Buying pairs or juveniles?

[DiscusEden]

Hi all,

More questions for you. Your help is really very much appreciated.

I'm hoping to fit 8 discus in my tank - I've asked about stocking rates on a previous post. I'd like to get 2 each of 4 colours, and, since I'm thinking about breeding them and would prefer to keep the strains pure (not crosses).

I'm wondering if it would cause problems to buy 4 pairs and put them in the community tank, then take one or 2 pairs out at a time to put in breeding tanks, then return them to rest the parents between broods.

OK, here's the questions:
1. Would putting more than one pair in a community tank cause fights?
2. Would taking pairs out & returning them cause pecking order issues continually?
3. If the above issues would cause major problems would it be better to give up on breeding & just buy juveniles?
4. What do you guys think of the plan?

Thanks!
DiscusEden :)

[dachoo]

Hi DiscusEden

Your Plan will not work cos 2 each of 4 colours wil normally cross breed even if you buy them as pair. Plus it would cost you you more to buy 4 comfirm pair yet to put them together. The only way to see your plan to work is to put all female in a tank & all the male in another tank. Once been condition & you are ready you can put them into their owm breeding tank.

DA

[the_oracle]

I would go with dachoo. First of all, set your target. Whether you want to raise them from young or straight into breeding. To put 4 pairs in a comm. tank just defeat the purpose of getting pairs. If you have breeding tanks, it would be better to put each couple in their own tank. The breeding tank can act as a QT tank and then will later convert to a breeding tank.
To get 2 each of 4 colours will not guarantee they are of the same strain. This will lead to crosses. You will eventually get mixture of discus. It's better to get 4 different strains. If this is your first time into breeding, I would recommend you get a PB or Turq to start with. These strains are the easier ones compared to the others.


Sanie.

[DiscusEden]

Hi dachoo & sanie. Thanks very much for responding - and so quickly!

I'm a little confused. I thought these guys chose their own mates and stuck with them - and that's why you pay so much more for confirmed pairs than individual male & female fish? Wouldn't seperating them break these bonds? Are you saying that confirmed pairs will swap partners given the opportunity?

And do breeding pairs need to take a break in a larger tank, or can you leave them in a 2 or 3 foot BB tank the whole time?

Just wanting to get it straight.

Thanks again. I could be making some very expensive mistakes without your help! So thanks,
DiscusEden

[dachoo]

Hi DiscusEden
Normally if you buy 4 pair & put them in a same tank, they do cross with other. You pay extra cos of comfirm gental in pair & you pay more extra if the pair has raise fry to free swimming.

Breeding pair is perfectly find in a breeding tank as long as both are in the breedeing period. If one of them stop & take a rest then the other one is still in breeding mood, this will cos the one having a rest to get strees.( you have to take one out). If both having a rest period, it cool.
But you do have the option to separate them. It may just take a bit longer for them to breed again once back together.

DA

[Merrilyn]

Unfortunately for us, discus don't pair for life, and they don't stick to their own colour strains, so mixing of colours is very possible. They do prefer to choose their own partners, but when that's not possible, they will often quite happily accept the mate you give them.

Just watch the pair when you first put them together, for signs of excessive agression.

If you are paying for mated pairs, then it would be a mistake to put them into a community tank. The pair bond can be easily broken. Either that, or they will take over a section of the tank as their own territory, and fight with all the other discus in the tank.

My suggestion to you would be to get just one breeding pair, and start with that. You can buy some juveniles to put into your community tank, and allow them to grow. If your mated pair breed, you'll definately have your hands full with the fry from just one pair. More pairs means more breeding tanks, and more grow out tanks, and lots more waterchanges. Remember that breeding pairs and fry tanks need at least daily waterchanges, and preferably twice daily water changes on fry tanks.

Good luck with your new venture.

[DiscusEden]

Thanks dachoo,

So the idea if I have room for 8 adults in the tank, is to buy 6 I think are pretty, and if any pair off it's a bonus. Then buy a breeding tank, buy a pair & if one needs a rest, to put it in the community tank (making 7) is that right? (Or could I get 7 in the tank & add the extra if & when needed to rest it, making it 8?)

Thanks again for your help, you guys are just fantastic!
DiscusEden

[DiscusEden]

Thanks Ladyred,

Got it. So I'll get the younger ones for the community tank, then look at a 2 foot breeding tank and a 4 foot grow out tank, then buy a pair - maybe pigeon bloods. This sound about right?

Thanks again. I'm so impressed with this site and all of your help!

DiscusEden

[Merrilyn]

Be very selective when choosing your breeding pair. Price will play a big part in this.

If you're paying for a proven pair, then you want to see the fry they have raised, to make sure they're not chronic egg eaters or fry eaters. If you're just paying for a pair, as in a male and a female, then the price should be a lot lower.

Pigeon blood or turquoise would be an ideal pair to start with. The turks are perhaps a little better when it comes to raising fry, as the parents darken up nicely which means the fry attach more easily.

Once you master the easier strains, then you might like to try your luck with the more exotic ones.

[DiscusEden]

Ok thanks!

The LFS have said they don't want turks, as they already have a local breeder. Would mosaic PB's be OK?

Are the tank sizes I'm looking at OK?

Can you use the same grow out tank for more than one pair if you do enough water changes, or only if they are close in age (and therefore size)?

Thankyou again, and sorry for all the questions,
DiscusEden

[Merrilyn]

It's good to ask questions, don't worry.

Red fish of any kind are always in demand, so anyt kind of PB would be fine. The only thing is you may need to cull the heavily peppered fry, because customers prefer fish with very little peppering.

You can use the same grow out tank for two spawns, so long as you can pick the difference between the colours of the fry.

They do need to be roughly the same age, and therefore the same size.

[DiscusEden]

Thankyou!

So much to look forward to! I've been busy looking at the classified section & drooling, but I'll put some thought into it, as you suggest - and maybe even wait until I've got the tanks cycled.

Thanks again for your help - you have all been very kind & generous with your time.

DiscusEden

[DR.V]

Good luck with it and dont forget to post some pictures later on.