Hey guys, just noticed one of my discs laying eggs on the heater (why the heater??) and AS she is laying eggs, another discus is eating it straight away! is this normal?

Trying to get a cone as well.

The discus is also pecking at the heater, is it still safe to leave on?

Thanks.

It could be that both discus are female?

are they in their own tank?

Thanks for the reply guys. They are in a tank with other discus in there. it seems they all want to go and eat it the second shes laying it!

thats pretty much standard behaviour for a group of discus in a tank. If the discus are young and there is in fact a pair there it can take several times before the eggs last long enough to develop in to wrigglers. With more than a pair in a tank the eggs are never going to last. Is any discus actually fertilising the eggs?

Theres nothing wrong for the parents to eat the eggs it's natural for them to do that, you can try turning off the heater if you have a spare maybe you could use that.

It takes time for them to get to the stage where they actually look after their young, goodluck with the breeders.

It could be that both discus are female?

what?

He means both fish may be female (and not male, or one female and one male)

A female fish does not need a male if she wants to lay eggs, he is only needed to fertilise them.

probably not ready to breed?

conditions need changing, dont know had the same problem

then deci9ded, im not a breeder of fish lol

what?

ho·mo·sex·u·al·i·ty   /ˌhoʊməˌsɛkʃuˈælɪti, or, especially Brit., -ˌsɛksyu-/ Show Spelled

[hoh-muh-sek-shoo-al-i-tee, or, especially Brit., -seks-yoo-] Show IPA

–noun

sexual desire or behavior directed toward a person or persons of one's own sex.

:slfg:

I once had two male gold severums that were trying to breed, dug holes in the substrate and everything, they eventually broke up after having an argument because both of them refused to lay eggs.

I also had 5 jewels that kept pairing up into different pairs and would chase all the other fish off into the corner of the tank then lay eggs. After trying every single combination of them in a different tank it turned out that all 5 were females.

Thanks guys, ill monitor them again, i am guess the discus are quite young and have not matured enough for them to breed (they are quite young i guess).

Ill keep keep you guys updated:)

sounds like they're breeding fine they just can't work on their rearing skills cos of the distractions in the tank

Hey guys, just noticed one of my discs laying eggs on the heater (why the heater??) and AS she is laying eggs, another discus is eating it straight away! is this normal?

Trying to get a cone as well.

The discus is also pecking at the heater, is it still safe to leave on?

Thanks.

As others have said, the first thing you need to do is to detemine if you do have a male and a female and that they are paired up. The first is relatively easy, the second not so.

If there is only one fish making passes over the spawning surface, and eggs are appearing behind it, quite obviously that is a female. If there is a second fish passing over the surface, it could be a female or a male. You need to have a look at the breeding tubes (which will often be extended some time before and after the actual act of egg laying). The females breeding tube is a cylinder, the males is smaller and more pointed.

If the fish are young (how young?), it would not hurt to leave them in the community tank, in fact, this can be quite beneficial as it can strengthen their bond and teach them how to protect their spawn. I have a pair that ate their eggs on the second night, every time. I introduced a small male into their breeding tank and the pairs' next spawn was successful.

If the fish are young, and you are unsure if there is even a pair, I would just leave them to it and see what happens. Some pairs just need lots of practice.

Hope that helps.

Thanks guys. they are prob 1.5 years old?? I haven't seen the discus try lay any more eggs lately. I guess my tank now is 'finally' ready or the right conditon for them to lay eggs hence why i think they were a bit delayed.

Thanks guys. they are prob 1.5 years old?? I haven't seen the discus try lay any more eggs lately. I guess my tank now is 'finally' ready or the right conditon for them to lay eggs hence why i think they were a bit delayed.

18 months old is not old, I know some have success with fish as young as 12 months, but more often they do not have much success until they are 24 months old.