Do discus have a mating ritual?

[180gz71]

2 of my discus were seeming to "dance" with each other this morning. I couldnt really tell if they were fighting or what. Just wanted to see if anyone else knows if they have a ritual.

[mobilecow]

Yep - they will dance around each other, mine peck a little and there's a whole lot of shivering / shimmying going on... am on another forum (discus specific) and was told about this yesterday (my discus are in a bit of a mating frenzy)

[180gz71]

Cool, thats what they were doing. Pecking every once in a while and then kinda waving/shivering tails in front and beside each other.
thanx.

[Star_Rider]

they will most likly chase the others away if you have other discus in the tank. heck, they wil chase other fish away too

[180gz71]

Yeah, thats pretty much what theyre doing. Becoming a lot more aggressive towards the other discus and fish.

[Star_Rider]

are they cleaning a spot in the tank?

sounds ike they maybe pretty close to a spawn. when the female drops the ovipositor they are closer yet.

if you want them to spawn.they will need to be in a quiet spot..they tend to eat the eggs or wigglers when they get upset.

it's best to move a breeding pair to a breeding tank.

[180gz71]

are they cleaning a spot in the tank?

sounds ike they maybe pretty close to a spawn. when the female drops the ovipositor they are closer yet.

if you want them to spawn.they will need to be in a quiet spot..they tend to eat the eggs or wigglers when they get upset.

it's best to move a breeding pair to a breeding tank.
Well, I have a few spare tanks, should I catch them and move them now or would that upset them to not spawn? I would really like to see them spawn, and I dont want to ruin the chance.

[Star_Rider]

you need a pretty big tank as discus should get at least 10 gal per fish..I lean more to 15 gal per fish. a 30 -40 breeder will work. if you have bonifide pair..then move them.. if it interupts their breeding don't fear..they will be at it again.

[mobilecow]

If they haven't spawned before, it's my understanding that it's best to let them practice... Mine have eaten the eggs twice - next time I'm gonna keep them in a separate tank or maybe pull the cone with the eggs once the male gives it a going over... not sure if that's the best thing tho...

Oh - i noticed that on days i do a double water change it has triggered spawning

[180gz71]

If they haven't spawned before, it's my understanding that it's best to let them practice... Mine have eaten the eggs twice - next time I'm gonna keep them in a separate tank or maybe pull the cone with the eggs once the male gives it a going over... not sure if that's the best thing tho...

Oh - i noticed that on days i do a double water change it has triggered spawning
Yeah my theory was to let them do it completely at least once so they kind of "bond" and then move them. The water change is what I kind of did because I accidentally pumped 1 months worth of ferts in one day(stupid timers). So Ive been laboriously cleaning.

[Rbishop]

There are really worth the extra effort.

[Star_Rider]

If they haven't spawned before, it's my understanding that it's best to let them practice... Mine have eaten the eggs twice - next time I'm gonna keep them in a separate tank or maybe pull the cone with the eggs once the male gives it a going over... not sure if that's the best thing tho...

Oh - i noticed that on days i do a double water change it has triggered spawning

water changes tend to trigger spawns in many SA cichlids. I know that a couple degrees cooler water has been suggested as a trigger to get angels to spawn.

it's a good idea to let them attempt spawns ..if you start to get wigglers you should move the pair if you want them to successfully spawn.

the stress in a community will usually lead to babies getting eaten unless you have a large tank where the pair can seclude the fry.

[180gz71]

Cool, thanx for the pointers. Hopefully I will have babies soon.

[Dwarf Puffers]

If they haven't spawned before, it's my understanding that it's best to let them practice... Mine have eaten the eggs twice - next time I'm gonna keep them in a separate tank or maybe pull the cone with the eggs once the male gives it a going over... not sure if that's the best thing tho...

Oh - i noticed that on days i do a double water change it has triggered spawning

Bad idea. The young feed off their parent's slimey skin.

If you take em out, guess whos gunna die? The fry! (I know, lame rhyme, couldnt resist)

[mobilecow]

Puffer ->> what if i leave the male in? i know it's ideal to have both parents in... i don't suppose it's like angels where the female goes on the rampage? just curious - i am gonna let mine keep trying till they figure it out right. i've got a second pair that looks like they are on the verge of something. let's see if these two can figure it out - they're older fish

[Star_Rider]

Bad idea. The young feed off their parent's slimey skin.

If you take em out, guess whos gunna die? The fry! (I know, lame rhyme, couldnt resist)

it is best to leave the fry with the parent discus..but it is possible to rear the fry sans the parents.
is it a good idea..probably not..but it has been done and can be done..but who wants to take on that responsibility?

it is very time consuming, requires egg yolk mixtures and plenty of water changes.
mobile cow, discus are very different from angels..(domestic) wild angels are very different from domestic angels.

if the discus eat their offspring..there is usually something amiss.

[luvjaxx]

I have 4 pair that spawn all the time. Eating the wigglers and fry after couple days. I had three pair in divided tanks. Didn't help. Then moved two pair into 29s and so far I have had free swimmers in one of the tanks for two days ( I am excited) I have wigglers in the other two tanks expect free swimmers by tomarrow. In my large tank I have several discus other than the pair that is in there and a pair of angels. The angels cleaned a place. The discus fought them for it (discus won). Angels spawned somewhere else. Discus...she layed he ate while she was laying...Good luck with yours any body have any suggestions for me.

[Star_Rider]

it is best to leave the fry with the parent discus..but it is possible to rear the fry sans the parents.
is it a good idea..probably not..but it has been done and can be done..but who wants to take on that responsibility?

it is very time consuming, requires egg yolk mixtures and plenty of water changes.
mobile cow, discus are very different from angels..(domestic) wild angels are very different from domestic angels.

if the discus eat their offspring..there is usually something amiss.

sometimes it just takes a lot of practice.