Baby Alencer Red Discus

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Guys,

I have had a pair of Alencer Red discus for a few years, which I gave to a friend to look after whilst I was overseas for a while. He raised a spawn from them but he has now given them back to me. After settling in into my setup and good conditioning, they spawned unsuccessfully three times and then spawned again on 25 April. The young became free swimming on 29 April and the parents looked after them excellently, allowing the babies to go onto their bodies and eat very well. On day 6 I started feeding freshly hatched brine shrimps and they are now also eating other foods as well. They are still eating off the parents but are also starting to get more adventurous and swimming further away from their parents. I estimate that there may be about 100 young and they are clearly growing like rockets as the pics below show.

Kind regards,

Dirk

Babies on the parents, 6 days old:

125

Father with 12 day old babies

126

Both parents with 12 day old babies

127

Closeup of babies, already clearly looking like small discus at 8 mm long

128

[veegal]

Beautiful and awesome pics. Will you be selling any of the babies? If so, I'd be interested in getting a few from you.

[speedz]

whats your location dirk?

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Veronica,

You would be welcome to get some babies from me. I would aim to sell them at a size of about 6 cm which they should reach when they are about 2 1/2 to 3 months old. They still have a lot of growing to do though.......

Speedz, I see you are based in Durban, I am in Somerset West. I have often freighted fishes to Durban so no problem there.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[veegal]

Great thanks Dirk. As soon as they are ready, please let me know - my 2m tank awaits them :)

[Rowland]

Great news Dirk. Would love some too please.

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Rowland,

You would be welcome to have some, but I would just like to point out that these are not the Curipera Alencers. They are also coming along just fine and are also showing signs of wanting to spawn, but they are a lot more temperamental.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[Rowland]

Hi Dirk
A great achievement nonetheless! What is the origin of these fish? I look forward to similar news on the Curiperas.

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Rowland,

I bought the parents as part of a batch of 6 cm youngsters from Derek Lo from Fish Fantasy World in Johannesburg some years ago. They were imports from Malaysia, I think, but they were certainly not from Europe. As you can see though they are nice fishes and do breed normally, which cannot always be said for fishes from the East, I fear.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[Rowland]

Great, thanks Dirk. Yes, they seem to look great as well, which is not always a guarantee from the East.

[Philfarm]

Wow well done! Id love to come by and see them some time...

[Risen]

Hi Dirk I would also love of the offspring once they have sized up. Please keep me on your list.

[Dirk Bellstedt]

I will keep everyone on the list, but I am not counting any chickens before they are hatched i.e. before the young are 2 1/2 to 3 months old. I will keep you posted, so far so good, today they are getting really adventurous and swimming all over the tank.

Phil, you would be welcome to come and have a peak whenever...

Kind regards,

Dirk

[Dirk Bellstedt]

OK,

The little guys are now at 16 days after freeswimming and are now swimming all over the tank in search of FOOOOOOOD, they almost can't get enough into themselves. Although they are searching for food all over, they go back to mom and dad ever so often to take a snack off their skin and because it is such a large batch the parents are taking a bit of strain. The male has actually lost some scales (you can see that on the pic, just above the top baby) because they are nibbling so hard and what this indicates is that I will have to take them away from the young pretty soon.

In typical Alencer fashion though, they are so protective that if I come to the front of the tank with the camera, the female storms out and becomes black from agression and she dashes up to the front glass to attack the foreign object. These are the only discus that are as protective as this to their young and it is nice to see that they still possess this instinct.

A few pics:

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8958/dscn9596.th.jpg (http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn9596.jpg)
The parents with part of the team

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/3098/dscn9584.th.jpg (http://img509.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn9584.jpg)
Three babies with dad in the background

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/1423/dscn9582.th.jpg (http://img18.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn9582.jpg)
Close-up of some of the babies

Kind regards,

Dirk

[speedz]

wow they are coming along just great!

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Thanks for the compliment, Speedz.

If I can get completely off topic, your avatar looks suspiciously Aussie, right? I can also show you a couple of those signs. I think we must start a separate thread and do some Aussie bashing..... what do you think?

