Discus Life Span

[beadgirl05]

How long do discus live? :?:

[samir]

I've had two live around 12 years.

[valkyrie]

I have 2 at the moment that are just over 11 years old and I have heard of Discus living to 15 years.

Cheers

[ILLUSN]

Dad's got 3 over 13yrs old.

[Nandu]

Hello,

On similar lines I have a question to ask, I have 4 female(6inch size) of Malboro, never spawn nor paired aged 3.5years..

What are the chances that they get paired, if I introduce male now.....moreover at what age female/male looses its fertility.

I have a notion that female carries egg and lays them even if not paried with male and during such times other female tank mate acts as male..Is this true. Can a female carry eggs without the male and lay them..,this question came to me as the duty of male starts to fertilise only when the eggs are layed...

regards

Nandu

[Merrilyn]

The most productive time for discus is between 12 months and 3 years. After that the fertility seems to decline and the batches of eggs get smaller and smaller and the pairs spawn less frequently. Sometimes taking 6 months between each spawn.

Two females, especially young females, will lay eggs together without a male being present.

The chances of a 3.5 year old female pairing up with a male, and spawning for the first time is unlikely, but if you want to try it, see if you can find a well grown male between 12 and 18 months old.

That will give you the best chance of a successful spawn.

[Bill T]

Very interesting.
My discus used to spawn at the drop of a hat - or water change. They are approaching 3 years of age & have not only stopped spawning, but have settled down a lot - much less fighting & territorial behaviour.

[Suc_Sid]

I agree with Bill T, that is interesting.

I have a pair of Red Turks, who would spawn quite frequently, usually after water changes, however, they haven't done this in over 6 months now - and they are now approaching 4 years old.

I guess they might not spawn again for some time...

[valkyrie]

Well it does make sense. In the wild an animal/fish if it has successfully procreated and raised young until adult hood at least once it has completed its cycle and has kept the species alive. Look at wolves and wild dogs in the wild they will live to 5 maybe six years but in captivity they will live to 12-15 years. Same with Discus its only because they have no preditors after them in our tanks that they can live to a ripe old age.

Cheers
Debbie