Why discus eggs look cloudy?

[Honey]

Noticed my Discus eggs have a weird cloudy look today. Tank's a 75-gallon, temp at 84°F, pH 6.5, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, nitrate around 10 ppm. Parents are healthy, fed beef heart mix daily. Anyone seen this before?

[Dawn]

Yep, mine did that last month! Freaked me out at first, but turns out it's kinda common. My water was a bit hard, so I cut it with RO. Maybe check your GH? Also, how old are the parents? Younger ones sometimes lay sketchy eggs.

[TankWarrior]

Yep, mine did that last month! Freaked me out at first, but turns out it's kinda common. My water was a bit hard, so I cut it with RO. Maybe check your GH? Also, how old are the parents? Younger ones sometimes lay sketchy eggs.

Good call on the GH. Honey, what's your filtration like? I've seen cloudiness when the sponge filter's too dirty or the flow's too strong. My 90-gallon's got a Fluval FX6, but I dial it back during spawning.

[oldRash]

Cloudy eggs usually mean bacterial or fungal infection. Had this happen in my 55-gallon breeder tank. Upped the temp to 86°F, added methylene blue, and did 50% water changes daily for a week. Saved about half the clutch. What's your water change routine?

[PureAddict]

Dang, that's rough. My pair's eggs always look a lil' funky, but they still hatch. I run a bare-bottom tank with a Tidal 55 filter, feed 'em frozen brine shrimp twice a day. Maybe your parents just need more chill time between spawns?

[Honey]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. Parents are around 2 years old, GH is 4 dGH. I do 30% water changes every 3 days with Seachem Prime. Filtration is a pair of AquaClear 70s. Gonna try upping the temp and adding methylene blue like oldRash suggested.

[Dawn]

Solid plan! Keep us posted. My guys took a few spawns to get it right. Oh, and if the eggs turn white and fuzzy, nuke 'em with H2O2. Works like a charm.

[TankWarrior]

Yeah, peroxide's a lifesaver. Just don't go overboard—1 mL per gallon max. Also, Honey, how's the lighting? I keep mine dim during spawning, just a Nicrew LED at 20% brightness. Too much light can stress 'em out.

[oldRash]

Yeah, peroxide's a lifesaver. Just don't go overboard—1 mL per gallon max. Also, Honey, how's the lighting? I keep mine dim during spawning, just a Nicrew LED at 20% brightness. Too much light can stress 'em out.

Second the lighting tip. And if you're using airstones, turn 'em off. The bubbles can damage the eggs. My current batch hatched fine after I ditched the air pump.

[PureAddict]

Man, I never thought about the bubbles messing with the eggs. Gonna try that next time. My tank's got a bunch of Java fern and driftwood, so the parents can hide if they wanna. Maybe less stress = better eggs?