For best Discus egg hatches the water should be between 6.2 and 6.9 Ph, with a temp of 28 to 30 deg Celcius and a Gh of less than 1 Deg Gh.

Without a doubt the best water for breeding Discus fish is that produced by a reverse osmosis unit. No serious Discus fish breeder should be without one.
Make sure that the filter canisters and membrane are not past their best. The best ro units are classed as at least a five stage unit. They have three pods; containing a pre filter, a carbon block cartridge and a CBR2 metalex cartridge.

Above those you will find the ro membrane and a post deioniser, ensuring a TDS (total dissolved solids) of zero.

At Regal Discus we use 100% reverse osmosis water re mineralized to a level of between 1 and 0 Gh with HMA (heavy metal filtered) water for breeding Discus fish.

Obviously ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be nil if the reverse osmosis unit is functioning properly.

As the reverse osmosis water / HMA mix is un-stable at such a low general hardness, a twenty percent water change in the Discus breeding tank is carried out on a daily basis, one hour after the last feed.

All reverse osmosis water should be aerated and heated to the same temperature as the Discus fish breeding tank before use.

The Discus Fish Breeding Tank

A Discus Fish breeding tank is really pretty basic. The bare essentials are a dim light, spawning cone, sponge filter, a heater thermostat and a tank of capacity say 90 liters i.e. 18″x 18″x 18,” for a medium sized breeding pair of Discus fish.

Care and Breeding Basic Fact Sheet

BACKGROUND:
More has been written about the Discus than any other tropical fish in the last 50 years, and it is now one of the most popular cichlids in the hobby, with many books devoted to it. This is intended to be a very brief general guide to its keeping and breeding within the aquarium.

When wild caught discus were first introduced into the hobby many years ago, they were a rare site, and thought very hard to keep. With time, experienced hobbyists mastered this aspect and the next step was breeding. Slowly people managed to get eggs, but they would never get successful fry. They key was leaving the fry with the parents, from whom they graze, eating their highly nutritious slime coating. Now discus breeding is common place, any thousands of colour strains have been produced, in addition to the many wild colour forms.

HABITAT :
Discus are most commonly found in dense planting and wooded areas in slow moving rivers and backwaters in the Amazon river system. These waters are soft, warm and acidic, with little current. Their natural flat shape and colour pattern is designed to give camouflage in their natural home. They can usually be found in large groups, and when not spawning are mostly a social cichlids. Their natural food is comprised of aquatic inverts, insects, small fish and fry and any other naturally occurring food that may be available. Many other commonly kept south American tetras and cichlids can be found in these waters.

TEMPRAMENT, BEHAVIOR AND SIZE:
In case you need reminding, Discus are Cichlids! In the real world this means they are fishes of changeable behaviour, but also of character and personality. They can on occasion be aggressive towards their own kind and others, mainly when pair bonds are formed, or when territory of fry are involved. If some consideration is paid to this, in cichlid terms they are generally quite mild in behaviour.

The main problem is with bullying within themselves. Often, in small groups of fish the individual at the bottom of the pecking order is on the receiving end of a great deal of bullying, which can result in death. To avoid this, I would advocate not keeping the fish in groups of less than 4, with 6+ being an optimum, especially when young. This seems to spread the bullying out, and also increase the confidence of the fish.

Size wise, roughly 6-8″ round is a good side for an adult discus.

AQUARIUM REQUIREMENTS:
This is one of the areas that gives rise to the greatest amount of arguments between discus keepers, but this is what I feel is a good basic guide

