Discus Pairing Up
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DevotedToDiscus
Fish Herder
Generally you will see that the pair will swim around the tank together. You may also spot one fish becoming very territorial and chasing the others(except the partner). Then before spawning the pair will tend to do a lot of fin quivering at each other and stand slightly tail down. 24-48 hours before spawning they will start to clean a spawning site, this looks like they are trying to eat off the surface of where they plan to lay their eggs. On the point of spawning the female will do a number of dummy runs of egg laying, this is to show her man where she is about to lay, and get him in the mood for love
I have seen quivering (and was wondering 
) and the largest of them (definitely a male) has taken possession of the front of the tank. I have seen him swim preferably with another I suspect is a female, but there is also a bit of pecking at her that looks (to me at least) unfriendly. I have also seen one possible female picking at an amazon sword leaf, but I assumed she was pecking at the algae as a bit of a supplement.
Unfortunately this morning I have found them all lying on the bottom gasping, leo the rams were gasping at the surface, and all of the tetras were huddled in a corner, and the cories were nowhere to be seen.
I added fifteen spoons of salt and slowly they all started to recover. When I left the office the rams were all back to swimming about and chasing each other, the cories were back out and the tetras were acting normal.
The discus were not well when I left the office, but they were A LOT better, still gasping a bit, but they had coloured up a bit and swimming, not very lively, but they didn't look dead.
I suspect a nitrite spike, because on Tuesday evening I did a 25% water change, and this morning nitrate was at 35ppm, when it was lower than that BEFORE the water change, but for the life of me I cannot imagine what may have caused it. I had no deaths, and the only change I did to the tank was a new CO2 reactor to replace the glass diffuser I had.
) and the largest of them (definitely a male) has taken possession of the front of the tank. I have seen him swim preferably with another I suspect is a female, but there is also a bit of pecking at her that looks (to me at least) unfriendly. I have also seen one possible female picking at an amazon sword leaf, but I assumed she was pecking at the algae as a bit of a supplement.Unfortunately this morning I have found them all lying on the bottom gasping, leo the rams were gasping at the surface, and all of the tetras were huddled in a corner, and the cories were nowhere to be seen.
I added fifteen spoons of salt and slowly they all started to recover. When I left the office the rams were all back to swimming about and chasing each other, the cories were back out and the tetras were acting normal.
The discus were not well when I left the office, but they were A LOT better, still gasping a bit, but they had coloured up a bit and swimming, not very lively, but they didn't look dead.
I suspect a nitrite spike, because on Tuesday evening I did a 25% water change, and this morning nitrate was at 35ppm, when it was lower than that BEFORE the water change, but for the life of me I cannot imagine what may have caused it. I had no deaths, and the only change I did to the tank was a new CO2 reactor to replace the glass diffuser I had.
Amazingly since the disaster I have only found 1 dead ram this morning! All other fish are (for now) fine, and the discus in particular are lively and colourful.
Two of my six discus are fairly bigger than the others and I think that they might be a bit older. I believe I might have a pair forming and they are bullying the other four discus despite the tank being 400 litres well planted, especially keeping them away from the largeish wood i have in the tank.
I was thinking of converting my gourami tank (see signature) to a breeding tank for my rams. I have 2 bonded pairs of GBRs, one of which is going through the motions of wanting to spawn. Would it be a good idea to put the pair of discus (once I'm certain they are a pair) in there instead or should I go ahead with the breeding rams project and let the discus sort themselves out?
Two of my six discus are fairly bigger than the others and I think that they might be a bit older. I believe I might have a pair forming and they are bullying the other four discus despite the tank being 400 litres well planted, especially keeping them away from the largeish wood i have in the tank.
I was thinking of converting my gourami tank (see signature) to a breeding tank for my rams. I have 2 bonded pairs of GBRs, one of which is going through the motions of wanting to spawn. Would it be a good idea to put the pair of discus (once I'm certain they are a pair) in there instead or should I go ahead with the breeding rams project and let the discus sort themselves out?
DevotedToDiscus
Fish Herder
All I will say is that in my experience breeding Discus is very time consuming, a little frustrating and good few steps away from easy
The Rams should be much easier. So the question you need to ask yourself is how much effort and time do you want to put into it. Good luck and do let us know how is goes.
The Rams should be much easier. So the question you need to ask yourself is how much effort and time do you want to put into it. Good luck and do let us know how is goes.