Kind regards,

Dirk

[speedz]

haha, i have no idea if it is aussie or not. Serves for a good laugh though, i mean cumon....there has to be water on the road if its raining lol

[Dirk Bellstedt]

I am sure it is Aussie, I will start a separate thread and show you some of the signs they have up, we saw a sign saying: "Road may be slippery when wet", that is stating the obvious, but these folks have not been to Africa and everything is just so regulated and under control in Aussie.....

Kind regards,

Dirk

[speedz]

i think you should extend it to signs from anywhere

[veegal]

How are the babies coming on Dirk? Any updated photos yet?

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Vee,

Looks like we are on the same wavelength. I am just loading pics taken earlier and we are now at 4 weeks of age. The babies are coming on fine and feed like piranhas.

They are filling in quite nicely now and the parents are only there for parental guidance not for feeding any more.


http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7209/dscn9668k.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn9668k.jpg)http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4472/dscn9672.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn9672.jpg)
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/dscn9672.jpg/1/w2048.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img27/dscn9672.jpg/1/)

They are presently growing and feeding very well, thanks to twice per day cleaning of the tank and feeding about 10 times per day, freshly hatched brine shrimps, gold star granulate 1, frozen bosmids and spirulina flakes.

So far, so good.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[veegal]

WoW - they are looking stunning. Can't believe the growth in just one week! How do you manage to feed 10 times a day when you are at work? I need to find a way to feed more often when I'm not here so any suggestions would help :)

[Zoom]

Automatic feeder?

[Dirk Bellstedt]

OK, first activity to syphon off all dropings at 06h30 followed by feeding of GS 1 when I get up, second of freshly hatched bs after seeing my family off to school at 06h45. Third feeding at 08h00 of GS 1. Just before I depart for work at 08h30, fourth feeding of Spirulina flakes and GS1, this feeding is quite large to allow some food to lie on the bare tank floor for them to pick up over the next couple of hours. Fifth feeding by my daughter after return from school at 15h00, GS1. Sixth feeding when I get home at 17h30 freshly hatched bs. Seventh feeding at 18h30 with GS1. Eigth, ninth and tenth feeding before lights out at 23h00 with Bosmids, Gs1 and Spirulina flakes. Before lights out second syphoning off of droppings from the tank.

Can you see why I need a tank with no gravel for this purpose?

Kind regards,

Dirk

[veegal]

Oh my gosh....I get tired just reading that :) I thought my schedule was hectic, but I think I should reel the kids in to do one or two feedings for me as well, sounds like a plan. Do they eat all the food between feedings then with them being so close together in the mornings and evenings, although I assume you feed small amounts at a time then??

[Dirk Bellstedt]

My kids (I mean my children, not my discus, when my kids were smaller, they also had problems eating when they were closer together, but this has got better with age...) are asked to pour a lid of a fish food container into which I have put an amount of GS1 when they get home, this allows for no overfeeding.

Discus at that size are on a mission and need LOTS of food. Although I feed relatively small amounts of food per fish, the amount that goes into the tank is massive. In total at the moment I would estimate about two large tablespoons per day. I should mention that I estimate the numbers of babies to be in the order of 100. The parents get feedings of beef heart mixes, GS 4 and frozen foods equivalent to about 1 tablespoonful per day. The amount of water change on this tank is about 10% per day, but the tank is connected to my recirculating system, which stabilizes the whole tank tremendously, and filters the tank at a rate of recirculating the tank volume once per hour.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[veegal]

My kids (I mean my children, not my discus, when my kids were smaller, they also had problems eating when they were closer together, but this has got better with age...) are asked to pour a lid of a fish food container into which I have put an amount of GS1 when they get home, this allows for no overfeeding.

A brilliant idea which I shall be adopting immediately...thank you :p

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Zoom, why do you need an automatic feeder if you have kids....

Kind regards,

Dirk

[veegal]

Zoom, why do you need an automatic feeder if you have kids....

Kind regards,

Dirk

hahaha - same as an automatic washing machine .....

[Zoom]

Well, I only got married in Dec, so the kids aren't quite there yet. And when they do finally come.. they have to grow up enough to reach the top of the tank!


hahaha - same as an automatic washing machine .....