• Water conditions for general keeping : pH 5.8-7.4 with 6.3-6.9 an optimum for most varieties. Water hardness is just as important as pH, a kH of 1-6 and gH of 2-11 being generally suitable. The fish may live in harder water, but for long term they need soft to medium water to thrive.
• Temperature : a range of 80-84 is acceptable, although many fish keepers use higher temperatures of up to 90f.
• Water quality : The higher the quality, the better! Tanks must be mature and stable, with 0 ammonia / nitrite, and nitrates and DOC’s as low as possible, with 20ppm an upper limit. Trying to keep the water as free of metals, phosphates and other contaminants will also help. Large weekly water changes are probably the order of the day.
• Filtration: Being big messy cichlids, efficient biological filtration is needed, but filtration that doesn’t produce too much current.
• Tank size : There are 2 main requirements, tank depth and volume. Because of their size and swimming habits, a minimum of 18″ is needed for tank depth, with deeper being better. Volume wise, a rough guide is that each adult discus will need 10 gallons of water. Larger tanks will also give more stable water conditions, and taking into account other considerations the minimum size for a discus display tank should be roughly 40 gallons.
• Feeding : A varied diet is the order of the day, this may include a high quality dried food up to about 50-60% maximum, which the discus will take with greed. Other foods should be insect fish based, such as frozen brine shrimp, blood worm, mysis shrimp, black mosquito larvae, chopped earth worm, prawns, chopped cockle etc. Discus can be susceptible to internal parasitic infections, so take care with live foods, and due to the fats / proteins its perhaps best to feed animal meant sparingly if at all.
• Tank mates : tank mates should be none aggressive fish that are not too active or skittish, and will tolerate warm soft acidic water. Dwarf south American cichlids, sucker mouth catfish, cory’s, tetras, rasboras, pencil fish among others will provide good friends for discus. Shoals of tetras or similar will act as dither fish, making the discus feel more safe in their surroundings
• Tank Set-up : Discus certainly don’t require bare tanks, and furnished display aquarium may even be advantageous. Tall planting round the back and sides of the tank, together with an inert substrate will limit the skittish behaviour of the fish. Bog wood and perhaps a little inert rock work will also be accepted, but the fish should be left large open swimming areas in the tank centre

BREEDING:
Once many keepers have mastered keeping discus, their attentions often turn to breeding. While not being impossible, it can be hard work, but is also greatly rewarding. Like all cichlids, discus choose a spawning site then guard and rear the eggs and resulting fry.

• Sexing : Discus can be very hard to sex other than when spawning, and no reliable methods exist. A guide may be that males have longer fin extensions and a wider fore head.
• Pairing: Discus don’t take well to arranged marriages, so the best way to get a breeding pair in general is to by a group of young unrelated fish of the same colour type and let them pair up themselves. This may happen from when the fish are half grown, but generally spawning doesn’t start until the fish are roughly ¾ of their adult size. Once a pair is formed it will often remain for the life of the fish
• Spawning : Discus choose a near vertical smooth spawning site, which is cleaned before 80-400 eggs are laid by the female, and fertilised by the male. It takes 50-60 hours for the eggs to hatch, and another 36-48 hours for them to become free swimming, at which point the fry will start to graze of their parents. It may often take a few attempts for the pair to get it right, but two females can lay eggs and appear to be a pair.
• Breeding Tank : Breeding tanks are best kept simple, with simple air powered filtration, spawning sites (terracotta cones, broad leafed plants or slate) and no substrate. Water should be very soft to allow the eggs to develop properly, with excellent water quality and a temperature of about 84-88f. The tank need not be as large as the display tanks, but something of the order of 24x18x18 is certainly suitable.
• Feeding and conditioning : The parents will need a good and varied diet not just to condition them to spawn, but to provide nutrition when they are feeding their fry. Large water changes, a temperature rise and heavy feeding is often a good spawning trigger.
• Fry rearing: The fry do best when given additional feedings of small foods whilst with the parents, such as baby brine shrimp. After 3-6 weeks, the parents will be exhausted, and the fry growing fast so it is best to remove them. This is where lots of tanks and water changes are needed to achieve a decent growth rate. I used to grow circa. 40 fry to just under 2″ in a 55G tank, and this required heavy water changing. The discus market is saturated with fish, so it best to grow 20-50 excellent fry than 80 runts. Growth is reasonable, but not spectacular.

Although this is just a fraction of the information available, I hope it of help in some way. Enjoy the King of the Aquarium!

Like owning any animal or pet you always want to try your skills on almost everything. Whether it’s training your dog to perform at shows or breeding your tropical fish it all can be done, it’s just the knowing how part which is a bit difficult.

So why not try breeding your discus fish?

This isn’t impossible if you have a bit of patience as it is hard work. But like most things we put our minds to and don’t give up, it can be very very rewarding.

Before starting, you might think that you need to know the sex of your fish, right? There is no point in placing two males or two females in the same tank and waiting for them to make babies, is it? Unfortunately there aren’t any reliable methods to suggest if your fish is male or female. Though some do say that the males have longer fins and a wider forehead.

This is why, most people when starting to breed their discus fish they find it very hard to couple them. The best way known to couple discus is to go out and buy yourself a young group of unrelated fish, but make sure they are of similar colourings and patterns. By placing them in the same tank, they should couple up them selves correctly.

