Breeding the discus
Pairs spawn on firm surfaces such as submerged roots (in tanks, a cone or upright surface). Both parents guard the brood, and the newly hatched fry graze on a nourishing mucus from the parents' skin.
Step by step
Buy 6-8 young fish and let pairs form, or buy a proven pair. Pairs take time to bond.
A 30-55 gallon (110-200 L) tank, 28-30 C, soft acidic water, spawning cone or tube. Keep it bare and spotless.
Warm, very clean soft water and large frequent water changes.
Eggs hatch in about 2.5 days at 28 °C; larvae start eating other food at about 5.7 days. Parents feed fry with skin mucus intensely for about 2 weeks, tapering off by week 4.
Parents feed fry with body mucus. Add baby brine shrimp after the first week. Fry need very clean water and many daily water changes.
- Using poor water quality
- Moving the pair too often
- Stress from loud noise or lights
Male or female
- Male: Thicker lips, steeper forehead, pointed breeding tube
- Female: Rounder head, blunt breeding tube
- Very hard; most keepers wait for pairs to form
Can I breed it in my tank?
- Takes some experience.
Day-by-day plan
Typical for open substrate spawners
- 21 days beforeLet a pair form
Grow up a group and let a pair choose each other. Give them a flat stone or broad leaf.
- Day 0Spawning
The pair cleans the stone and lays rows of eggs. Both guard them.
- Day 3Eggs hatch
Wrigglers hatch in 2–4 days and are moved to pits by the parents.
- Day 7Free swimming
Feed baby brine shrimp several times a day. Parents often herd the fry.
- Day 42Grow-out
Move fry to a grow-out tank before the parents spawn again.
A general guide for this breeding type. Days change with temperature and species.
Simulator: guided
Grow up a group and let a pair choose each other. Give them a flat stone or broad leaf.
Simulator: try it yourself
Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.
- Without live or frozen food the parents aren't in breeding condition.
An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.