Can a discus be stunted and still round?

[Ryan925]

Question...

Can a discus be stunted yet still have a round shape rather than the obvious pointy football shape?

I purchased 6 discus from Kenny back in April. They were all 3.5"-4". I cannot if they were all the same size or not. I believe some were closer to 4 and some closer to 3.5. 3 of the six show a lot of growth. The other 3 have remained much smaller. I also added a 5+ rafflesia in June now totaling 7. 9975799758Is it possible to just have some slower growers?

The past month I have made a lot of changes in hopes to allow those guys to catch up if not already stunted. I've removed the majority of my plants. I've increased frequency of water changer to every other day from weekly. I did daily changes for about a week to clean the substrate thoroughly. I also have increased feeding. After seeing some posts I believe I may have been under feeding. I was feeding fdbw am and pm and one cube bh plus in the afternoon. I have increased to fdbw twice a day and the cube of bh twice a day.

Attached are a recent photo of 2 of my lil guys in question.

Thanks as always.

[Filip]

I had 3 out of 7 discus batch that end up small -12-13 cm. and yet round. Even their eyes to body ratio is not so disproportional as in stunted discus.
I believe they are runts , meaning they are genneticly compromised/ small and there is nothing you can do about them .
Recently I bought 3 new 4inch discus with potential to grow for replacement , to even up the size of the batch .
HTH, Ryan.
P.s. The second pic discus has beautiful pattern and colouring.

[ruudvk]

I am experiencing the same thing in my group of 9 discus. Two of them are way smaller than the rest, but the body/eye ratio seems okay. I don’t think they are stunted, just smaller individuals. Don’t mind it either, it actually looks pretty when they school together.

Love the second picture as well, nice colours!

[Phillydubs]

Ryan - Are those pictures recent and your current set up... Is that fine gravel or like an eco complete?

Honestly it sounds to me like you got off to growing them in not so ideal conditions and they still are not in the optimal set up for full max growth.

Now granted, you have 7 fish and they will all grow at their own rate and max out at their own size, some may grow slower, some may never catch up, some may hit spurts. It is just nature and the name of the game...

That being said, you started with rather small fish, but good fish. While not juvies they still needed and do need ideal conditions to grow in... For 3 months now you have had them in a planted tank with weekly water changes. Honestly, I am surprised they look as good as they do I have seen some bad fish in such a set up.

If you really want to grow them out, go bare bottom or light sand and change water daily, feed high quality food and try and see how they bounce back. You are going to need to max your effort now to try and help them catch up if they even can.

[jmf3460]

they do not look stunted to me.

[Ryan925]

Ryan - Are those pictures recent and your current set up... Is that fine gravel or like an eco complete?

Honestly it sounds to me like you got off to growing them in not so ideal conditions and they still are not in the optimal set up for full max growth.

Now granted, you have 7 fish and they will all grow at their own rate and max out at their own size, some may grow slower, some may never catch up, some may hit spurts. It is just nature and the name of the game...

That being said, you started with rather small fish, but good fish. While not juvies they still needed and do need ideal conditions to grow in... For 3 months now you have had them in a planted tank with weekly water changes. Honestly, I am surprised they look as good as they do I have seen some bad fish in such a set up.

If you really want to grow them out, go bare bottom or light sand and change water daily, feed high quality food and try and see how they bounce back. You are going to need to max your effort now to try and help them catch up if they even can.

I agree I had them in less than ideal conditions for first 2 months so had them. The passed month I have really been putting in effort to make changes more favorable to their growth.

Yes the substrate is eco. I'd like to swap it to sand. I actually have been getting some info from other members on how to make the swap.

Thanks for the advice

I think the quality stock receive from Kenny also helps

[Ryan925]

I had 3 out of 7 discus batch that end up small -12-13 cm. and yet round. Even their eyes to body ratio is not so disproportional as in stunted discus.
I believe they are runts , meaning they are genneticly compromised/ small and there is nothing you can do about them .
Recently I bought 3 new 4inch discus with potential to grow for replacement , to even up the size of the batch .
HTH, Ryan.
P.s. The second pic discus has beautiful pattern and colouring.

