If I had say 5 discus in a tank and a couple paired and bred what would the others do? Would there be fighting? Would they eat the fry ?
Keeping multiple discus
- Thread starter Jag586
- Start date
The parents would fight off all other fishes that go near the spawning site. But once the discus fry are free swimming, they will become food for the other fish. Some times the parents would eat them too. If not eaten, then they will be sucked into the filter intake. It's best to take out the rest of the fish and just leave the parents there and also put a screen on the intake. Or better yet, set up a breeding tank with a matured sponge filter.
So could I keep like 5 discus in a main tank and when they are ready to breed put them in a 50 gallon alone ?
If they paired off you could separate the main tank with a divider of some sort but only if aquarium is large enough or place pair in seperate aquarium but watch out for agression.
50 gallon is too big as a breeding tank because when the fry become free swimming they may wander off away from the parents and starve. I've tried the divider method, but find that some fry will get trapped in the small gap between the glass and divider then die. There is a short window 24-48hrs after free swimming when they must be learn to eat the slime off the parents skin. A 20-29 gallon tank would be ideal for breeding so that the fry are within close proximity to the parents. I also lower the water level during the critical window of initial fry attachment.