After you notice that some of your discus have paired up, you should place them alone in a breeding tank. During mating, they become very territorial and aggressive, and by isolating them you will reduce the risk of injuries.

The tank does not need to have any special requirements, keep the tank nice and simple make sure you have air powered filtration keep the water very soft this helps the eggs develop properly. The tanks do not need to be a particular size. Display tanks are quite big which is great but they do not need to be this big to breed discus fish. A breeding tank of 24 x 18 x 18 is a suitable size.

Remember that regular water changes, a rise in temperature and a lot of feeding will all contribute greatly to good spawning. Discus choose a near vertical smooth spawning site which is then cleaned before the female lays between 80 – 400 eggs these eggs are then fertilised by the male discus.

It is best to remove the fry after 3 – 6 weeks as the parents will be exhausted you will need to change the tanks water and make sure the discus are eating well to help them grow at a good rate.

Guides – Breeding Discus Fish.

Breeding Discus fish is a challenge in anyone’s books.
The decision to undertake a breeding program must not be taken lightly. There are many things to be taken into consideration, if the project to be a successful one.

The most important factors are the time and financial restraints. The necessary funds must be made available to buy quality equipment and breeding stock. Can you also spend the necessary time for the daily water changes and a feeding regime of up to six times per day, ensuring an optimal growth rate of the fry?

If you can honestly answer “Yes” to the above then lets move on!

Water Quality for Breeding Discus Fish.
Many Discus fish breeders worldwide are fortunate enough to have water straight out of the tap suitable for breeding. However others have to resort to other means of water preparation like most of the UK.

Without a doubt the best water for breeding Discus is that produced by a reverse osmosis unit. No serious breeder should be without one. Make sure that the filter canisters and membrane are not passed their best. The best units have three pods, containing a pre filter, a carbon block cartridge and a CBR2 metalex cartridge.

Use 100% ro water remineralized to a level of between 1 to 2 degrees general hardness with Kent Ro Right. Obviously ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be nil if the unit is functioning properly. As the water is un-stable at such a low general hardness, a twenty percent water change in the breeding tank is carried out on a daily basis one hour after the last feed. All reverse osmosis water should be aerated and heated to the same temperature as the breeding tank before use.

Some breeders prefer to add a percentage of tap water to their reverse osmosis water in order to buffer it to the desired level. Although this is a cheaper method it still may leave the Discus fish swimming in diluted heavy metals, chlorine, chloramine, pesticides, and nitrates etc.

Discus Fish Spawning.
Signs that the chosen pair of Discus fish may be about to spawn may include territorial behavior if the pair are in the presence of other fish. If a solitary pair of Discus fish, they will begin cleaning the chosen spawning site by ‘picking’ at the surface. The Discus fish pair may also display more vibrant colouration and ‘shimmy’ at each other. Such pairs, if of supreme quality should be given their own breeding tank.
Spawning cones are available for breeding Discus fish. They are made from terra-cotta and the best design has a lip at the bottom to catch fallen fry, enabling the parents to recover them. The cone should be sterilized before use in a methylene blue or strong salt solution and rinsed thoroughly afterwards.

After the Discus fish pair have finished cleaning their chosen spawning surface, egg laying commences.
If I am available when spawning takes place, I always switch of the sponge filter to allow optimum fertilization of the eggs. The biological capacity degeneration will be minimal. Do not do this with external canister filtration. Try and slow down the flow with the taps. Strong water flows may result in poor fertilization. Always remember to switch back on after spawning as been completed!

Even though a spawning surface is provided, Discus fish will sometimes spawn on an alternative surface such as filter uplifts or even the glass. Batches of eggs laid on the tank bottom normally yield low hatch rates due to bacteria levels.

Spawning may be triggered by one or a combination of the following:. Lowering and increasing water temperature, pH and water levels. A large water change sometimes also has the desired effect, with water slightly cooler to that in the Discus breeding tank.

By all means watch the activity from a distance, but try not to distract the parents from the job in hand! Taking photos with a flash may distract the Discus pair and result in the eggs being eaten.
One last pointer, don’t count your chickens before they have hatched!

Discus fish fry, depending on water temperature, will normally become free swimming after five days. At this time it is imperative that the young Discus fry find the flanks of the parents, otherwise they will perish. Discus fish are one of the few members of the cichlid family that feed their fry by producing a nutritious slime coating. The fry can grow quickly if the parents produce sufficient mucus to feed the batch. At this time the parents may become darkened by the production of the mucus. This isn’t to be confused with ill health!

