Breeding Discus Part 2
Posted on
The spawning process is the best part of breeding Discus. This has always been my favorite part of Discus keeping and I still, 40 years after my first Discus spawn, find it fascinating.
The first indication that your Discus are getting ready to spawn will be their obsession with cleaning a rock, breeding cone, filter tube or side of the aquarium. Once you see both of them doing this, spawning will usually follow within a couple of days. You will soon see them start to do the mating dance. They will swim towards each other at a slightly upward angle. Once they get next to each other, they will shimmy and then swim away from each other at a slightly lowered angle. The most spectacular part of the spawning process will be the colors of your Discus. Whatever their color prior to spawning, it will become MUCH more intense and vibrant during spawning. This will be the most beautiful you will ever see your Discus. They will also become aggressive toward other fish, including Discus, at this time. They will aggressively chase away other fish from the breeding site from all intruders, including you. The male Discus will be the one that is most aggressive.
After your Discus start doing all of the above, they will actually start laying the eggs. It will begin with the female rubbing her belly, and her breeding tube, against the surface that they have cleaned. She will always lay in an upwards motion. The total length of the spawning run will be between ½ and three inches. Some Discus will have extremely orderly patterns of laying the eggs. Others will look haphazard. She will lay between 1 and 12 eggs per spawning run. The male Discus will usually then follow directly behind her in the same basic motion spraying the eggs. You usually cannot see the actual cloud. The entire process can take between one and five hours.
This is when the fun ends the frustration starts. The first two issues that you will be confronted with are eating of the eggs, especially by the male, and infertility.