DevotedToDiscus
Fish Herder
Rams it is then!
If anything I guess it's a good way to learn!
Sensible move, and if you have not breed egg laying fish before the Rams will be a much better bet first up. You will get all the satisfaction without the frustration
I am pretty sure I have a pair.
A bit of aggression has started again between them and I have noticed that the two being aggressive are never aggressive to each other, and they do spend time together.
As I said I'm not interested in breeding (yet
) but it's nice to know they're happy enough to pair up.
As for the others... they are smaller, so I guess they have some growing up to do, provided there is pairing material (at least one female and at least one male). I suspect all the others are female, but we'll see...
Once I do have two pairs, though, should I re-home the others, to give the pairs more room, or will they be fine?
A bit of aggression has started again between them and I have noticed that the two being aggressive are never aggressive to each other, and they do spend time together.
As I said I'm not interested in breeding (yet
) but it's nice to know they're happy enough to pair up.As for the others... they are smaller, so I guess they have some growing up to do, provided there is pairing material (at least one female and at least one male). I suspect all the others are female, but we'll see...
Once I do have two pairs, though, should I re-home the others, to give the pairs more room, or will they be fine?
DevotedToDiscus
Fish Herder
I am pretty sure I have a pair.
A bit of aggression has started again between them and I have noticed that the two being aggressive are never aggressive to each other, and they do spend time together.
As I said I'm not interested in breeding (yet
As for the others... they are smaller, so I guess they have some growing up to do, provided there is pairing material (at least one female and at least one male). I suspect all the others are female, but we'll see...
Once I do have two pairs, though, should I re-home the others, to give the pairs more room, or will they be fine?
Are you still talking about the Discus, or is it the Rams pairing up?
DevotedToDiscus
Fish Herder
Ok, I would just leave them with the others. They will be fine. The aggression is all show anyway, they never actually hurt each other, just a bit of chest beatingThe rams paired up ages ago, I'm talking of the discus
I wonder if you can help me with this behaviour mystery (well... a mystery to me, new as I am to discus):
They appear to be scared when I go to the tank, this is a fairly new behaviour since they settled in. I came to the office (where the tank is) yesterday and today to feed them and today for a water change (water is still warming up).
Yesterday they stayed hiding under the log, all of them even after I dropped the live bloodworm in. I'm sure they were hungry, since I had a day off on Friday and they hadn't been fed, but they didn't rush out as usual. Yesterday I stayed in the office a bit to observe them a bit, but they didn't peek out.
Today, when I arrived, it was the same, but when I dropped in the live brine shrimp, they did crawl out to eat right away. I have waited a bit and then fed them a few granules and they all came out to eat. Now they are out and about, swimming and pecking at algae and a few leftover granules.
Why might they have been cowering yesterday and today when I arrived? The tank is in an office, and there are only five people working here, it's a very quiet environment (except for traffic noise with fairly frequent sirens from outside)
They appear to be scared when I go to the tank, this is a fairly new behaviour since they settled in. I came to the office (where the tank is) yesterday and today to feed them and today for a water change (water is still warming up).
Yesterday they stayed hiding under the log, all of them even after I dropped the live bloodworm in. I'm sure they were hungry, since I had a day off on Friday and they hadn't been fed, but they didn't rush out as usual. Yesterday I stayed in the office a bit to observe them a bit, but they didn't peek out.
Today, when I arrived, it was the same, but when I dropped in the live brine shrimp, they did crawl out to eat right away. I have waited a bit and then fed them a few granules and they all came out to eat. Now they are out and about, swimming and pecking at algae and a few leftover granules.
Why might they have been cowering yesterday and today when I arrived? The tank is in an office, and there are only five people working here, it's a very quiet environment (except for traffic noise with fairly frequent sirens from outside)
DevotedToDiscus
Fish Herder
Are the lights on a timer, or manually switched on/off? Could they have been left on overnight by accident, or faulty timer? They can be startled easily and take time to settle afterwards, so it could also be that they hadn't seen any movement for a day and then when they saw you they got scared.
The lights are on a timer, and it's working fine
I suppose an interruption in their routine might have been it, with my not being there on Friday...
I'll have to ask if someone fed them on Friday when I get back on Tuesday.
I suppose an interruption in their routine might have been it, with my not being there on Friday...
I'll have to ask if someone fed them on Friday when I get back on Tuesday.
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