The Discus fish fry may swim from one parent to another grazing off their flanks. Sometimes a dispute may break out between the parents over who will have control of the young. If things continue to get nasty, it is advisable to remove one of the parents or divided the tank with a piece of egg crate allowing the Discus fry to swim freely between the two.

Raising Discus Fish Fry.
Feeding of the Discus fry can be supplemented with newly hatched brine shrimp and a fine dry food such as ZM100. The shrimps must be washed thoroughly to remove all traces of salt which can irritate the stomachs of the baby Discus fish. How long to leave the Discus fish fry with their parents is a matter of choice for the Discus breeder. If the parents choose to spawn again whilst they still have Discus fry present, the batch may be eaten.

If the parents are seen to be ignoring the fry and are cleaning a surface in preparation for spawning, now is the time to separate them. The longer the Discus fish fry are left with their parents the more chance there is off them being cross infected with parasites from the parents. It is not uncommon to have a few fry dying daily through gill flukes or internal parasites picked up from the parents. This seems to be a common occurrence around four weeks old.

There are varying methods for removing the Discus fry. If using a net make sure that is very fine and soft so as not to damage the delicate fry. Some Discus fish breeders prefer to remove the fry with a syphon or food baster. Another method commonly used is to take a rectangular vessel, submerging it at one of the tank, then gently nudging the parents out of the way, scoop up the Discus fry. This is my personally preferred method which I think minimizes damage to the baby Discus fish.

The parents will invariably be a bit mythed for a short while and hunt around for their offspring. The Discus fry are transferred to a 24x15x12 tank in the early stages. This makes it easier for the fry to find the newly hatched brine shrimp without the food being scattered over a large volume of water. I normally transfer ten gallons of water from the tank along with the fry and top up slowly with reconstituted RO water over the course of two days. The tank is furnished with nothing more than an air operated sponge filter.

Discus fish fry are extremely vunerable to fluctuations in water quality. Water changes must be of a comparable temperature and pH. Adding water of a widely different pH will burn their tiny gills and result in losses. I use large water butts to store Ro water in, adding a heater stat set at 86 Fahrenheit and the water aerated with an air stone. Two hours after feeding, uneaten food and droppings should be carefully siphoned out. A length of Ro unit tubing does the job splendidly. Care must be taken not to suck up the fry. Always check the bucket before the water goes South! The water level is then topped up with the pre prepared Reverse Osmosis unit water.

The Discus fish are fed newly hatched brine shrimp and ZM 100 for the first two to three weeks depending on the growth rate of the fry. I then prefer to use a mortle and pestle to finely grind a mixture of Tetra Prima and medicated pellets which replaces the ZM 100. The baby Discus fish are also fed a liquidated beef heart / shrimp mixture, fortified with vitamins, spirulina and garlic. The garlic stimulates feeding and also serves to keep parasites at bay.

Culling of Discus fish fry should be routinely done at weekly intervals. No one like this unsavoury task but it is part and parcel of fish breeding. The runts of the batch and those with incomplete finagle and body deformities should be humanely destroyed.

Take no prisoners at this stage, arrow shaped fry and runts will never amount to anything. Anything borderline is better not given the benefit of the doubt! This will give the remaining Discus fish the best chance of survival.

After the third week, the reverse osmosis water in the Discus fry raising tank is raised at a rate of two degrees general hardness per week. Young Discus fish are better kept in harder water, assimilating the minerals for faster growth. Discus fish fry will grow at different rates. Now the logistical nightmare begins! T

he Discus fry need to be separated by size into several tanks. In typical cichlid fashion, there will be more dominant fish in the shoal who drive others away from the shoal.

Those of you who may be attracted to breeding Discus fish for the monetary value, bare in mind that after paying for electricity, water, foods, equipment and consumables, there may be not much more left than to treat yourself to a couple of beers from the fruits of your labour!

This is a common question asked by lot of people, who are thinking of breeding their own Discus Fish. There are three different ways to successfully obtain a good breeding pair of Discus Fish, and all three are explained below in details.

Method #1 – Getting a proven pair of Discus
This is the easiest and the fastest method, but will cost you money. A proven pair is a bonded male and a female, which has already produced young ones. A solid proven pair can be very expensive depending on quality and the variety. This method can be risky but rewarding if you manage to get a truly bonded, genuine proven pair. Young Discus can be sold for a decent price and you will make the money you spent in no time if you consider doing it as a business.

