Discus Fish: "Breeding Discus Fish Made Simple"

by Karen Jones

Breeding Discus fishes has become truly an art form for many fish lovers. Such care is required during this process as they can be quite fastidious to breed, susceptible to disease and easily stressed if they are not kept under optimal conditions. Notwithstanding this, you will still find that most Discus fish are being bred in captivity and given the development of new technology, maintaining optimal water conditions has become much easier to sustain.

One of the most important factors to look out for when you are embarking on the breeding process is the chemistry of the water level. You want to test this as you need to achieve the right balance of chloramines, chlorine, pH and alkalinity before placing these fishes in the water. Having established the correct level of pH and alkalinity in your raw water, a simple colour test kit will determine the presence and concentration of either. You need to ensure that you keep your pH below 7 and above 5.5. The ideal pH for discus is 6. At pH levels above 7, discus are stressed. Below 5.5, the pH is inclined to plunge rapidly, so you will probably find that 6 to be comfortable for both the fish and the fish keeper.

Once the parents have spawned new eggs, you have a choice of either leaving them in the tank with the new fry hoping that they get it right. However, the eggs would be at risk of being eaten, so you may wish to invest some time in raising the new discus fish yourself. If you choose the latter, then remove the eggs after a few hours and place them into a smaller tank in some of the water from the main tank to maintain the same environment and water temperature that they were born in. Insert a little sponge filter or air stone to assist with the filtration process. To prevent egg fungus, it is recommended that you add a couple drops of methyl blue in the water and within around 48 hours the eggs should hatch. Within a further 72 hours they will eat their own yolk sacks and will be swimming freely.

Then you need to ensure that the correct diet is implemented - very little and often is the key, say, 4 or 5 times a day. They should be fed on liquid fry food and rotifers and then in a couple of days feed them on newly hatched brine shrimp and powder fish food.

Ensure that all large floating particles of uneaten food, fish waste, and plant waste is removed from the tank to sustain a pollutant free environment. 50% of the water should be changed every day, but make sure when doing so the same chemical environment is maintained as before, otherwise the new fish will become stressed.

After a fortnight, you will be able to move the new school of discus fish to a bigger tank, preferably using a container as a net so as not to cause them any stress or damage in the process. As they are such particular fishes, continue to feed them 4 times a day with a 50% daily water change and watch them flourish.

About the Author

Karen uses a great system for caring for her discus fish