Discus And Laying Eggs

Hi Professor,
Well i have my Discus tank Up and running for around a month now, it was previously running with the same setup for around a year at its previous owners. (all i did was add the water) Transported the tank home as is.

The problem i have now is that My Discus have laid eggs (again) but this time though they are not eating the eggs they are protecting it.

How aggressive will they get towards the other fish (neons,cory catfish and a small pleco)
The tank is planted with alot of hiding places, The eggs are laid on the Juwel Internal filter side walls.

How long does it take to hatch? And will they eat them when hatched?
I am unsure exactly what to do in this situation.
As per the pic i have attached, the eggs are on the filter wall, the bright color Discus is the male and the black almost blue one is the Female both stand close by and protect the eggs.

They also keep bowing on them. Whats that about?
Also , would you be able to tell me what discus these are? Iv seen the pics with names and such on-line and at pet shops but i still cant figure what they are.

Your help will be appreciated

 

Hi Zippy,

Discus that protect babies will be aggressive but only if the fishes move close to the spawn.

It takes 72 hours for them to hatch, they then cannot swim freely because their swimbladder is not inflated, we call them wrigglers then. They stay wrigglers for another 72 hours and then will swim onto the sides of the parents to eat the slime. Anything can go wrong in between, they can eat the eggs, the fry or the fry may get lost in the tank due to pipes, plants and other things. There are many uncertainties.

The colured fish is a pidgeon blood and cannot produce slime, that is why he is not going dark, the other fish may have to do most of the feeding. The other fish may be a solid turquoise or a blue diamond.

The fishes are fanning the eggs that is why they are bowing.

The chances of these fishes making a success of raising their young in such a tank is unfortunately very small as they can get lost and all sorts of other problems. I breed and raise my fishes in bare tanks where the parents can keep an eye on them much better. Let us see if they can make a success of it though, it is not impossible.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

He Professor , Thanks so much for the advice and the names,I really appreciate it. Now that you mention they cant swim within the 1st 72 hours im afraid of the pump sucking them in, The Discus have laid there eggs on the side wall of the Juwel internal filter.
I agree about there chances,There are just to many things against them.
I believe the dark one is the female as i have seen her lay the eggs when i first got them.

Any idea why thay fan the eggs? are they cleaning them? clearing out the dead ones?
Lets see what happens.
Best regards

 

Hi Zippy,

Yes the filter inlet is a big problem and the fry can very easily be sucked in, but if discus work together properly, they may just manage.

Discus fan their eggs to oxygenate them but also to stop particles which may cause them to lodge and stick on them and therefore to rot. So yes, they are cleaning them and they will also very carefully pick out ones that are unfertilized and are turning rotten so that these eggs then do not infect the rest of the eggs. Once discus have got the knack of raising fry they are the most incredible parents, and this whole procedure in fascinating to watch. Although I bred discus for the first time 23 years ago and have bred many batches subsequently, I am still fascinated by this whole procedure but it is also where many things can go wrong.

Kind regards,

Dirk