Discus Breeding System
- Thread starter gmaniac
- Start date
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- breeding discus diy diy project
Get the grips on raising fish before breeding them, no point having top notch adults pushing out fry that can't be grown out. Prepare for work!
I wanted to let you know there is a huge update coming soon. Spoiler, I won the North American Discus Association's (NADA) fall raffle!!! The fish are from Uncle Sam's Discus, I won 9 fish and then purchased another 8 on top of that (you know since it was free shipping).
Here is a list and then pictures (pictures are from Uncle Sam's Discus I will be providing mine in the update to come) of what they have sent to me.
Just an FYI, NADA is currently running another raffle for a confirmed pair right now!
I will be posting an update in the coming weeks with an update about the 15 nickel sized discus I got from Joe Gargas at Aqua Research Center. As well as info on the rack, water filtration, etc.
Here is a list and then pictures (pictures are from Uncle Sam's Discus I will be providing mine in the update to come) of what they have sent to me.
- 1x Blue Diamond
- 1x Snow White
- 1x Red Pigeon
- 1x Red Melon
- 1x Yellow Melon
- 1x Yellow Pigeon
- 1x Mystic Red Cover
- 5x Alenquer F1
- 5x Royal F1
Just an FYI, NADA is currently running another raffle for a confirmed pair right now!
I will be posting an update in the coming weeks with an update about the 15 nickel sized discus I got from Joe Gargas at Aqua Research Center. As well as info on the rack, water filtration, etc.
Lovely lovely! Make sure to feed loads, clean loads and breed loads 
Alright it has been too long, I will start with the 15 dime sized I got from Joe Gargas, then I will talk about the rack, and then I will talk about all my raffle success 
Like I said around the end of September (09/22/17) I purchase 15 dime sized.
As you can see I also received 2 Rams, Joe Gargas threw them for free kind like a sampler. They are more aggressive than the discus so I had to get rid of them since I was not yet setup to have rando fish. This picture was taken within a day of getting them. They took about 4 days to arrive going USPS Priority Mail in those breathable bags. They all started eating pretty much immediately. I started feeding them frozen brine shrimp and brine flakes. I then made my own beef heart mix and now rotate through different types of food each meal just to make sure they get everything they need and that they are not picky.
I will describe my missteps then I will post more pics with their dates.
Misstep #1 having your filtration right for the size of the tank. I had my canister filter that was for a 55 gallon on a 20 gallon. In the process of moving I had lost the cover for the inlet so I added a makeshift cover that did not fit exactly (you will see it in one of the photos). The filter being too big was bad for a couple reasons but overlying issue was the flow in the tank was too strong. Having it too strong baby discus can get stunted since they are spending a lot of the energy they should use to grow on just staying in one spot. The other reason is if the fish went to the wrong side of the tank they would get sucked into the filter. Yes, this happened to me and no it did not kill the ones that got sucked in.
Misstep #2 water, water, water... I know everyone says that they will get used to whatever you have over time. I am sure that the remaining few would have maybe possibly been fine eventually, but they were not flourishing by any means. I started losing them left and right, they would turn dark and then stop eating and a that was the end of them. It was not until I invested in a good filtration system and controlled their water did they change from surviving to thriving. I really believe it is was the water though, once I started giving them water I took down to 0ppm and remineralized with my own mix did things start getting better (don't worry I will be giving out the minerals I add to my water).
This next thing I would not say is a misstep but the next step in the process and if I take too much longer will turn into a misstep. Space, everything right now are in 20 gallon tanks which was fine in the beginning but now they are crammed and forcing them to maybe be more mean to each other than they typically would be. I am working on expanding the system and getting the rack operational. It is still in a temporary state at the moment, 4x 20 gallon with a 55 gallon sump. I jerry-rigged the current system in a day or two after I won the first raffle I mentioned previously.
Now for all the pictures of the dime sized, through their growth and die off.
