View Full Version : what to feed to discus fry?
shekes
11-07-2005, 12:50 PM
What do I feed to discus fry?
I had 8 discus sharing a 70g with some 30 neons and stuff. Contrary to how I understood it works, eventhough they only met as adults, two of them spawned on the glass. Yesterday I removed all the other fish. The female takes hatchlings in her mouth and attaches them to the glass a few inches away from the eggs.
What do I do next? When do I start feeding the fry and with what?
shekes
11-07-2005, 8:41 PM
Come on girls! Nobody at all?
dont no but can we see some pics :naughty:
DeLgAdO
11-07-2005, 9:37 PM
DO NOT remove the fry once they hatched
leave them with the parents, because they need to feed off the parents slime coat.
think of it as a new born kitten that needs moms milk, it is needed for proper growth, immune system developement and defense.
DeLgAdO
11-07-2005, 9:39 PM
once they get just alittle bigger than a quarter you can start feeding them small food items.
try to get a food made for discus
Hatch brine shrimp to feed to the fry.
Zoodiver
11-08-2005, 3:33 PM
DO NOT remove the fry once they hatched
leave them with the parents, because they need to feed off the parents slime coat.
think of it as a new born kitten that needs moms milk, it is needed for proper growth, immune system developement and defense.
Exactly! Once they start to venture away from the parents, try ground flake food or hatching brine for them. Those are the best ways to get them up to size.
shekes
11-08-2005, 7:49 PM
The fry are gone. looks like the parents ate'm. :swear:
ogre929
12-27-2005, 10:00 AM
that sucks that they got munched, but at least you know that you've got a pair that's rarin to get down and make babies! which is never a bad thing. But at least you now know what baby discus eat....yummy yummy slime.
shekes
12-27-2005, 1:39 PM
Well, that was at the beginning of November. Since then this couple spawned about 10 times but always ended up cannibalising their poor offspring.
basement fish lovers
12-27-2005, 1:57 PM
Have to admit I am new at this but I have found the best thing with most fish (so they don't get munched) is to remove them and start off on powdered food and fresh brine shrimp. If I leave fish they get munched..... why take the chance.
shekes
12-27-2005, 2:29 PM
That is the issue:
If I remove the parents, what will the fry eat?
discusfreak2005
12-27-2005, 11:50 PM
dont remove the rest of the discus from the tank, take the pair and move them to a 20 or similar sized tank by themselves if possible, barebottom and with a spongefilter. after the babies hatch, theyll be able to survive for at least 4 or 5 days off the parenst slime coat. try to feed newly hatched brine shrimp and other prepared foods for baby fish. after 2- 2 1/2 weeks remove parents and put back in the main tank. continue to feed the babies brineshrimp and start to incorporate other foods like flakes and other foods that youre feeding the main tank. once the babies are about quarter sized or larger, and taking regular foods, they can be put back in the main tank as well.
DeLgAdO
12-27-2005, 11:53 PM
That is the issue:
If I remove the parents, what will the fry eat?
have you been feeding the parents?
shekes
12-28-2005, 8:41 AM
Mine or yours MFKer?
shekes
12-28-2005, 8:47 AM
dont remove the rest of the discus from the tank, take the pair and move them to a 20 or similar sized tank by themselves if possible, barebottom and with a spongefilter. after the babies hatch, theyll be able to survive for at least 4 or 5 days off the parenst slime coat. try to feed newly hatched brine shrimp and other prepared foods for baby fish. after 2- 2 1/2 weeks remove parents and put back in the main tank. continue to feed the babies brineshrimp and start to incorporate other foods like flakes and other foods that youre feeding the main tank. once the babies are about quarter sized or larger, and taking regular foods, they can be put back in the main tank as well.
The parents are the ones eating the fry. At least the father does. I have moved both to a 55g with a UGF only over a month ago and they keep doing that.
There are some 20 neons in this tank but I think they are too small to swallow discus fry.
Any other suggestions?
Zoodiver
12-28-2005, 9:57 AM
I wouldn't put it past anything to pick off fry. Discus usually make good parents. Parents tend to the eggs and fry together. However, if it is in deed the male doing the damage, then remove him once the eggs are laid and fertilized.
DeLgAdO
12-29-2005, 4:48 AM
the male never eats the eggs both parents have an equal share in caring for the kids
it could be a "defective" male
let me add this '' not all discus or fish are created equal'' if an oscar will kill and eat a pleco and a baby tsn 4.5'' then a male discus will eat it's young but not alway's .. IMO divide the pair once hatched but make it so that the fry only have full range of the tank (hole's in divider small enough so parent's can't fit through)
if you don't want this then try leaving the light on ! fish feed in the wild at early morning(twylight) and early evening (dusk) in my experiance when the light's go out the baby's go bye bye.. :( as for food I agree with what was stated already ground up flake / pellet's (parent's food) , brine shrimp (live) frozen mite work too thaw it first..
you've got some delicate fish and you got them to breed too.. that's cool man ..
:clap
shekes
12-29-2005, 8:08 PM
the male never eats the eggs both parents have an equal share in caring for the kids
it could be a "defective" male
Did you finally lose your mind flaco?
What are you trying to insult my fish now?
To your information most peolpe say that is the most beautiful fish I have.
hahahhaa , DeLgAdO said ''defective'' like they came from an assembly line , '' oop's send that one back through roy''! :D
The parents will eat the fry if they think the fry are in danger. They figure it might as well be them. If you see eggs remove the other fish, not the parents! You will have better luck this way.
"Defective male" ??? WTH (what the heck???)
From my experience, when a pair eats its eggs, it usually has to do with one of several problems...including: small spawn, poor water conditions, ecto-parasites bothering pair, internal parasites bothering pair, shadows above the tank or even movement around the tank. It is always advisable to clean up the pair just before they spawn with either Potassium Permanganate, a 3% salt dip, formalin or 35% HP. Also, deworm the pair every few months for nematodes and/or tapeworms. This will ensure a healthy pair that will produce healthy fry that will grow much easier and faster.
-Ryan
phreakyfaerie
01-19-2006, 1:35 PM
after they are about 10 days old they will be finished with the slime coat, there is a frozen food called cyclop-eez, i swear by it for fry, my fry grow fast, have good color and appear to be very healthy.i feed them4-5 times a day and they get frozen brine shrimp once a day.
phreakyfaerie
01-19-2006, 1:38 PM
also try taping black paper or a sheet around the tank, i have some fish we have to do this to because they freak out and eat the fry when someone walks by the tank. if you use paper you can cut a viewing window into it so you can peek in and check on them for awhile
phreakyfaerie
01-19-2006, 1:39 PM
cyclop-eez and a black paper works for me every time.
estrump
01-30-2009, 11:04 PM
Should you notice one of the pair is eating fry, remove the offending parent and let the single parent raise them. This works out well, but you have to be careful not to let the fry overwhelm the single parent. You will know when they are distressed by the fry - clamped fins, listing, very dark, and generally looking miserable during "nursing" times. Assuming you are feeding the fry baby brine shrimp, it's best to see at least three feedings with pink or orange showing in the bellies of the fry before removing the parent (or fry). The fry will do just fine without a parent from that point on. For my pair I have to remove the female about 3 days after the fry are free swimming fry and the male about a week later (at the most!). The number of fry and the robustness of the pair really determine how much the parents can stand. At first my pair didn't appear to produce enough secretions for the fry but now they are on the 4th spawn and they are doing very well. BTW - If you see the parents flinch while "nursing," that's a clue to do something quickly because their flesh is being eaten!