Multiple Breeding Pairs

[africandiscus]

I was speaking to someone I know who as about 14 adult discus in his tank. 3 are males and the rest are female.

All 3 males formed pairs with 3 females. He sold some of the females that were in the pairs with the males as he needed cash. What is amazing is that the single males formed new pairs with other existing females (once the existing pair was split up). He said this has happened a number of times and not with just one male but all the males.

Is this common or does he have a horny bunch of fish?

[Trebs]

Very common. I switched my pairs around a number of times without much difficulty. I tend to wait about 2 weeks after removing a fish before adding another to a breeding tank and in most cases this works okay.

[Merrilyn]

I agree - Discus certainly do form a pair bond, and it is certainly necessary to find a compatible pair if you are to have any success in breeding. But they do not mate for life, and will usually accept another mate quite readily.