Just be careful when you are buying the pair. Make sure they are truly bonded. Make sure the seller is a reputed company or a person, someone known to you, or was recommended by someone you trust. This greatly reduces the risk factor and usually you can start making money right off the bat.

Method #2 – Getting a pair from young discus fish
Get 10-12 young discus (about 1-2 inch body size), and let them grow in a large tank. Try a non-expensive variety if you are doing this for the first time. After several months, you will notice some of them pairing up and trying to get away from the rest and mark territories. This is a sign that they have bonded and the pair should then be moved into a separate tank. You can find more information on how to set up a tank in some of the articles we have posted on this website.

With this method, you have more control compared to the first one, and you will get good experience raising the young discus for several months.

Method #3 – Buying young adult discus fish
You can also buy young adults (about 5 inch in body size) from a seller. At this stage it can be possible to identify male/female discus. Buy a few pairs so the chances of you getting a solid pair suitable for breeding will be high.

As you can see, there are advantages and disadvantages in every method mentioned above. I personally prefer the second method, but I know people who have achieved great success by using all three, and all of them are very practical.

First of all, I’m going to share something I experienced few years back. I was a huge discus fan at that time but didn’t really have a clue on proper discus fish care techniques. I saw a tank full of beautiful blue color discus at one of the local aquariums and without thinking twice, I bought ten pairs. They were expensive, and I didn’t even have a proper tank setup at my house but nothing could prevent me from buying those discus fish. You can imagine how crazy I was.

Shortly after I put them in one of my larger glass tanks, I could feel that something is not right , but I couldn’t figure out what’s wrong. Some of the discus looked as they were really uncomfortable, but I could not figure out what to do. Two days after, I lost seven of them. Yes, seven of them died and I transferred the remaining to a smaller tank. It was a very sad day and I realized, if you don’t know how to care for your discus fish properly, disasters could happen very easily.

I wanted to make sure that the same mistake is not going to happen again. I visited local aquariums, started reading articles online and bought some books on discus fish from the local book store as well. Everything I learned helped me a lot and today, I know everything I need to know about Discus fish breeding and care.

I love my discus and I’m sure you do as well, and I want to make sure that you are not going to do the same mistake I did. It’s not possible for me to introduce you to the guy at the local aquarium or send you some of the books I have in my collection, but I can give you some information online. That’s what this website is all about. Everything I post here will help you learn about discus fish care and/or discus fish breeding.

I will be adding new articles when I get free time (I’m a busy web designer as well..), but if you are really interested in learning everything you need to know about discus fish, I can recommend you one e-book. Trust me, even with the knowledge I already had, I was amazed by this product and the amount of neat little tricks and tips I could learn from it. Give it a try.. I’m sure you will appreciate it. You can check it out by clicking the following link..

Discus fish breeding can be quite a tricky process and should really not be attempted by beginners! Considered to be one of the most beautiful tropical fish, they require a lot of prerequisite conditions and care so be prepared to be busy for the “King of the Aquarium!”

Discus fish breeding can begin in two ways, one more expensive than the other. The expensive but quicker and more reliable method involves buying an existing Discus pair who are, for a lack of a better word, compatible with each other. Or you can buy a group of Discus – at least six is recommended – and hope a pair will come about as they mature. Additionally, it is recommended to buy different varieties of Discus fish as this will help to expand the genetic gene pool.

Keep in mind that once a pair is formed, they essentially become the dominant party and they will claim private territory. At this stage, either remove the other fish or move the couple to a special breeding tank – around 20 to 30 gallons should be perfect. Ensure that this tank has hiding spots as well as Discus pairs will fight occasionally (as any couple does!).

So you have the couple. Now comes the care. Discus fish breeding requires strict regulation of many factors – chief amongst which are water quality and diet.

Change at least 25% of the water in tank twice a week- minimum. Ensure that ammonia and nitrite levels are practically nonexistent – keeping nitrogenous waste as close to zero as possible is extremely important. Discus are acidic water fish so keeping the pH levels at a range for 5 to 5.8 is vital. Especially when changing the water – Discus fish can go into shock if the levels change too quickly. Additionally, regulating the temperature of the water goes hand in hand with this. For Discus fish breeding, the recommended water temperature is around 82 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Discus fish breeding will also involve a lot of worms. Discus fish love white and black worms and feeding live food to them helps in the breeding process. Additionally, adult brine shrimp, mosquito larvae and daphnia would be adequate.

