Basics for a Discus Fish Breeder

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 *Discus fish breeding can be difficult in a captive environment, it requires a lot of patience on behalf of the Discus breeder. Before your Discus fish will breed, they must have optimal water conditions in their tank. They breed and raise fry best when they are 12 to 24 months old. The water temperature should be at kept between 84 to 85 degrees. The water should be slightly acidic with a pH level around 6.5. The water needs to be very clean at all times, ideally you should change about 25% of the water once or twice each week. If the water conditions are met and you feed your Discus fish a well-balanced diet, consisting of frozen bloodworms, omega one flake and freeze-dried krill they will turn into good breeders, and if compatible good parents.

Water Parameters for Breeding

I have found the best aquarium size for breeding pairs are 20-gallon tanks, placed in a quiet area away from unnecessary foot traffic, loud noises, and intense light. Keep the ph below neutral around 6.5 and water temperature at 85 degrees. I do not alter my tap hardness; I have found the pairs and fry adapt and do fine when I don’t mess with it. Keep their tank fresh and free of decaying uneaten food by doing a 25 percent water change twice a week. There is much written about how to induce spawning, my experience has been that once they are ready, the pair will start their spawning cycle, trying to induce spawning would do nothing more than put unnecessary stress on them.

Breeding

If the ideal conditions are met, and your Discus are healthy, then spawning is likely to follow. A little-known observation of mine is that spawning activity increases a few days before and after a full or new moon. Together, they will clear out one or more spots in the tank for potential spawning sites. When you see this occurring, you should move your breeding pair to their separate 20-gallon tank, or remove the other fish from the Discus tank until the babies are large enough so they will not be harmed or worst eaten. Once the female lays her eggs, the male will fertilize them. If all goes well, the eggs will hatch in 3 days, in another 3 days they will become free swimming fry. I’m a firm believer to let the fish do all the work, while I keep their environmental conditions in the tank perfect while they raise their brood of fry.

Newborn Care

After they become free swimming, the newborns will eat food secreted from their parent’s body, a sort of nutrient slime. I have found at this point, turning the temperature up to 88 degrees will helps stimulate appetite and growth. The parents will continue to feed the babies this secretion from their bodies until they are about 2 weeks old. Because it is an essential part of successful Discus fish breeding, make sure that the babies are not separated from their parents while they are feeding from them. After they are about 3 weeks old, they will be start to eat regular foods that is finely chopped or ground up to a small size.

Young Care

To help ensure that Discus fish breeding results in healthy young fish, be sure to keep the tank clean and monitor the water conditions carefully while they are growing. It takes about two months for the babies to reach 2 inches in size measuring nose to tip of tail, you must be careful to keep them away from predators that could harm or eat them. Feeding the fry a variety of foods that contain assorted vitamins and minerals will help them grow, so stick with finely chopped frozen bloodworms and ground omega one flake to help maximize growth. Once the fry is eating these foods it would be appropriate to move them to their own 20- or 30-gallon aquarium. Patience is a must to be a successful Discus fish breeder. 

Learn More; Acclimating New Discus Fish