Breeding set up questions

[Mrs D]

I would just like to get some feedback from others who have bred their discus as to their breeding tank setup.

Small or Large? What size tank to you breed in? Your discus that is.

Bare bottom or substrate? If you use substrate, what sort - gravel, sand, ada, etc?

Empty or decorated? Do you just use a bare tank except for your breeding cone, or do you have some d/w with a plant, maybe a potted plant, or even a sunken ship? (Heaven forbid)

What sort of filtration? Sump connected to multiple tanks, canister filter, internal filter, air driven box filter, etc?

Lighting? Normal reflector, smaller subtle lighting, candles and mood music?

Thanks, Mrs D.

[Nev]

Mood music, candles an wine work for me.

The fish are another story, l'll post some pics of what l do for them shortly.

[Mrs D]

ROFL!!! I read the first line, then the space, then the next line.

[Nev]

Ok, so it starts in the community tank. Room for em to pair off, find a cosy corner love nest. Only when they've laid eggs to free swimmer stage do I move them to a breeding setup.

Pics of the community tank.
Sump filter, planted with aqua soil, lots of hiding places for establishing pecking order. Temp 29, PH 6.2, water changes 10% every second day, larger one once or twice twice a week. Variety in food, tettra bits, lots of beefheart, occasional live food (brine shrimp, black worms and baby coryies when they find one).

Tank mates and clean up crew, cardinals, rummy nose, sterbi cories. bristle nose and L168's

Community tank, pair in back left corner, have wrigglers.
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k608/Nevdenton/2011-11-24111247.jpg
Bristlenose guarding eggs, L168 on log in background.
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k608/Nevdenton/2011-11-24112344.jpg

That'll do for this post, gotta build up my post count - lol

[Nev]

Breeding tank, same water conditions as community tank, bare bottom, temp 29, ph 6.2.

Sponge filters only, heater vertical so they don't spawn on it, lighting is natural - near a window and in my garage so less disturbance. And only place her indoors would let me put it.

http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k608/Nevdenton/2011-11-24110658.jpg

feeding time (beefheart)
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k608/Nevdenton/2011-11-24110831.jpg

About to be attacked by dad.
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k608/Nevdenton/2011-11-24110817.jpg

[Nev]

Almost forgot.....

Sorry about pic quality,phone camera.

And young are about 20c to 50c in size and could be on their own, but parents are happy for em to stay and it stops em breeding.

[Mrs D]

WOW, that's awsome. I'm terrified of putting branches in my tank (I wasn't sure if this was how I lost my other ones). Is that straight beefheart or do you mix it with anything else? Do you find it messy in the community tank?

Thanks.

[Ghoti]

heater vertical so they don't spawn on it

Judging by the pix it seems you meant heater horizontal so they don't spawn on it...or is the heater I can see actually in a different tank.

Also interested you place them in the garage - is this a brick job or just a tin one? My wife and I are discussing breeding tanks at the minute, and somehow she thinks a rack of 3 2x2.5x1.5 tanks won't look ace in the family room and would be better placed in my (tin) garage.

Cheers,
Scott

[Mrs D]

We have a brick garage with a metal roller door and it gets really warm in there at times. Just a thought.

[Nev]

Lol yes ment horizontal.
Frozen food from lfs.
Brick and tiled roof garage. They like it warm anyway. save on heating.
A wall of fish tanks would look great in your family room!

[swampy1972]

Yeah Scott, I dare you! Put a wall of breeding tanks in the lounge room while she's out one day, then get back to us with pics of what she does to you :lol:

[Mrs D]

Can you do this one? I'll come help so I will know completely whether I like it. :)

http://www.swisstropicals.com/Swisstropicals%20Fishroom.html

[Ghoti]

Yeah Scott, I dare you! Put a wall of breeding tanks in the lounge room while she's out one day, then get back to us with pics of what she does to you :lol:

Hey swampy, you would need supernatural powers for me to get back to you after trying that one on!

I am banking on the "awwww" factor of wrigglers combined with the horror of cannibalism to get me over the line with a rack of three tanks in the family room where the four footer is now. After all I did promise to get rid of the four footer :wink:

Cheers,
Scott

[BobbyBruce]

Hi Mrs D,

I have some threads of discus breeding in my quarantine tank, my community 4x2x2 and in my 6x2x2. All threads with my fish are on page 2 of Breeding Basics.

The Q tank was a standard four BB setup with a couple of good pieces of driftwood. They really liked breeding in there. I put in 6 fish for quarantine purposes, I had one pair breeding within a week, the second pair less than a week after that.

I removed the non-paired fish to my community 4x2x2 and left the two pair in the Q tank.

I then moved the blue pair to the 4x2x2 and grew out a spawn just to see how it went. I retained four fish from that spawn. One of which has turned out "okay" for a non-intentional breeder.

Regards,

Bob

[Nev]

That's how l got my other tank. She who must be obeyed suggested I should set up the old tank in the garage so they'd stop eatting the wrigglers and free swimmers all the time.

Was ment to sell it on ebay but just never found the time. And who'd want a 6' odd sized tan anyway?