discus eat eggs and breeds

[manolis]

hello.
i need help. i have a couple discus and i have this problem.
they produce eggs and then they eat them and the liitle fishes. why does this happens ??

[toddnbecka]

Could be due to inexperienced breeders, that isn't unusual for the first several spawns. They may just need practice to sort out the proper behavior. However, most cichlids will eat their eggs/fry if they feel threatened or stressed too much/often.

[manolis]

do you have to suggest an electronic equipment so i can measure nitrate, gh. kh,ph and other parameters of the water ?

[toddnbecka]

Liquid test kits are more commonly used to check those factors. If the discus are spawning and the eggs are hatching it's unlikely that water chemistry is the problem. You can separate the eggs or fry and raise them yourself, but it's considerably more work and they won't grow as quickly w/out the parents. Discus fry feed on a substance both parents produce on their body surface after spawning, almost like nursing mammals.