Discus laid eggs

OscartheGrouch

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2007
262
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0
Boston
I noticed my pair of snakeskins in my 180G were more territorial lately. They used to only hog up 1/3 the tank but lately it's more like 1/2. To my surprise, I turned on the lights today and noticed eggs on a driftwood branch. I'm not sure if their 1st spawning attempt was any good but the pair are guarding the eggs like crazy. What color should the eggs be? These are yellowish. I plan to move the pair into a 45G tall for future spawns anyways. I'm a bit concerned about the other discus & the 12 clown loaches eating the eggs in that tank.

IMG_0230_600.jpg
 

OscartheGrouch

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2007
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Boston
No replies? Can anybody tell me what fertilized eggs look like or how long does it take for them to hatch?
 

FarT_Rhin0

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 22, 2007
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Middle East
mine laid eggs 3 days ago for the first time too, but they ate them right after. kinda weird. maybe cos they were in a tank with 6 more discus. gotta move them to their own separate tank.
 

azfishfool

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 20, 2007
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Arizona
the fertilized or good ones wont turn white
 

OscartheGrouch

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2007
262
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Boston
I checked on them today. The pair are still guarding the eggs like crazy but I guess because they're still new at it, they've allowed fungus to grow on some of the eggs. Should I pick these off one by one or is it too late for that?
 

azfishfool

Feeder Fish
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Oct 20, 2007
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most pick them off with tweezers
 

ziggy2

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 6, 2007
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IL
You need to get the bad ones out so they don't kill off the good ones.
 

dirtyblacksocks

Fire Eel
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Jan 25, 2008
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Moreno Valley
I've bred discus in the past.

It takes a lot of work, if the gH of your water is over about 7 ppm then the eggs harden before the male can fertilize em'.

Check out http://www.simplydiscus.com and read through their forums - some of the most knowledgable discus breeders in the world post there every day.
 

dirtyblacksocks

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jan 25, 2008
1,542
4
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Moreno Valley
Erm, the eggs are probably molding over because they didn't get fertilized BTW.

To the best of my knowledge there are no waters within the continental U.S. with a low enough gH for discus to successfully breed without the use of an R.O./D.I. system.

Also, females will lay eggs - and discus will pair off - almost a full 1-2 years before the male is mature enough to fertilize eggs.

It can take up to 5 tries for a fully matured pair to actually get it right.

There's a wealth of knowledge at Simply Discus, if you want to get serious about spawning them I would highly suggest heading over there and investing a few hours in reading through their forums.

EDIT:
To give you a bit of background - and keep in mind I have no idea what experience you have with discus, so if this is repetitive don't think I'm trying to lecture you or something - discus normally only spawn during the rain reason. Rain is pretty much 0 gH, literally pure water with very little mineral content. If you want to trigger spawning (and what likely did in the first place - but who knows) you simply perform a large water change (50%+) with water that is about 4 degree's cooler then what's in the tank.

If the water is also R.O./D.I. water, it will encourage pairing behaviors. You'll want to watch those two discus - as the females become pissy with the males after a few unsuccessful spawns and will start to beat on them a lot.
 

OscartheGrouch

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2007
262
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0
Boston
I'm a newbie to spawning Discus so thanks for the info, guys. Much appreciated.
 
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