Breeding Discus Part 3
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We will now go over what you can expect after the eggs have been laid on the breeding surface by the female Discus. This is where the frustration starts. The first two issues that you must overcome are the parents eating of the eggs, especially by the male. You will also have to deal with infertility. We will go over the eating of the eggs first. We will go over fertility in the part 4 of the series.
The number one problem, and the one you must get past, with breeding Discus is the eating of the eggs by the parents. While both parents will eat the eggs, the male does it more often. This is often done as they spawn with the male following the female as she lays the eggs and then the male immediately eats the eggs. There is very little you can do if this occurs while spawning. The female will make her egg-laying run and then the male, instead of following her with a fertilizing run, will follow her and eat the row of eggs. This behavior is very common in new breeding pairs of Discus. A majority of new Discus pairs will eat their eggs. Fortunately, they will often stop this behavior as they become a more mature spawning pair. If you get lucky and they do not eat their eggs when spawning, there is a very good chance that they will eat them before they hatch. The good news is, if you get this far, there is something you can do. You can take the eggs out and artificially raise them or you can take a mesh screen (house soffit screen works very well) and fit it directly over the eggs. This will allow the Discus to still blow on the eggs and bond with them, but it will keep them from eating the eggs. You will need to have planned for the spawning and will need to have created the screen prior to the actual spawn. If the eggs do not get eaten and are fertile, they should hatch out in three days and become free swimming in about six days. This is the hardest step in the process of breeding Discus.
