. The temperature should be 30°. Above all, it seems important that the water parameters are stable.
Discus are stimulated to spawn by a slight drop in temperature. Discus connect the subsidence with the rainy season. In the rainy season there are floods, which means that trees are partially submerged in water, branches hang in the water, etc. In nature, discus spawn on branches that protrude into the water. In the aquarium, spawning takes place on plants, sloping stones, branches, etc. Basically, they will spawn on any substrate. Objects that are not quite vertical are preferred. However, no specific angle has to be maintained.
Although larvae sometimes hatch under less favorable conditions, e.g. B. at 25° GH and a conductance of approx. 1000 µS/cm in the community tank. However, good results can only be achieved under better conditions.
A sponge or mat filter should be used to prevent the larvae from being sucked in by the filter. Both types of filter can also generate a current that is not too strong.
Instructions for rearing
After the young are free-swimming, they feed on the skin secretions of the parents. There have been no positive experiences with commercially available feed substitutes. Depending on the condition of the now grazed and exhausted parent animals, additional feeding is required. Freshly hatched Artemia are required for this. This feeding is very difficult in community tanks because the Artemia have to be brought near the young with a syringe or a small hose.
After about 2 months, the young must be placed in a rearing tank of at least 100 x 50 x 50 centimeters.
The size of the offspring is independent of the size of the parents and only depends on the food.
Why discus eat their own clutch
Many perch eat their own clutch when they get stressed. Stress factors can B. wrong environmental conditions, a bad feeding situation for the young, disturbances, etc. When the animals can see that their offspring have no chance of surviving, they eat them up.
Even if the young are attacked by a superior number of other fish and the parents no longer have a chance to defend themselves, they prefer to eat them up themselves rather than leave them to others. At least the nutritional value remains for the parents.
Young discus often need several attempts before they know how to handle the eggs and later the larvae.
If the water parameters are unsuitable, the spawn will not develop. The parents then eat it up themselves.
If the eggs mold, they are eaten by the parents.
Sometimes the eggs are not even eaten by their own parents. If the parents carelessly protect the clutch, e.g. B. in the dark, other fish eat the eggs, z. B. Catfish. A dim night light, e.g. B. a 7 watt energy-saving lamp, helps so that the parents can keep better contact with the clutch. To protect against spawn predators, a separating disc can also be placed in the tank. The blade can z. B. made of plexiglass.
If the parents eat the clutch because they are being disturbed, covering the tank with cardboard or a blanket may help.
A discus breeding station:
Breeding Discus: