Discus Breeding

[BGK]

Hi all,

I'm looking into keeping / eventually breeding discus fish.

I read that you should keep a school of them from when they are small until they are old and hopefully they will pair up as they grow older (either that or buy a breeding pair).

1) I was just wondering, If i brought a few different sizes (say some are 5cm babies, and some are like 10cm) would this lower my chances of them pairing up?

2) What age/sized discus should I purchase to have the best chance of them pairing up eventually? (is it like the older the discus you purchase the least chance of them pairing up?)

Any other tips would be great

[Adrienne]

From my experience they pair up when they are ready and can attempt to spawn a dozen times before they are successful. The only way you will know for sure if you have a male/female pair is when the eggs hatch as it is common for two females to pair up.

Buying mixed sizes of discus often means that the smaller ones will never reach their potential and smaller require more water changes than bigger. Best to buy at 6-8cm if you are new to discus as they are easier to grow up. They generally need to be at least a year before they are ready to breed. Young discus should grow at the rate of at least 1cm per month of their age. If you see 5cm discus advertised at 8 months then you know to give them a miss. If you want to breed buy the same species of discus and know what you are wanting/looking for.

Buy a minimum of five discus and give them a tank of at least 250 litres. They like lots of water over their heads so prefer high tanks.

Discus are cichlids so are aggressive to each other. They do not light brightly lit tanks, preferring cover.

Apart from that there is lots of info on the internet as to keeping and breeding. Most of it is good advice