Tips and trick to trigger spawning

[DR.V]

Hi, I currently have a breeding pair , and dont know any trick to trigger spawning. Can someone share with me their secret ? I keep them in a breeding tank 50cmX50xm X40cm height. I keep the water 35cm high with a clay cone in the middle. I use sponge filter powered by air pump. Water temp is 28-30 and pH 6.5. Feed them hikari bloodworms twice a day. Thanks for those who wants to share with me.

[Merrilyn]

Welcome to the forum DR.V. To trigger spawning, we need to think about what would trigger spawning in their natural habitat.

With the start of the rainy season, the rivers fill with clean water, slightly cooler that normal, and that washes a huge amount of food into the rivers. The fish revel in the abundance of clean water and food, and begin to pair and spawn. So that gives us an idea where to start.

To stimulate spawning in the tank, you need to do daily water changes of about 50% with slightly cooler water than normal. Even a drop of 1 - 2 degrees will help. The quality and variety of their food also needs to be increased, so try frozen brine shrimp, frozen beef heart mix and dry pellets as well as blood worms. If you can get live brine shrimp or mossie wrigglers, so much the better.

It is also important that you do actually have a pair, and that they are old enough, i.e. over 12 months. Hope that helps.

[kalebjarrod]

50% daily water cahnges and live food

+ barry white

[Merrilyn]

Barry White indeed And that's from a man who thinks he's Fabio

[DR.V]

One suggested that daily water changes of about 50% would be good. Should I put the water in a bucket and aerated it overnight? or should I just change it straight from the tap? I dont use lighting right now, is that necessary? Also is it a good idea to lower the pH to 5.5 ?? Thanks

[Merrilyn]

Ph of 5.5 is not necessary. 6.5 to 6.8 is fine for spawning discus. I find softness more important than a very low pH.

You should set up a couple of buckets to age your water. Aerate and heat for 24 hours prior to use, and then add dechlorinator.

So long as they have good room lighting, that's fine. Additional tank lighting is nice to be able to see your fish, but it's not necessary for breeding.

[Ben]

The best tip i find is, patience!

[Merrilyn]

And that, prodigy, is the most important tip of all

[Kaza]

I still stick with my regular water changes, I find the best thing is two or three days on live blackworms/BS. It seems to work for me every time. However if you are using live food you need to regularly worm your fish. I also add Geo liquid in the water of fish I want to breed. Also if you have other fish breeding add some of their water. It seems to set them off.