discus pair fighting

[barny trouble]

Hi guys, i'm another newbe to discus breeding and i wonder if the more experienced aquarists out there could help. I have a confirmed pair of discus living happily in a large tank. over the last two weeks they have started fighting, very irregularly to start with but now more so. last night they laid eggs, the third batch in the last 2 months. first couple of batches were eaten promtly, these ones are looking good so far but the fighting continues.

appetites are fine and water is changed 20% daily 50% weekly

I have been keeping a closer eye on water chemistry since the scrapping started and all my levels are still are safe and consistent with previous conditions and nothing to cause me alarm.

google seems to have failed me.

would it be safe to move the male to another tank for a small amount of time then return him at a later stage of the frys development (if they dont eat them)?

any help or advise you guys could give me would be appreciated, i've been keeping fish for years but this behavior has me stumped.

cheers, barny

[Flosty]

Good males are hard to come by,some will fight regularly(not the perfect pair)

Other males will fight for dominance over the eggs and fry

I have had males really beat up females when carrying fry on there backs,they want to be the one to carry fry

Pays to keep an eye on them if he is to aggressive towards the female or starts attacking the fry

It is perfectly fine to remove him or her whichever you feel is the problem

I have removed males and females before with good success just make sure they aren't overwhelmed by large spawns,can be stressful for one parent

Best to get them on bbs early and remove sooner then usual so not to stress the parent

If they have a good bond they will get back together again,even in a community tank

[barny trouble]

thank you, i will remove the male into the bigger tank, when do you think it will be safe to return him to his mate? you really cant fing this sort of knowledge on the net, thanks for sharing.

[Flosty]

Its possible the remaining discus could eat the eggs,because of the disturbance but it is the risk you take

Don't put him back in until you have seperated the fry from the female

Otherwise he might just eat the fry or beat the female up again or they will spawn again and eat the fry anyway

The aggression could be possibly just because he is a young? male perhaps and he may grow out of it.

[barny trouble]

yes he is a young male, still learniing i guess, the eggs were gobbled while i was at work today, the fighting has now stopped.

patience is the best tool right now i think.

[barny trouble]

Hi guys, the fighting has stopped. I moved the male a day after the eggs were eaten for 48 hours then returned him to what seemed to be a good reception, they are now back to cleaning their favorite spot, 4th time lucky hopefully. cheers for all the advise flosty and good luck with your fish.

[Adrienne]

A couple of comments -

Have this pair actually bred before and produced live wrigglers. I am wondering if you have a pair or a couple of females fighting over the batch of eggs.

Some young males will eat their eggs but eventually they do grow out of it.

[Flosty]

Best of luck Barny,If they are happy they should spawn weekly,don't be surprised if it takes them a few goes to get it right.They may still fight a bit

Depending on temp the eggs should go dark after 48hrs and hatch after 60hrs

You should know by 48hrs if you have a fertile male or not