09/26/2017
09/27/2017 (you can see my filter inlet cover kind of and how they are trying to hide from the flow)
09/30/2017
10/10/2017
10/11/2017
10/16/2017
Like I said around the end of September (09/22/17) I purchase 15 dime sized.
- 5 x Curipera Red
- 5 x Wild Tefe Green X Super Red Discus
- 5 x White Spotted Super Red
As you can see I also received 2 Rams, Joe Gargas threw them for free kind like a sampler. They are more aggressive than the discus so I had to get rid of them since I was not yet setup to have rando fish. This picture was taken within a day of getting them. They took about 4 days to arrive going USPS Priority Mail in those breathable bags. They all started eating pretty much immediately. I started feeding them frozen brine shrimp and brine flakes. I then made my own beef heart mix and now rotate through different types of food each meal just to make sure they get everything they need and that they are not picky.
I will describe my missteps then I will post more pics with their dates.
Misstep #1 having your filtration right for the size of the tank. I had my canister filter that was for a 55 gallon on a 20 gallon. In the process of moving I had lost the cover for the inlet so I added a makeshift cover that did not fit exactly (you will see it in one of the photos). The filter being too big was bad for a couple reasons but overlying issue was the flow in the tank was too strong. Having it too strong baby discus can get stunted since they are spending a lot of the energy they should use to grow on just staying in one spot. The other reason is if the fish went to the wrong side of the tank they would get sucked into the filter. Yes, this happened to me and no it did not kill the ones that got sucked in.
Misstep #2 water, water, water... I know everyone says that they will get used to whatever you have over time. I am sure that the remaining few would have maybe possibly been fine eventually, but they were not flourishing by any means. I started losing them left and right, they would turn dark and then stop eating and a that was the end of them. It was not until I invested in a good filtration system and controlled their water did they change from surviving to thriving. I really believe it is was the water though, once I started giving them water I took down to 0ppm and remineralized with my own mix did things start getting better (don't worry I will be giving out the minerals I add to my water).
This next thing I would not say is a misstep but the next step in the process and if I take too much longer will turn into a misstep. Space, everything right now are in 20 gallon tanks which was fine in the beginning but now they are crammed and forcing them to maybe be more mean to each other than they typically would be. I am working on expanding the system and getting the rack operational. It is still in a temporary state at the moment, 4x 20 gallon with a 55 gallon sump. I jerry-rigged the current system in a day or two after I won the first raffle I mentioned previously.
Now for all the pictures of the dime sized, through their growth and die off.
09/26/2017
09/27/2017 (you can see my filter inlet cover kind of and how they are trying to hide from the flow)
09/30/2017
10/10/2017
10/11/2017
10/16/2017
Continuing the photos of dime sized.
11/07/2017 (in this batch you will see that one of them is deformed and has bent tail <- I think that is what it is called)
11/20/2017
11/22/2017
01/03/2018 (they finally got moved into the temporary rack, also now down to 5 of the original 15)
11/07/2017 (in this batch you will see that one of them is deformed and has bent tail <- I think that is what it is called)
11/20/2017
11/22/2017
01/03/2018 (they finally got moved into the temporary rack, also now down to 5 of the original 15)
Okay, so the rack is moving along slowly, very slowly. I seem to either never get the right parts or just completely misjudge something. In all things a software developer works on we over complicate it.
Well here is the progress I have made. This is a post on the filtration I setup, I created a 7 stage filtration system. Originally, it was only 6 stage and then it became clear to me that I need to add an RO unit to hit the numbers I wanted.
Stages:
My city has awful water and they report wrong numbers to the residents. I did not realize it until I start looking into everything for this project. The city promotes that we have good quality water, from my testing we are close to 600ppm strait from the tap and 8+ ph. I figured out that is why I was losing those dime sized babies and some of the new fish were having health problems. Even doing large water changes daily did nothing for these fish.
It was night and day between giving these fish better water quality. With minerals added back in I come out to around 75ppm and about 6ph. With these levels I have fish laying eggs now. Quick side note I keep the rack at about 75-120ppm, the new water being added to the rack is ~75ppm.
