13 replies to this topic

[fuggers]

finally had a few batches of discus fry (rainwater was the trick) but when they are in the free swimming stage they dissapear. the adults are good and the fry feed off both of them for a few days, approx 60 per spawn. then they disapear

 

there is only a sponge filter so they arent being sucked into a filter inlet and i cant see the parents eating them because they are still protective even when the fry are gone. been feeding brine shrimp once they start to swim around.

 

any ideas?

[deliriouz]

my guess is that one of the two parents ate them. I have seen both do it, other times only the mum and sometimes only the dad. When both parents are 'behaving', they don't even eat fungussed eggs or dead fry. So if you aren't seeing dead fry on the floor, they are being eaten. Keep trying tho cause they seem to get it eventually. Dont think food is an issue as I don't feed the fry bbs until they are 3 weeks free swimming. Parental mucus is more than enough. Other things to try are to keep the lighting on 24/7, remove the offending parent and artificially raise the fry (bloody hard work). Once I have a good pair, I usually use them as foster for the fry of other less successful pairs.

Edited by deliriouz, 12 September 2015 - 07:55 PM.

[fuggers]

thats the odd thing both pick the fry up and spit them on each other and the lights are on 24/7. might have to set up a camera on the tank

[Angelo]

what is wc schedule? but with discus in general with "some" pairs it takes them quiet a few tries to get it right. patients is the key with discus. give them a few more goes but yes, if you set up a camera you might see whats really going on. 

[fuggers]

water change is 30-40%  weekly, i dont think its water quality as it a divided section of a 6ft community tank and they seem to respawn only days later

[deliriouz]

thats the odd thing both pick the fry up and spit them on

Pretty common with bad parents to do the suck- spit routine and then chuck in a suck-swallow in there.

Also don't think water is an issue..you are getting large spawns so the water is good. I don't even change water once the eggs are laid for 3-4 weeks so as to not spook the parents.

[deliriouz]

Is the divider for the tank watertight ie glass/ silicone? Discus fry do dig themselves into every little crevice for the first few days.

[fuggers]

its a temp divider made of acrylic, while it does have holes the fry tend to stay away from it. its when they are bigger and free swimming approx 5-6 days from hatch  that they houdini on me.

[deliriouz]

You can't have any holes. Discus fry like to wander and will always swim thru them. You really should keep the breeding pair in a separate tank. I use acrylic dividers too but they only work for fry that stay close to the parent like apistos. I have done a similar setup to yours with discus and have seen fry swim thru the holes and get eaten on the other side. It has only worked when I had two pairs on either side and they then share fry rearing duties.

[fuggers]

hmmm..... the fry dont go near the divider. the parents have laid another batch of eggs, i suspect that they lay eggs within 36hrs of the fry dissapearing may have something to do with it. its the 4th time its happened pretty much to the day. they are only small discus so they might be eating the fry once a new set of eggs are ready to be laid

[deliriouz]

Normally the female doesnt lay if her parental behaviour is still switched on. So if she is laying so soon after , it may mean she is the culprit.

You should really think about putting the pair in their own tank and then maybe take the female out after the wriggling stage if the fry are still disappearing. If you get the 60 or so fry to grow out..they should be able to pay for their new home (and a bit more).

[fuggers]

tanks arent an issue......got a few in storage.........its the missus that wont let me

they are a mixed line so the fry wouldnt be worth much.

its more "they are laying eggs so it would be nice if they survived".

my house is small and i got 2 little ones trashing the joint at the moment so the missus wont let me start up another tank..

the shed gets too hot this time of year so i dont want to risk the breeding pair, but maybe next winter

 

 

so for a growout tank should i do a poll : new house or new missus? which would be cheaper in the long run?

[Chopstick_mike]

Pretty common with bad parents to do the suck- spit routine and then chuck in a suck-swallow in there.

Also don't think water is an issue..you are getting large spawns so the water is good. I don't even change water once the eggs are laid for 3-4 weeks so as to not spook the parents.

haha this sound a lie dirtier than it should sorry I took it there

[deliriouz]

Good to see I'm not the only person here into fishy porn