I have a 55 gallon tank with 2 red turquoise discus which are still within 2 inches of size. Im looking to get 2 more discus but of a different breed. My questions are….
Can two different type of discus interbreed?
How can i increase the chances of any of my discus to breed?
Should i have a total of 5 discus in the 55 gallon tank or is 4 good enough room wise?
2" is still not that close to maturity, so until they get a couple (if not few) inches bigger, you don’t even need to worry about it. Then you run into the problem of getting a pair. These fish choose their mates themselves. Try as you might, you cannot force them to pair up. Starting with 5 or 6 juveniles is best, as they can grow up together and pair off on their own. As they grow, pick out the weaker ones, as they will likely not be selected by a potential mate anyway. Once you get a pair, it’s a waiting game. Keep the water warm (about 84-85*) and relatively soft. Provide them with plenty of vertical surfaces (wood, rock, pots) and attempt to induce spawning by dropping the temperature a couple degrees.
5 juvenile Discus in a 55 isn’t a problem, but it won’t work as adults. A pair or, if you’re lucky, two pairs is really about the max I’d try. Discus of different strains can breed together, but generally it isn’t desirable. You’ll just end up making worthless muts unless you’ve got plenty of time to perfect it into something new through generations of selective breeding (easier said than done).
Hi
You need to get a pair.
My advice is they you get 5 or 6 red turqs and let them form a pair. You should be able to return the excess fish to your LFS for a group of juveniles of another variety
These fish don’t have sex randomly, they form pairs that last they then breed in that pair
You need to give them the chance to choose their own partner. You could run 2 pairs in a 55g and pray they don’t try and breed at the same time
References :
2" is still not that close to maturity, so until they get a couple (if not few) inches bigger, you don’t even need to worry about it. Then you run into the problem of getting a pair. These fish choose their mates themselves. Try as you might, you cannot force them to pair up. Starting with 5 or 6 juveniles is best, as they can grow up together and pair off on their own. As they grow, pick out the weaker ones, as they will likely not be selected by a potential mate anyway. Once you get a pair, it’s a waiting game. Keep the water warm (about 84-85*) and relatively soft. Provide them with plenty of vertical surfaces (wood, rock, pots) and attempt to induce spawning by dropping the temperature a couple degrees.
5 juvenile Discus in a 55 isn’t a problem, but it won’t work as adults. A pair or, if you’re lucky, two pairs is really about the max I’d try. Discus of different strains can breed together, but generally it isn’t desirable. You’ll just end up making worthless muts unless you’ve got plenty of time to perfect it into something new through generations of selective breeding (easier said than done).
References :
My Discus.