Now that you put it that way Veegal... I think I'll chat to the missus tonight about getting them kids earlier... I can't spin her the automatic fish feeding story... but give her half a chance to skip doing dishes... (I may have a winner conversation tonight!)

[veegal]

Now that you put it that way Veegal... I think I'll chat to the missus tonight about getting them kids earlier... I can't spin her the automatic fish feeding story... but give her half a chance to skip doing dishes... (I may have a winner conversation tonight!)

The automatic washing machine is cheaper...:bigsmile::p

[Dirk Bellstedt]

But far less fun...

[veegal]

But far less fun...

Very true..:bigsmile:

[Laure]

Hi Prof Dirk
Yip, I'm on this forum too!

I wonder if you could start a thread one day explaining your "recirculating system" in your fish room. I'd love to see some pictures, too.

Regards
Lauré

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Laure,

Yes, aren't we all forum junkies....

I am going overseas from 6 to 15 June for a scientific meeting and my time is getting tight, so whilst I would like to write something about my recirculating system, I might have too little time now and it might have to wait. The system is complicated, and therefore my article will be longer, so this will not be done without using some time. Let me see what I can do in the weeks ahead.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[Laure]

Hi Prof

Will you send me a pm with a price on how much you will be selling those discus for? If you look on the other forum, you might see some nice pics of how your plants have grown in my tank...

Regards
L

[corylyle1]

Hey Dirk! Please please put me on the list for some!! I would love to get a few! Thanks a lot!!

Cory PS: how much u gonna sell them for if I may ask??

[theosmit]

I wonder if you could start a thread one day explaining your "recirculating system" in your fish room. I'd love to see some pictures, too.


:idea: I would love to see that too. I'm sure there are others...
BTW. Your children are amazing! (And the kids helping with the feeding.)

[corylyle1]

when are you gonna sell??

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Guys,

I am back and thanks to my daughter and my son, my little discus are well and growing. The largest are now about 2 cm and all are growing like rockets, but at the same time they are eating like wolves.

I will not sell them before they reach 6-7 cm as they are very temperamental before that size. By that I mean that you can just not feed them well for two days and they will not recover, a typical baby discus problem. I expect they will reach that size at about three months, perhaps a little earlier. As I have learnt the hard way, I will not be counting my chickens before that time and I will not be distributing any prices until the babies get to that size and then I will sell them.

I will post some new pics when I have the time in the next week.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[butcherman]

good to hear they doing so well. they really are looking Great:captain:

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Guys,

The babies are now at just over 7 weeks and are still making good progress. Needless to say they are eating loads of food. I am still keeping them with their parents although they have not fed off them for a long time now.

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/2561/dscn9919.jpg (http://img198.imageshack.us/i/dscn9919.jpg/)

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2031/dscn9935l.jpg (http://img205.imageshack.us/i/dscn9935l.jpg/)


Kind regards,

Dirk

[veegal]

They are looking stunning! Their growth looks great and the parents look in great nick too. Can't wait for them to be ready to bring home :D:D

[corylyle1]

ya looking amazing!!

[solex69]

Sjoe Prof....they look awesome!

I'll see if I can come around for a visit next weekend....need to buy some CO2 replacement from you anyway.

Will be in touch
D

[chas84]

Beautiful!

[sailing_derrick]

Awesome fish...

[Gert Combrink]

Prof Dirk, please keep me in mind, when they are ready to go.
I would like to book 6/8 if possible PLEASE!
Thanx!
Gert

[corylyle1]

Hey Prof Dirk

I would like to book 5-6 if possible when they are ready to go.
Thanks a lot!

[Laure]

Hi Prof

Put me down for 8 babies when they are ready to go!

[theosmit]

Hi Prof, is there any news yet? These youngsters should be ready to fly out the nest by now, isn't it?

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Yes, they are growing nicely, have a look at the latest pic. I will be selling them from the end of August onwards.

Kind regards,

Dirk

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/9821/dscn0367z.jpg (http://img36.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn0367z.jpg)

[corylyle1]

Wow they look stunning!!! How many do you have??

[Dirk Bellstedt]

I am not sure how many, but at least 80.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[veegal]

Beautiful!!!!!