Once the spawning starts, you can expect up to 15 eggs every week or so! These will usually begin hatching within 48 hours. Don’t worry about preparing food for them just yet as they feed off the adult Discus for the first few days.

Pairing and spawning

The least expensive way of obtaining a pair is probably to purchase a group of really young (50 cent sized) or juvenile (tennis ball sized) Discus and let them grow up together. As they reach adulthood, hopefully at least one pair will form in your group. Ideally provide your fish with a few suitable spawning sites to choose among, e.g. a flowerpot, a piece of slate and a broad leafed plant. Discus are however capable of using the aquarium glass as spawning site as well.

You can notice that a pair is about to be established when two specimens start to swim away from the rest of the group and feed together. With a little luck, you will soon see them guarding a part of the aquarium and cleaning a spawning site. After a while, they will be doing practice passes oven the spawning site and it is then only a matter of time before the actual spawning takes place.

During spawning, the female Discus will lay a small amount off eggs in a neat row and the male will follow behind her to fertilize them. She will then start with a new row; the male will fertilize that one too, and so on. The entire process can take up to an hour.

When all the eggs have deposited and fertilized, the pair will start taking turns at guarding the spawning site and fanning the eggs with fresh water. The eggs will normally hatch within two days and the parents will help the fry the get out of the shells and move them to a new location in the aquarium.

After another two days, the fry will start to become free swimming. The parents will be very busy catching any baby that swims away from the rest of the group – they will actually take the fry into their mouths and spit them back to their siblings. As more and more fry become free swimming, it will eventually become impossible for the parents to keep them put in one place. The fry will form a small school and start feeding from the sides of their parents. Sometimes Discus fry will starve to death since they do not find their parents in time when they have to feed.

Common problems associated with pairing

Some fish never wants to breed, not even when kept in superb conditions. Others do breed, but never manage to get as far as to free swimming fry. There are a few things you can to improve the chances of successful spawnings, but there are situations where nothing will help. Sometimes the aquarist simply has to realize that certain specimens will not breed and be content with keeping them as beautiful show specimens.

Infertility can be due to several different reasons, including genetic abnormalities. Overspawning, illness, medications and nutritional deficiencies can all lead to temporary infertility which can be cured by rest, suitable disease treatment, time, and a varied, nutritious diet. Permanent fertility is much more serious and can for instance be brought on by permanent damage caused by internal parasites or overuse of antibiotics.

It is actually quite common for two female Discus fish to form a pair, even if there are males present in the aquarium. This couple will act just like a heterosexual couple, i.e. feed together, guard a territory, clean a spawning site and go through the actual spawning motions. The problem is of course that no eggs will get fertilized. Some couples release their eggs simultaneously, while others take turns with one female laying eggs this week and the other one the next. The only way of breaking the bond between them is to split them up and introduce them to males.

A fighting couple that fails to get along is another problem that can prevent successful spawnings. Sometimes the fighting is fairly mild and you can safely leave them to try and sort out their problems on their own, but there are also situations where you must be ready to separate them to prevent serious injury. Try reintroducing them to each other after a few days and hope for things to go more smoothly then. Letting them stay with each other and cause injury just because you do not want to scarify a batch of eggs is not a good idea, because a fighting couple will normally end up loosing their offspring anyway.

Raising Discus fry

During the first few days, Discus fry will only feed from their parents and the only thing you can do is to keep the parents well-fed and carry out water changes to keep the water quality up. When the fry is around 4-5 days of age, you can start giving them newly hatched brine shrimp. Start with really small amounts of food to prevent the water from going foul. The fry will continue to feed from the side of their parents for at least 2-3 weeks and the brine shrimp is therefore only a supplement.

The longer you let the fry stay with their parents, the higher is the risk of internal parasites being transferred from adult fish to the offspring. Most breeders will therefore not let the fry feed from their parents as long as they would in nature. Roughly 7-10 days after becoming free swimming, Discus fry are normally developed enough to survive without their parents in a separate fry rearing tank.

Feed your fry newly hatched brine shrimp and supplement with microworms once in a while to make the diet more varied. As their mouths grow bigger, they will be able to swallow daphnia, small mosquito larvae and other similar foods. Do not introduce flake food until they are at least 4 weeks of age. Getting them to accept flake food normally takes a while. When your Discus fry have grown to be roughly the size of a 10 cent coin, they are big enough to eat grated frozen beef heart. Start out with only one serving a day and eventually increase it to several feedings per day. When your fish has been trained to accept flake food, beef heart and frozen blood worms, it is time to start weaning them off brine shrimp.

