Simple discus question...

[Mugwump]

I hope it is... ....Why are cones used for spawning. Have slates been an issue??..or are cones more natural to them..??....never thought to ask before.....

[LizStreithorst]

In general they prefer a curved surface. 

[Mugwump]

Is it similar to what they would be known to use in the wild??

[Barb]

I believe I have the answer.  Cones are a big part of my life these days, I make them.  In the wild discus will spawn lots of places.  But now that they are kept in fish tanks by hobbyists, many hybrids, lots of colors, they have become rather valuable fish.  For many reasons.  So, the folks who want their fish to produce lots of fry to raise and then sell for a lot of $$, want to have as many eggs turn into fish as possible.  The cone helps this a lot.
When the eggs are put on the cone by the female and fertilized by the male, the eggs later become wrigglers then start to swim away. A lot of the eggs can fall off the cone during all this and the lip at the bottom of the cone catches the fallers so the parents can pick them up in their mouths, clean them off, and spit them back where they belong.  The shape and make of the cone just ensure that more fry can be successfully raised.  The shape of the cone helps the male get the eggs all fertilized.  Other things are used also, PVC pipe, slate, glass bottles or jars, clay pots but the cone still seems to be the best.
Barb

[LizStreithorst]

Is it similar to what they would be known to use in the wild??

In the wild they lay on drift wood, I would imagine.  On a curved surface of a piece of drift wood.  Discus female's are individuals.  They lay where they choose.  I had a pair that liked a leaf.  I even had a pair that would do it on the glass bottom.  Most always they prefer a cone.

[Mugwump]

Thanks Barb, I'd googled all over and it would never show a link to any response. Your's makes sense, and the lip at the bottom was a good example of the why cones are best....cool

[Mugwump]

Is it similar to what they would be known to use in the wild??

In the wild they lay on drift wood, I would imagine.  On a curved surface of a piece of drift wood.  Discus female's are individuals.  They lay where they choose.  I had a pair that liked a leaf.  I even had a pair that would do it on the glass bottom.  Most always they prefer a cone.

LOL.....like angel females...LOL...they'll show the male where to clean...then change their minds and go someplace else to clean....LOL..I've watched a poor male clean just about everything in sight...only to have her lay on the uncleaned filter tube...poor guy

[LizStreithorst]

That's funny.  What could be worse than spreading one's milt on an unclean tube

[P4Angels2]

We have a Cobalt blue pair that first laid their eggs on the drift wood...all were eaten....they used a piece of PVC and we thought they had eaten their eggs but a couple of weeks later we saw the fry swimming around..Now they have a cone that they used and ended up eating their fry again...So now they have 2 choices and I am really really really hoping that we get babies again!!!

[LizStreithorst]

The dang fish lay where they want.  I've had them lay on the glass bottom and raise a successful batch.  The reason you thought that the second batch was eaten is because the pair moved them once they started to wiggle.  Only pairs with good parenting instinct move the wigglers.  It's a good sign.

Make sure your water quality is up to snuff.  If you want to breed, the parents should be in a BB tank that gets the sides wiped down weekly and gets 30% WC daily.