Setting up breeding Tanks

[norto]

G'Day,
I am just new to this hobby and have noticed that Discus are very hard to get where I live so I have decided to try my hand at breeding them. I have been successful in breeding a wide variety of Australian parrots and I think I can give this a fair shake. I know the two hobbies are like chalk and cheese but they do have simarlarities in the dedication department. So what I am after is some info on setups etc and where in NSW Australia is the best place to obtain some stock.

[samir]

Hi and welcome to the forum. good luck with the breeding. the best place to get stock would be Slippery Little Suckers or some of the people on the forum. you could put up an EOI (Expression of interest) in the classifieds for the fish you want. Regarding breeding setups, I'm not the expert but there are quite a few loitering around the forums and I'm sure you'll get some great advice. :)

[marg]

Might be an idea to indicate whereabouts in NSW you are situated too.,

Regards,

Marg.

[mcloughlin2]

Hi and welcome...
:P

So what I am after is some info on setups etc and where in NSW Australia is the best place to obtain some stock.

Its depends on how deep you want to get into discus breeding...

I reccommend at least 2 x 4ft tanks (growout tanks) and 2 x 2ft (2x2, breeding tanks) for 2 breeding pairs and the young...

Use the two 4ft as growout tanks for the babies and the two 2x2 to house a breeding pair of discus each...

But before you decide to get discus, have you kept and breed fish before?

If not, i do NOT think you should get discus at the moment...you do need experiance to keep these fish happy and healthy.... :wink:

Maybe you could purchase some other american cichlids and gain experiance breeding and caring for them.... :D

[norto]

Thanks for the replies I have kept fish for about 12 years but I have never kept discus. I have bred most of the live bearers as well as some golden rams so as far as knowing that they need alot of attention and care, that goes without saying. What I think makes you successful is knowing what their requirements are and setting things up right first time, so what I am looking for is water temp, what stimulates breeding,What the water hardness should be etc ,I know they need an acidic PH level and that they only need a bare tank to spawn. Do you keep the pair in the breeding tank all the time or once they have spawned and you remove the young ones do you give them a rest in a planted tank?
I do appreciate all the help and I do think that I am up to the challenge but only time will tell.I Live in the Central Tablelands of NSW.
Thanks.

[shayesmommy]

no the young feed off the parents slime coat. so the parents should be kept with the young. Unless you wanted to make an egg paste and feed them yourself all day long.
i dont know much but thats what i do know. there is also a sticky in the breeding section that tells you most of what you need to know i reccomend reading that.
heres the link.
http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3118

and if you do decide to remove the parents there is also link there. but you can look closer when you actually have discus and deside to breed them. :)
goodluck and i hope i was some help

[norto]

Thanks Shayesmommy,
I Just meant after the young ones were independant do you give the parents a rest I am a strong believer in the parents rearing babies of any species.
Thanks again.

[shayesmommy]

im not so sure.
i think you can leave them in there.
i would just to be safe for a time when you start to feed them other stuff when they are older.
im new to the hobby myself.
so i will see what i can come up with.
just learning but i do know that they need there parents at the begining

[Merrilyn]

Hi Norto, and welcome to the forum. If you have experience with keeping and breeding other fish, then you should find very few problems with discus.

There are differences, and they do need different water requirements, but if you meet all their needs, they are a robust fish that will happily live for 10 years or so.

A breeding tank is essential, something around 2 x 18 x 18 is ideal, but anything near that size can be used. Keep it bare bottom with just a breeding cone in there, heater and sponge filter. Nothing else. Discus come from very clean water, so the cleaner you keep the tank, the better. Breeding pairs need daily waterchanges to encourage them to breed. I'd suggest 30% each day is about right. The water needs to be maintained at 30 degrees and very soft, 2 - 6 ppm of GH and KH and a pH of just under 7, so that the water is slightly acidic.

As far as obtaining stock, there are several breeders offering breeding pairs for sale at the moment. A proven breeding pair will not be cheap, and there is absolutely no guarantee that they will breed for you, so that's a risk you take.

The alternative is to buy 6 juveniles and raise them up, and allow them to pair off naturally. This will take you around a year or so, before you get a pair, but there is a good chance you could have more than one pair from the 6 juveniles, and raising them from young fish to mature adults is certainly very rewarding.

Don't expect discus breeding to be easy, because it isn't. If it was, then everyone would be successful, and discus would cost the same as angels.

You can find lots of tips and full instructions on breeding in the "Breeding Basics" forum of this site.

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3118

Good luck with your venture into discus :P

[norto]

Thanks Ladyred,
I would like to obtain a breeding pair as well as setting up some juveniles, How much would you expext tp pay for a breeding pair? I realise that it will vary but a ball park figure will be great.My Brother and I are both setting up some tanks so we will probably try both the juveniles and the mature pairs as it would be interesting to see the differences in succes rate.One last Question do recomend a particular type of sponge filter? and I have read that some people use a terracotter pot upside is this the best or should I get a proper breeding cone?. Once again thanks for the help.
Norto.

[mistakes r crucial]

Hi Norto,

You can expect to pay anything from $400 to $2000 for a breeding pair depending on the strain and quality of fish. As far as cones etc are concerned people use all sorts of different ones. Personally I use cones but others use pots, its down to whatever suits really.
MAC

[norto]

Thanks Mac,
Is there anywhere they would advertise breeding pairs for sale as I have had no luck finding any.
One more thing is it the age of the fish that determines whether it will breed or the physical size(how quick do they grow).
Norto.

[mistakes r crucial]

Norto,

Discus have been known to breed as young as 10 months but at 16 months plus they become far more reliable. I've found that size has very little to do with it. Growth of Discus depends on water quality and how often you feed. The better the water quality and frequency of food the quicker they will grow.

Pairs don't come up for sale that often and when they do they can be expensive and there are no guarantees they will breed for you. You may be better off buying youngsters and growing them out.

I will have young pairs for sale over the next 6 weeks as my breeding system is full. I just have to work out which ones Im keeping and which ones will be sold. They're all from Roy Khoo, approx' 16 months old and there will be Spotted Leopards, Gold Melons, High Fin Blue Diamonds and maybe one pair of Web Leopard Snake Skins.
MAC