Discus Diseases

Just like any other fish, Discus fish can develop a rich profusion of different health problems. In this article, I will mention some of the most commonly occurring ones. By identifying health problems at an early stage, you will increase your chances of treating your Discus back to recovery. The best way of reducing the risk of disease is to keep your fish in its recommended environment (right temperature, correct water chemistry, low amounts of nitrogenous waste, avoid rapid change, etc) and provide it with a varied diet.

Hole in the Head

Hole in the Head is quite a common disease in certain big cichlids, including the Discus fishes. Early treatment is very important since it becomes harder to cure the longer you allow it to progress – it can even be fatal. Even if the fish manages to heal after the treatment, the wound can leave permanent scaring. Treating the wound when it is small is therefore strongly recommended. One of the most commonly used methods of curing Hole in the Head disease in Discus is to increase the water temperature from 30 degrees C to 36 degrees C over a couple of days, and keep it at 36 C for 8-10 days. An increased water temperature must always be combined with increased aeration to keep the oxygen level up. Heat treatment can be combined with orally administered Metronidazole (sold under the brand name Flagyl) once every three days, especially for severe cases.

If you notice that the high water temperature is highly stressful for your Discus, you must lower it and seek other ways of curing the problem. You can for instance try using Metronidazole treatment only.

Gill fluke

Gill flukes are unfortunately a common problem for Discus fish and are especially dangerous for Discus fry. Gill flukes are external parasites that destroy the gills and causes heavy breathing and erratic swimming. The infested fish can also become spastic or completely paralyzed and sink down to the bottom. It can be cured using formalin, but preventing it is naturally preferably. Since adult fish becomes less affected by gill flukes, infested parents will often be healthy enough to spawn. When they offspring have grown to about the size of a 10 cent coin, gill flukes transmitted by the parents will turn into a serious problem. Gill flukes can be prevented by moving the fry to their own aquarium as soon as they are big enough to eat something else than secretions from their parents. It is also important not to crowd fryaquariums.

White Spot, Velvet and Costia

White Spot Disease (Ich), Velvet and Costia are not very common in Discus fish since the high water temperature in Discus aquariums creates an unfavorable environment for these malicious micro organisms. If your fish develops White Spot Disease, Velvet or Costia, the best course of action is to increase the water temperature to 34 degrees. Velvet is normally eradicated after 2-3 days of heat treatment and Costia will succumb within day four. White Spot Disease has to be treated for 10 days, since the Ich parasite that causes the white spots is susceptible to heat during its free-swimming life stage only.

Internal parasites

A Discus can harbor internal parasites without really being ill, but in some situations the parasites will start to grow exponentially and can then pose a serious threat to your fish. Common warning signs are emaciation and white feces. It can be hard to diagnose exactly which parasites that is responsible without performing an autopsy, but many different parasites are fortunately sensitive to Metronidazole (Flagyl) treatment. Increasing the water temperature and providing additional aeration is also recommended. If your Discus is still eating, you can prepare a solution of 200 ml water and 10 ml liquid Flagyl and soak its favorite food in it, e.g. live worms or larvae, for about one hour. Feed your Discus medicated food every 2-3 days for 10 days. If your Discus has stopped eating it is much harder to medicate it since you will have to force feed it using a syringe without the needle. Prepare a mixture of one part liquid Flagyl, two parts Liquid fry food and three parts water. The liquid fry food is there to prevent the fish from starving to death while you treat it. Add the mixture to a syringe and place your Discus on a wet towel. Use the syringe to force 2 ml down the fish’s throat and wait for it to swallow before you return it to the aquarium. It will expel a lot of the mixture through its mouth and gills, but at least a bit of it will be swallowed. You need to feed your fish the medication twice a day until it starts to recover. Being exposed to this type of treatment is naturally always highly stressful for a fish, especially one that is already weakened by parasites.

If you want to breed Symphosodon Discus, it is important to start out with high-quality stock. The easiest way of obtaining a pair is to purchase a group of juvenile Discus and let them grow up together. Avoid stunted specimens where the eyes are too big in proportion to the body of the fish, since these specimens have not been well fed during their childhood, hence have not developed as they should. Go for proportional specimens with nicely rounded bodies and stay away from specimens that have mismatched fins or crossed fin filaments.

