Breeding discus - problem!

yhbae

yhbae

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Aug 5, 2003
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I have a friend who keeps many discuses. He also has a breeding pair. The problem with his pair is that although it spawns every few weeks, the eggs never hatch. He has the RO water setup. I have not asked what is the pH of his water yet. I suspect his pH is too high.

If pH turns out to be too high, what is the best way to lower pH (to 6.5?) in this case? He has a separate tank that holds the pair.

Thanks!
 
yhbae said:
I have a friend who keeps many discuses. He also has a breeding pair. The problem with his pair is that although it spawns every few weeks, the eggs never hatch. He has the RO water setup. I have not asked what is the pH of his water yet. I suspect his pH is too high.

If pH turns out to be too high, what is the best way to lower pH (to 6.5?) in this case? He has a separate tank that holds the pair.

Thanks!
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Our Discus breed in a PH of 7.6-7.8 TDS 400+, I just started to add R/O to increase the fertilization and hatch rate , it seems to do the trick. Do not drop the PH more than 2 points per day.

Add some Almond leaves in with the Pair to lower PH and stimulate them to spawn, we do this all the time and it works
 
yhbae said:
So you managed to hatch your eggs at pH of 7.6+ ? If that is the case, may be the problem isn't the pH....
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It all depends on where your Discus are from , ours are tank raised and are used to the higher PH's but we do have some wilds that are kept in 6.5 PH and the TDS are 140ppm

Almond leaves stimulate the fish and secrete tanis, antibacterial ingredients into the water while lowering the PH . (try some you will not be disappointed.)

Your friends Discus male may not be fertilizing the eggs this take time and practice for the males to get it right. We have a pair that is two years old and they spawn every 4-7 days and have yet to raise their own fry. I got feed up with waiting and started hatching myself. (I do not recommend this as it is very time consuming and messy)
 
Hmmm may be that's what's happening - still not fertilizing correctly. I've seen them lay eggs and male at least trying to fertilize. Perhaps the best thing to do is give some more time then. I'm sure changing pH will stress them out. They have no problem laying eggs, just the fertilizing is the issue.
 
It sounds like the male isnt doing his job properly. Unfortunetly, you cant fix that....only time and practice is all you can do. Also, it may be the general water quality. Eggs will not hatch if the tank is dirty or water parameters are not right. Without knowing his maintenance practices, make sure the pair is in a barebottom tank by themselves and keep the tank extremely clean through frequent water changes.

-Ryan
 
He uses RO and let the water sit in a separate container before adding it into the main tank. I believe he changes water every few days. The tanks are bare - no substrates. I will find out what is his pH and hardness...

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
 
Got his water parameters:

pH = 6.0
GH = KH = 1d (well, the color changed after 1 drop so I guess it is between 0 and 1).

He changes water on the breeding tank daily and also feeds live blood worms, frozen beef heart, etc.

To me, he seems to be doing things right...

Oh and today, they spawned again... This time, some of the eggs show some black elements but again, # of eggs have gone down fast from over 100 to now like 40.

Hmmm...
 
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