How do you determine male and female discus?
if you don’t have an answer don’t answer please…. i want to start a breeding tank of discus but i have no idea witch one is male and female.
It is very difficult to distinguish the sex differences out of mating season. During this period, the sexual papilla of the male are more pointed than those of the female.In this aspect, they are very similar to the angel fish, they even breed in the almost similar method.
A bare bottom of 20 or 27 gallon tall tank is ideal for the breeding. As they lay their eggs in the same manner as angels, a vertical surface should be provided for them to deposit their eggs on. I’ve always used an inverted flowerpot. A plant or two can be added to provide some shelter for the pair, but this is not a must. A sponge filter should be used to handle the biological load along with an outside power filter to pick up any debris.
Discus come from the warm, soft, acidic waters of the Amazon River and thrive well when these conditions are replicated in the home water. For both general maintenance and breeding of discus the pH should be kept at 6.5 and the temperature around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Water changes should be performed weekly. However in the breeding tank, a small water change should be done every day, or every second day. This process will increase appetite and promote mating activity in discus.
If good water quality is maintained, the discus will have large appetites and should greedily accept any food offered to them. Spawning discus should be fed frozen blood worms, beef heart, Tetra Color Bits, frozen or live brine shrimp, or live white worms. If feeding beef heart, one must be careful that none is left over because it will foul the water very quickly. Live tubifex or black worms should never be fed to discus at any time, as they will introduce parasites to the tank.
A breeding pair will lay eggs as often as every week, as many as fifteen times. They will usually go through two of these spawning cycles in a year. The eggs take 48 hours to hatch, and are free-swimming another 72 hours later. Immediately upon becoming free-swimming the fry will move to their parents’ sides, and start feeding off the mucous secretion that are produced by the parents during this time. The fry will feed off their parents’ sides for as long as you leave them together, but they should be offered newly hatched brine shrimp after being free-swimming for five days.
The fry should be removed between two and three weeks after reaching the free-swimming stage, leaving them with the parents any longer may be dangerous to the parents’ health. Once the fry are removed the pair will spawn again. The fry, now in a tank of their own, should be fed six or more times a day. The best foods to give the fry are newly hatched brine shrimp and chopped blood worms. For the first few weeks there is noticeable daily growth. In the fry tank it is important to do a partial water change every night after the last feeding.
I’ve also been advice to cover my breeding tank with black plastic bag in order to make it dimmer. I practiced it for quite some time before realising it wasn’t that necessary. But it may help the pair relieving their stress.
April 24th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
It is very difficult to distinguish the sex differences out of mating season. During this period, the sexual papilla of the male are more pointed than those of the female.In this aspect, they are very similar to the angel fish, they even breed in the almost similar method.
A bare bottom of 20 or 27 gallon tall tank is ideal for the breeding. As they lay their eggs in the same manner as angels, a vertical surface should be provided for them to deposit their eggs on. I’ve always used an inverted flowerpot. A plant or two can be added to provide some shelter for the pair, but this is not a must. A sponge filter should be used to handle the biological load along with an outside power filter to pick up any debris.
Discus come from the warm, soft, acidic waters of the Amazon River and thrive well when these conditions are replicated in the home water. For both general maintenance and breeding of discus the pH should be kept at 6.5 and the temperature around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Water changes should be performed weekly. However in the breeding tank, a small water change should be done every day, or every second day. This process will increase appetite and promote mating activity in discus.
If good water quality is maintained, the discus will have large appetites and should greedily accept any food offered to them. Spawning discus should be fed frozen blood worms, beef heart, Tetra Color Bits, frozen or live brine shrimp, or live white worms. If feeding beef heart, one must be careful that none is left over because it will foul the water very quickly. Live tubifex or black worms should never be fed to discus at any time, as they will introduce parasites to the tank.
A breeding pair will lay eggs as often as every week, as many as fifteen times. They will usually go through two of these spawning cycles in a year. The eggs take 48 hours to hatch, and are free-swimming another 72 hours later. Immediately upon becoming free-swimming the fry will move to their parents’ sides, and start feeding off the mucous secretion that are produced by the parents during this time. The fry will feed off their parents’ sides for as long as you leave them together, but they should be offered newly hatched brine shrimp after being free-swimming for five days.
The fry should be removed between two and three weeks after reaching the free-swimming stage, leaving them with the parents any longer may be dangerous to the parents’ health. Once the fry are removed the pair will spawn again. The fry, now in a tank of their own, should be fed six or more times a day. The best foods to give the fry are newly hatched brine shrimp and chopped blood worms. For the first few weeks there is noticeable daily growth. In the fry tank it is important to do a partial water change every night after the last feeding.
I’ve also been advice to cover my breeding tank with black plastic bag in order to make it dimmer. I practiced it for quite some time before realising it wasn’t that necessary. But it may help the pair relieving their stress.
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