1) For the pairs; try to maintain an exceptionally clean & steady water with a PH=5.0 - 7.0 , GH=1 - 4 , KH=1 - 3 , Conductivity=60-70 µS/cm. These values depend on the strain of the discus. Some strains get used to hard water parameters easily. So you have a wider parameter range for the eggs to hatch.
2) From my experiences; you MUST "clean" the pairs before starting the breeding. This is applied to minimize the risk of loosing babies and to maximize the growth. Cleaning techniques can be found within the forums in the web. Mine is as follows:
-- Formalin against the gill flukes. From my experiences, formalin is the most effective medication against gill flukes. Application: Do a 40% water change before starting the medication. Add 1-2 drop per gallon on 1st day. Repeat the dosage on 5th, 9th, 13th, 17th, 21st days. Continue 40% water changes every other day. Important thing to remember: DO NOT add formalin directly to the tank. Add it to another cup of water and add this water to the tank.
NOTE: Check the formalin before using it. Formalin (37% formaldehyde) transforms to paraformaldehyde at low temperatures and paraformaldehyde is harmful to fish. Formalin is transparent, paraformaldehyde is whitish. Be sure to keep it at room temperature to avoid transformation.
-- After formalin, start metranidazole treatment against HITH (hole in the head) disease which is casued by flagellates. Application: Do an at least 40% water before starting the medication. Dossage is 250 mg per 10 gallons of tank water. Dissolve the tablets in a cup of water and then add this to the tank. Do a water change every 8 hours for at least 5 days. Repeat the medication after water changes. Metranidazole can be found in Flagyl or Metragyl which can be obtained from drug stores.
-- A second way to medicate with metronidazole is adding it into food. Dosage I have been using is 1 gram of metronidazole mixed with 100 gram of beefheart. I can definitely say that this is a very effective way from my experiences..
Now you are ready to start breeding the pair.
--You can use fenbendazole against internal worms and parasites. It can be found in panacur. But this medication should be used in food, mostly beefheart. Panacur has also some different types. Dosage for panacur (22% fenbendazole) (panacur for puppies in 1 gm packets): 1/8 teaspoon for every 100 gram of food. Feed this to the fish after leaving them very hungry. Repeat the feeding in 12 hours. Then, repeat the feeding after one week. Then repeat after about 10 days.
NOTE: It is not recommended applying panacur on young fish (younger than about 6 months age) or smaller than 3.5 inches in size.
3) Sometimes pairs MAY stop spawning. You can trigger spawning by adding colder water during water changes, changing PH, introducing another female to the breeding tank.
4) Eggs become wigglers after about 60 - 70 hours. Wigglers become free-swimmers after about 48 hours. Then, they are suppose attach to the parents to feed. Feeding off the parents takes 2 - 3 weeks depending on the parents conditions. You MUST observe the parents carefully. If they get enormously uncomfortable, they might try to eat the babies. If you do not remove the parents (NOT the babies) it is very possible to loose the parents.
5) White eggs mean lots of things. First; water parameters may be high. Here; there are two possibilities: Sperms couldn't enter the egg at first or the egg shell became too hard during the first 48 hours and as a result, the wiggler was not able to get out of the shell. You should check the parameters. Second; the male was not man enough for this duty! :).... He has to grow up :)... The worst is the last; you have two females. You have to observe your "possible pair" well to prevent last one spend your time :)..
6) Babies are very sensitive to parameter changes. I recommend you to stop water changes until eggs become wrigglers. Limit the amount of water changed to 5% until the wrigglers become free-swimmers. They are still very sensitive. But you can start changing water several times a day limited to 5% a time. Be sure to equal the parameters of water changed to those of the water in the tank. I also tried siphoning the bottom several times a day and adding the same water back to the tank. I did not encounter any problems based on the growth rates at the beginning.
7) You should start feeding the babies while they are on the parents. This important in means of helping the parents and getting the babies used to the foods you will give in the future. My recommendations: Start feeding them with live bbs (baby brine shrimp) on 3rd day of free-swimming. During 10th day, start giving some dry food little by little.
8) From my experiences, try to cover bottom + three sides of the breeding tank with a light and solid colored paper or paint. This will show your pair more beautiful, reduce the stress and help the fry to find the parents.
9) I kept best tip to the last :)... If the free-swimmers are not attached to the parents, then you have either dark and/or vibrating things in the tank. The babies cannot see clearly, they try to follow the vibrating and dark objects in the water. Be sure to minimize these "fake-parents".
