Wellcome to the first organized discus community in Croatia. Can You please introduce yourself to Croatian discus keepers?
My name is Jeffrey Tan, and I breed discus since 1987.
Do you have many variety of discus in your hatchery?
We have almost all types, except albino. We have red, blue angel, galaxy turquoise, altum flora, checkerboard pigeon, spotted leopard, ring leopard, red spotted green, leopard snake, white lepard, white leopard snake, heckel cross, etc
How many generation you have to cross to get scarlet variety or do you get it artificially?
Red scarlet we get by selective breeding from many generation.
How do you choose your fishes for breeding pairs?
Healthy fish without any defect, good color and nice pattern.
Do You prepare breeding pairs before breeding like more feeding, often water change etc.?
Yes, they get fed with good food, and maintain them very well condition before put them into breeding tank
In what conditions do you keep breeding pairs?
We keep them in darker area, water kept at PH6.5, conductivity around 30-50 microsiemens. We feed them three times per day, and only use sponge filter
What kind of food and how often you feed the fry?
We feed them with brine shrimp, six times per days
What kind of food do You use for feeding fishes and can you tell us, if is not a breeders secret, how do you prepare and which ingredients do you use for beef heart mix?
We use our own beef heart mix.We mix spirulina and shrimp in the mix. We feel that they grow better with fresh food.
How often you make water changes and how many percent of water You change?
We change water everyday for the growing tank, 90% of water change daily.
Do You make water changes to breeding pair with fry tanks?
Breeding pair change around 20% each day, when they have fry, we do not change for the first few days. After four-five days when all the fry attached body, we change 10-20% of water
We see on some videos on East that they make big water changes. Why? Isn’t that stressing for the fishes and do you have a problems with diseases?
If the water is good, big change is not stress, they like it. We do not have problem with disease because we do not buy fish from other.
Which diseases you pass true and which medications you use?
Only sometimes they get little infection on nose, we use oxytetracycline.
Please tell us how to get rid of hexamita? Whath medications, what are the doses and how long should we treat fisheses?
Use fresh and clean food. The hexamita is pass to the fish from the food, like unclean beef heart, or frozen live food, etc. Treat the fish with flubenole or metrodinazole if they stop eat. Flubenole 10% can use 1g per 180 liters, treat them at least for 3-5 days to stop the cycle. Metrodinazole we use 2g per 100 liters, raise temperature to 30-32 celcius and treat them for three to five days too.
Can you tell us some advice how to treat discus plague and what medication will provide best results?
Plague have no medication. I believe it is virus. The fish need to be strong to recover themself. Ussually use of some antibiotic will make them stronger and fight with secondary infaction from bacteria.
How to recognize sex of the fish? What is the best method?
We look by the dorsal fin, normally male have long ray on the edge of dorsal fin.
How can begginer recognize healty and good condition fish?
Round shape, small eye, and responsive to you and come in front of the tank.
Can you tell us your opinion, what discus contents is most respectable?
At the moment, NAQ is most respectable show
On which project you are most proud?
NAQ
Charcoal use in discus tank, yes or no and can explain why?
if you use bio system and water is not good quality, use of charcoal may remove some heavy metal containminent. If water is good, I think we do not need charcoal
Do you have any more for the begginers with discus fishes?
give them good water Ph6.5-7, conductivity 100-200 microsiemens, at temperature 28-30C, good food constantly.
Thank you for this interview
You are welcome and good luck with your Discus club in Croatia