DISCUS WITH EGGS ...any suggestions

[Chef]

Hey people,

I have a couple of checkerboard pigeons that decided to lay eggs on the driftwood. By the next day however, they were eaten. I don't know if it's by the parents or others in the community tank. Anyhow, should I move the pair into a smaller tank and see if I can induce spawning? Also when using r/o, how long do I really have to use r/o water....only after egg fertilization or until they hatch? I have read that you can acclimate them over to tap as soon as they hatch as long as long as your water is stable?

PS: Any thoughts or suggestions? Please help!

Chef

BTW: Thanks for the discus Dan..I love my Blue Diamonds, Checkerboard Pigeons, and Checkboard Turqs!!!

[Chef]

[Chef]

[nacra99]

Congrats.
Well, i would suggest the first thing is to give the pair their own tank so that
1) The fry don't get eaten
2) Your other discus won't get beat up
3) The parents won't be kept under stress by trying to chase away other fish.
4) You can force the parents to lay eggs on a surface of your choice which you can protect.

A 29 gal bare bottom tank with an air driven sponge filter, heater and a clean piece of slate (leaning on the side of the tank and secured on the floor by suction cups) will be a perfect setup.
It is very common for discus to eat their eggs.
You'll want to make a mesh out of hardware cloth that you can place over the eggs after they are laid to prevent the parents from eating them.
After the eggs hatch, it is unlikely that the parents will eat the young and you can remove the hardware cloth.

As for R/O. I breed them in 100% houston tap water. I'm not sure how the water is like in sugarland.
I'd say try it first with 100% tapwater first and see how the hatch rates are like. If the water is too hard, little or none of the eggs will hatch. If you feel inclined to, you can mix tap water and RO at 50/50 ratio. Once the eggs have hatched, you can switch back to 100% tapwater.