Water

Temperature

When Discus is introduced to a new home, keeping the water temperature high – up to 90 degrees F – is a good idea to prevent illness while the fish adjust to the aquarium. After about two weeks, you can let the temperature drop a few degrees, and after an additional two weeks, you can decrease it as far down as to 84 degrees F.

Chemistry

Discus hail from soft and acidic waters and will therefore appreciate such conditions in the aquarium. Wild caught specimens can need a pH in the 5.0-6.0 range and a GH of <1 degrees to spawn, while captive bred specimens tend to be more adjusted to harder and less acidic conditions and prefer a pH-value of 6.5-6.8 and a GH of <5 degrees.

Nitrogenous waste

Keeping the levels of nitrogenous waste down in the aquarium is extremely important when breeding Symphosodon Discus and vigorous filtration must be combined with frequent water changes. Many breeders actually change around 10-15% of the water once a day and 50% of the water twice a week. Uneaten food must be promptly removed from the water. The water used for water changes must be similar to the water in the aquarium to avoid chocking your Discus fish. Rapid changes in water temperature are particularly dangerous.

Feeding

Feed you Discus a varied diet to ensure optimal health. They love worms, e.g. bloodworms, blackworms etcetera. Feeding cones will prevent the worms from ending up all over the aquarium. Feed your fish a few times a day instead of one heavy feeding and make sure that they actually eat their food. Hunger strikes or poor appetite must be investigated and solved to prevent serious problems.

Discus behavior

Discus fish kept in groups will develop a pecking order. The dominant fish will for instance be able to feed before the more submissive ones get a shot at it and so on. Until everything is settled they can be quite aggressive towards each other. Once the pecking order has been formed, the amount of fighting and nipping will normally decrease drastically.

Discus Fish Spawning

As your Discus fish matures, they will hopefully start to form pairs. Once a pair has been formed, the couple will normally do a few “dry runs” before actually spawning. During the real spawning, the female will normally start by laying just a few eggs that are promptly fertilized by the male. She will then lay more and more eggs while the male is guarding the spawning site, and when he swims in to fertilize them, she will start guarding instead.

In most cases, the parents will be able to fend off other adult fishes and prevent them from eating the eggs. If the adult fishes are too strong and the parents too weak, you may however have to help out in order to save the eggs from ending up as food. Removing the non-parents from the aquarium is not a good idea, because not having anyone to fend off can weaken the pair bond between the parents and cause them to turn on each other or their offspring. You can instead use a piece of Plexiglas to divide the aquarium into two parts. This way the parents will still see the other fish and perceive them as a threat.

Parental care of fry

The eggs will normally hatch after 2-3 days at a water temperature of 84 degrees, and the fry will start feeding about 72 hours later. At this stage, the fry is too small to eat anything else than a special secretion produced on skin of the parents. The fry stay close to their parents and the parents will take turns caring for them. During the switch, the caring Discus will swim up to the other one and then rapidly dash away from the little cloud of fry. The fry will notice their other parent and commence feeding from him or her. The secretion is highly nutritious and within 5 days, the fry will have grown big enough to eat newly hatched brine shrimp. They will then continue to eat both brine shrimp and secretions.

Raising Discus fry

Many breeders chose to move the fry to a separate rearing aquarium before they are really weaned of their parents because the longer you let the fry stay with the parents the high the chance of the fry catching parasites from them. Adult Discus fish can harbor parasites without falling ill, but those same parasites can prove lethal for tiny fry.

In order to reach their full size, Discus fry must be provided with plenty of nutritious food and really low levels of nitrogenous waste. The work you do with young Discus will lay the foundation for their entire life. Feed the fry newly hatched brine shrimp three times a day and carry out a 50% water change every day. Within five weeks, they will be big enough to accept a wide range of foods, e.g. bloodworms, chopped up black worms and paste mix. The large amounts of food can easily foul the water and sometimes you might be forced to carry out water changes more than once a day.

Culling Discus

As your fry grows bigger it will be possible to notice birth defects and other problems. It is then time to start culling your fry to remove undesirable traits from the group. Do not hesitate to ask someone to help you with this, e.g. someone from your local aquarium club with extensive Discus experience, because spotting defects in really small specimens is tricky. If you want to cull your batch, you naturally want to do it as early as possible to avoid spending a lot of time, energy and space on raising defect specimens. By culling, you will be able to devote more space to the healthy ones, thereby giving them a better chance of survival and optimal growth. A few things to look out for in Discus are poor body shape, mismatched fins, crossed fin filaments, and eyes that are too large in proportion to the body.