[theosmit]

Looking at the pic I couldn't stop smiling!

[High-wash]

Prof Dirk do you have a rough price estemate i would love to buy some from you where are you located ?

[Gareth]

Congrads man looks Awesome

[corylyle1]

Hey Prof Dirk!! Are these little guys for sale yet??

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Yes, they are ready to go and are in excellent condition! Contact me by PM for details.

Anyone else who may be interested can obviously also contact me.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Dirk

[theosmit]

These fish are in amazing condition guys! And the parents are beautiful. The pictures only tell half the story.

Thanks for the fish prof.

[speedz]

the discus look great!

[Dirk Bellstedt]

These discus are now six months old and the largest are 8 cm in size. I thought I would post two pics for you to see. Alencers develop their red colour only when they approach becoming adults as a result of which these guys are a little pale as yet, but they are growing nicely.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[dougbb]

those are some beautiful fish....how about breeding some dwarf cichlids too?

[Algae Wizard]

Those babies are stunning Prof Dirk.
I was wondering what temp you are keeping them at?
I'm starting to plan my next tank.
I got approval from the War Office

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Doug,

I do breed dwarf Cichlids as well. I have a nice spawn of Apistogramma aggasizzi at the moment and I have been breeding Checkerboard Cichlids as well (see thread).

Angus,

The minimum temps for discus should be 29 C. Under that they tend to be skittish. I have a few nice ones left if you want to perhaps run that past the War Office.....

Kind regards,

Dirk

[Algae Wizard]

It's a pity,I don't want to run the new tank warmer than 26-27 for the plants that I want.
But it's going to be a while in the making.

I had to agree to make a matching desk,bookshelf and cupboards to to get the tank.
So I doubt that it will be running before the end of the year.

[Sean J]

So where is the new one going?

[Algae Wizard]

I will be shutting down my clipping tanks and put a long tank in that area.

[dougbb]

does shutting down equate to selling or not in this case?

[Algae Wizard]

I will be selling them,but not for a few months.

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Guys,

The "babies" are now just under 10 months old. Size 10-12 cm, eating like piranhas and starting to color up nicely. I have kept 12 and sold the rest. At the rate these guys are growing they will be breeding themselves soon.

Kind regards,

Dirk

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/9530/dscn1111t.jpg (http://img30.imageshack.us/i/dscn1111t.jpg/)

[Henk Hugo]

oooooooooooooo! puuuuuuuuuuuurdy

[ACE007]

Sjoe Prof maar dit is 'n mooi klomp daai!!! I like :p:p

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Guys,

Well, the saga continues. During winter my discus spawn because of reduced temperatures and cold fronts here in the Cape. Well I now have selected pairs of the offspring fishes which are starting to spawn. Below I shown a pic of a young pair with their fry glued to a spawning cone, this pic was taken on 10 July 2011. The young started free-swimming two days later and I took some more pics on 16 July 2011, to show you how cute these little discus can be. The male is the larger fish and although they still have to grow a little more, I am very happy with them because they have the type of markings and colour typical for wild type Alencers and a round shape which is what I am aiming for.

I actually still have the original parents of this pair and they spawned two days before this and also have another set of youngsters on their bodies.

Enjoy,

Dirk

9311

9309

9310

[Marco]

Dirk Bellstedt

Well done and Congrats! They look awesome As can be expected from you as always. . .

Be proud!

Regards
Marco

[SalmonAfrica]

Right, I'm not really even a big Discus fan but congrats! Not just on the spawns, but on the sheer beauty of your fish! It must take a lot of effort to produce and maintain a fish of such quality, and I bet the pics don't even do the fish justice :)

[Big G]

Hey Dirk!

Many Congrats! Look forward to seeing some updates as things progress!

Cheers
G!

[Trevor Pleco]

Was at the Prof's watery lair last week-end for some serious confidential trading and in every tank something was either about to breed or already breeding,…most impressive. There were even small one liter ice cream containers full of angel fry, lol !

Hope the new fishies are doing well.. ?

[Sean J]

Prof, those fish are absolutely stunning! One day when I am big again, I will go back to Discus. But right now, I need to sort things out first. But they are absolutely stunning Prof! Congrats!