Luke*

Yup fry start feeding on whole baby brine shrimp 7 days after free swimming and you can, if you want, take babies away 2 weeks after or leave them longer, up to you. Some believe they get some immunity passed through to the fry from the parents secretion on their sides.

Adult discus will graze along the bottom for 10minutes after feeding. I'm not sure about discus fry though. Brine shrimp I would say would be better for their nutrient value as the fresh ones still have egg sack attached.

Whether fish feel pain or not, dyeing does lead to a reduced lifespan and sterility; this is NOT GOOD for the fish or the fish keeper. Unfortunately it seems impossible to stop the idiot train. Recently I heard that new research suggested fish feel more than we thought, and could be protected under existing animal laws. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770 Oh and I agree with Alan, if they ever get here just don't buy them.

they'd go for live food, small daphnia, small mosquito larvae too. You can buy frozen baby brine shrimp too if live is becoming too much of a pain, i just started making some and i can understand what ya mean. altho they appear to spit it out, i'm sure they're taking some down, eventually they'd get so hungry if you stopped feeding the other food they'd just eat it all.

yeah it's quite amazing, my aim as well is to try to provide the best and most comfortable natural homes possible, for some fish better than the wild as no predators or lack of food

The ammonia should be zero. It takes 2 weeks for a fresh filter to 'cycle' when put in with an an existing cycled one.

i agree pygmy is smallest, panda cories are small and cute too

Fishluva does the eye look large compared to the rest of the fish? google discus you will see some nice examples with small eyes. Large eye usually means it's stunted. Like Ronnie said variety is key; yes they love live foods like white worms, mosquito larvae, and daphnia. In the wild fish a lot (not all) are believed to be stunted because of lack of food in the wild. If you look up wild photos you will notice the eye is larger than on domestic breeds. So like Ronnie said the early stage of life is important.

Yeah the common agreement out there is you can't 'make' money off it, but you may make enough to break even. This would be if you're breeding a lot of discus per month too. It's best to breed for your own wants, e.g bigger school of tetras and go from there with any excess.

You should be a member of the FNZAS as there's an article in it about just that, converting a greenhouse to a pond! Ask Discusguru about orandas I believe he use to breed these in Auckland

Yeah wasn't sure if it was right or not hence the 'thought'. It was on myfishtank.net that was talked about there. Nice shoot down Ira. Bear in mind chicken isn't designed for humans or cats in particular therefore both can eat it.

More than likely they are "sparring", i.e fighting or displaying to create their place within the pecking order. As discus are cichlids they have a pecking order meaning you have an alpha male/female and a runt of the litter (bottom of the chain). They don't breed until about a year old.

I thought you couldn't , or shouldn't, because goldfish have a slower metabolism being in cold water than tropicals and therefore have different foods.

Hey BlueandKim nice tank! looks really good and placid as you say. Freshwest yeah one of them does look quite brown and wild as you say, but they are all from RSTG x Royal Red, maybe it's a throwback to earlier genetics? I have a pair in a 60G spawning tank at the moment waiting for them to lay eggs. Blue has also got a pair, funnily enough his breeding female is the sister to my brothers and sisters above.

Very nice combination, keep us updated with pics of the fry

Not sure sorry buddy, give it a shot. Try another bigger water change with water of the same parameters and temperature (you do warm the water you add right?) and try adding some peat to the water which will relax the fish.

Congrats Freshwest that is awesome! What kind of discus are they? Any pics? The fry will start taking newly hatched brine shrimp on day 7 of free swimming (day1 = first day free swimming) so you might want to hold off on the bbs for a few more days. Most people I would say leave the fry with the parents for a good few weeks, but given your predicament I think moving them early as suggested is a good idea! Why don't you catch the fry after 10 days, then catch the parents, put the parents in a seperate tank then put the fry in with them? Just a thought. Good to have the night light on too. Jammos most people use a 29 gal tank (120L), which is usually 3 foot long. But some use between 20G and 60G. If using a bigger tank you may need to drop the water level right down so the fry can find the parents when free swimming.

Wow absolutely stunning, the extra light of the metal hallides really is worth it. So the SAEs eat thread algae aka hair algae? Was that the green stuff?

Hey Peanuts sounds like a close call! Are you sure it wasn't the air line tubing coming off the filter/airstone and creating a siphon effect? I had this happen on my 300L once and didn't realise until all the fish were bagged and moved and there was only about 10cm high of water still left in it! Could you not have just filled up the tank in the garage and moved the fish in there?

Nice one, the pics look fine

Re phosphates in tap water in Hamilton I have had my suspicions for ages too because I always have a problem with hair algae (another reason to try some excel ). I'll call the council see if I can get a water report and then post the info.

Fish first, answer the wife's questions later Alan, so you connect this extra thermostat to the heater so it has two?

I had exactly the same situation a few weeks ago, a pair +3 other adults and also one smaller one, i had to go to work (stupid work!) on the day they went free swimming and when i got back they were all gone. I'd definitely move the fry first to a seperate tank, then move the parents, they will sort the rest out for you.

Thanks for sharing Blue, bit confused by your double the intial dose (approx 1/4 of initial) statement tho??????? so is the consensus to do a "normal dose" FIRST, then double it a few days later, double from the start, or just add another normal dose in a few days after initially just giving the tank a normal dose? JoandWilly have you found the BBA comes back? Just curious because Excel is not cheap

Well...I'd say it's because no one knows about these things, or how they work, where you get them from, how you rig them up etc etc. Maybe there should be an article on it? I don't know the answers to the above questions.