FISH LUVA Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 IVE GOT 2 4CM DISCUS THAT COME CLOSE TO EACH OTHER AND START WAGGING THER TAILS NEXT TO EACH OTHER AND I WAS WONDERING WHAT THEY'R TRING TO DO ANY HELP PLEASE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Hi Fish Luva, I don't know much about Discus as I don't actually own any, but as u probably already know, Discus are egglayers, so not sure that they actually get to the stage of doing their thing, like Livebearers do, I have Angels which are also egglayers and have to admit have never actually seen them doing their thing as such. Wait and see what other people have to say about this. Lynda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Discus mating behaviour includes "saluting" - tail standing while swimming by each other, "shimmering" - a quick wriggle from head to tail, and other cute dances. If they're just shaking their tails, you may have an internal parasite and considering the size, I'd have to say it's time to de-worm them as they're FAR from breeding size unless they've been dosed up with some serious hormones. Otherwise, they could just be unhappy with water conditions or any number of things... If they are a pair, they'll send lots of time with each other and stake out a territory in the tank that they'll defend other fish from entering. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FISH LUVA Posted February 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 THEY DO THE SHIMMERING THING STAIGHT AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN EATING.BUT I THINK IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THEM FORMING A PAIR. THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 As Alan mentioned already, CAPS is like SHOUTING in the forum world. So yeah, sounds like you have a very small breeding pair if they're actually shimmering. If they're just shaking fins it's a sign of discomfort. I have video of discus matig behaviour but hard to show you when you're there and I'm here... So 4cm, eh? Suppose they might be small for their age. How old are they, if you know? Discus usually don't pair off any sooner than a year old though 6-8 month old breeding has been reported (once again, hormones are attributed to this behaviour). Either way, good luck. If they actually lay some eggs, let us know. Otherwise, got pix? What colour strians do you own? Did you buy them from a local? There was a popular guy from Christchurch that was getting the discus shipped down from importers/breeders to make them available to locals, can't remember his name though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 LOL, Luke beat me to that post. Good point though, could be sparring. Let's ask this, what other behaviour have you observed your discus doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FISH LUVA Posted February 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 The discus ive got are had 1 parent blue turquiouse another plain blue discus. Another action the've been doing is locking their mouths together. from fish luva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 :lol: Soz to say but they're fightin, not luvin 8) Cichlids lock mouths when competing for dominance. At 4cm I'm guessing they're about 3-4 months old so you have a lot of growing and waiting before they even think about breeding. One thing to mention is that discus compete this way whether male or female, so you can't sex them by this behaviour. So are they from the same batch/parents? You shouldn't be breeding them, anyways.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 . So are they from the same batch/parents? You shouldn't be breeding them, anyways....[/quote) Blue, mind telling me why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 I feel that interbreeding causes genetic defects and can enhance weaknesses as much as they can bring out specific colour strains. Then again, half of my breeding pairs of fish are from the same clutch anyways so it's a but of a hypocritical view on things. Fish luva, discusguru is one of the breeders I recommended in your other post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 In order to achieve your goal after crossing you have to choose the desire fry which resemble what you are after and inbreed to improve and create a stable fish. This can take anything from 5-10 yrs (if you're lucky) or a total waste of time and effort. Trust me it is not as simple as putting two different colour fish and you get a new colour. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 Yup, Luke and I have fish from a Red Spotted Green Teffe X Royal Red and some look like mum, others like dad and many have thrown back to a wild brown look. I just got a few discus in a bulk order that are white Diamind X Blue Diamond and well... it's not the prettiest colour strain I've ever seen... who woulda thought they'd come out pink and/or grey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FISH LUVA Posted February 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 These discus i bought of someone else so the parents were not mine.Also the fish are almost a year old but the are not growing very fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 Just a thought, are you feeding them up on plenty of Live food? maybe the Diet they are on at the moment is not enuf for them to grow into big strong Fishy's, I don't know, or are Discus a slow growing Fish? I would think Discus would love live food, just as much as other fishy's, not sure tho, I don't have Discus but I am hoping too someday. Blue will be able to point you in the right direction as to what you should be feeding them. Lynda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 Discus are not a slow growing fish. They have to start life the right way . The first month of their live is the most crucial one. Plenty of live food, a variety of diet, plenty of feeding and waterchanges. If you neglect them in the first month don't expect them to grow to their full size. Frequent feeding and waterchanges and tank space is very important. I can grow a discus to 150 mm in 9 mths so they are not slow grower. Fishluva, your fish is probably stunted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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