You may be asking what minerals is he adding back in, well I dug through old posts on simplydiscus forum and found some mixes that people recommended. Here is the one I am using and the fish seem to really like.
For Mixture RO Water TDS
Breeding 1/2 tsp 50 gal ~40 ppm
Fry 1 tsp 50 gal ~80 ppm
Growout/Adult 1-1/2 tsp 50 gal ~120 ppm
I have been keeping my tanks in the Fry to Growout/Adult range.
Here are images of what I have been talking about
So my process is to have staging water always ready I run it through all these filters and then store it in an extra 55 gallon tank I have. In the 55 gallon I aerate, heat, and remineralize the water, then I can use it to do my water change. Once I have the full rack up and running I will be using a 275 gallon IBC tote to stage my water in. This 55 gallon is just a temporary setup.
I added pressure gauges throughout my filtration setup to keep an eye on how well my filters are holding up.
Well here is the progress I have made. This is a post on the filtration I setup, I created a 7 stage filtration system. Originally, it was only 6 stage and then it became clear to me that I need to add an RO unit to hit the numbers I wanted.
Stages:
- Sediment Filter (1 micron nominal) (block)
- Sediment Filter (1 micron absolute) (pleated)
- Carbon Block Filter (ground seashell)
- OBE Ceramic Filter (0.9 micron absolute)
- Sediment Filter (0.2 micron absolute)
- 2x RO membrane in parallel (total 300g/day)
- Resin (MBD-30 Nuclear Grade Mixed Bed DI Resin)
My city has awful water and they report wrong numbers to the residents. I did not realize it until I start looking into everything for this project. The city promotes that we have good quality water, from my testing we are close to 600ppm strait from the tap and 8+ ph. I figured out that is why I was losing those dime sized babies and some of the new fish were having health problems. Even doing large water changes daily did nothing for these fish.
It was night and day between giving these fish better water quality. With minerals added back in I come out to around 75ppm and about 6ph. With these levels I have fish laying eggs now. Quick side note I keep the rack at about 75-120ppm, the new water being added to the rack is ~75ppm.
You may be asking what minerals is he adding back in, well I dug through old posts on simplydiscus forum and found some mixes that people recommended. Here is the one I am using and the fish seem to really like.
- Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) 12.2 oz
- Epson Salts (Magnesium) (MgSO4) 2.2 oz
- Potassium Sulfate (K2SO4) 0.08 oz
- Sodium Chloride (Aquarium Salt) (NaCL) 0.5 oz
- Manganese Sulfate (MnSO4) 1/16 tsp
For Mixture RO Water TDS
Breeding 1/2 tsp 50 gal ~40 ppm
Fry 1 tsp 50 gal ~80 ppm
Growout/Adult 1-1/2 tsp 50 gal ~120 ppm
I have been keeping my tanks in the Fry to Growout/Adult range.
Here are images of what I have been talking about
So my process is to have staging water always ready I run it through all these filters and then store it in an extra 55 gallon tank I have. In the 55 gallon I aerate, heat, and remineralize the water, then I can use it to do my water change. Once I have the full rack up and running I will be using a 275 gallon IBC tote to stage my water in. This 55 gallon is just a temporary setup.
I added pressure gauges throughout my filtration setup to keep an eye on how well my filters are holding up.
Continuation of my filtration system (included this because now this whole house filtration is a pre filter for the fish filtration). My wife saw how much crud was being pulled from our water and how bad it is coming out of the tap. So she gave me the go ahead to add a whole house filtration system and water softener. Now I in all things over did it a little, but I was thinking I need to go over the top because I was going to be using a lot of water for the fish.
Stages:
If it looks a little weird, yes I did it myself haha!
Stages:
- Sediment Filter 20" (5 micron nominal)
- Sediment Filter 10" (5 micron nominal)
- Whole house Charcoal Filter (removes Chlorine, Chloramine, etc)
- Water Softener (80k grain)
- Sediment Filter 10" (0.3 micron absolute)
If it looks a little weird, yes I did it myself haha!