Thank you. That one has really started to color up nicely. Though smaller I can see this one is getting thicker and rounder.

[Phillydubs]

I would get that out and get them bare bottom for a little then add the sand in a few months. If you have a bucket or storage container, age some water overnight and pull the fish and keep them in the bucket with a heater and air stone and pull the tank clean it all and get ti filled again and back in, just like doing a 100% WC and they will be much happier and grow a lot faster and your cleaning will be so much easier

[Ryan925]

I am experiencing the same thing in my group of 9 discus. Two of them are way smaller than the rest, but the body/eye ratio seems okay. I don’t think they are stunted, just smaller individuals. Don’t mind it either, it actually looks pretty when they school together.

Love the second picture as well, nice colours!

Here's Dan other pic of the eruption. Depending on the light sometimes the bars really show. This pic was last month. I can tell it has definitely gotten thicker. Growing quite fond of this one as the color rally starts to pop99768

[DISCUS STU]

Yes they can and do. I had a friend that was a great Discus breeder and he had some fully matured and proportional Pigeon Bloods that looked perfect other than that they were exceptionally small fish and if anybody could raise Discus to their best it was this guy. Happens all the time, you'll just sometimes end up with some smaller fish.

Sometimes it's better to sell or give them away with understanding that they are smaller fish. Somebody may be glad to get them.

[Ryan925]

Yes they can and do. I had a friend that was a great Discus breeder and he had some fully matured and proportional Pigeon Bloods that looked perfect other than that they were exceptionally small fish and if anybody could raise Discus to their best it was this guy. Happens all the time, you'll just sometimes end up with some smaller fish.

Sometimes it's better to sell or give them away with understanding that they are smaller fish. Somebody may be glad to get them.

I don't mind them being smaller as this is an ongoing learning experience. My 4 year old loves them so we are happy.

I will end up selling these or donating them once I am ready to set up a much larger tank for a larger group along with doing a BB grow out first.

[DISCUS STU]

I don't mind them being smaller as this is an ongoing learning experience. My 4 year old loves them so we are happy.

I will end up selling these or donating them once I am ready to set up a much larger tank for a larger group along with doing a BB grow out first.

Right on. It would be nice if they all netted out at 6 1/2 inches but I have some very nice fish that are much smaller.

[Ryan925]

Right on. It would be nice if they all netted out at 6 1/2 inches but I have some very nice fish that are much smaller.


Right! As long as they are round with nice color I am happy. The larger of the group are 5+. I don't have the expectation of them being monster 8"ers. Not for this go around anyway

[Willie]

People raise discus for all sorts of different reasons. Some want to have a pretty fish tank in their living space, with nice gravel, nice plants, etc. Some want to breed discus and sell fry. Others want to produce show specimen for competition. If you go with option 1 or option 2, then your fish will not be as big and nice as going for option 3. Does that mean you are stunting your fish? It's a matter of degree. With option 1, you'll be lucky to get 5" discus. With option 2, 6" discus are common. With option 3, you can get 6 1/2" to 8" fish. You see people do that on this forum and elsewhere.

The fact is that the fish in the first picture looks like it has potential to grow more. The second and third fish have stopped growing, as you can tell by the ratio of the eyes to the forehead. But they look like happy and healthy fish. It's not reasonable to do option 1 and get option 3 fish.

A happy hobbyist is someone who has clear objectives and clear expectations. I know I am, Willie

[Ryan925]

People raise discus for all sorts of different reasons. Some want to have a pretty fish tank in their living space, with nice gravel, nice plants, etc. Some want to breed discus and sell fry. Others want to produce show specimen for competition. If you go with option 1 or option 2, then your fish will not be as big and nice as going for option 3. Does that mean you are stunting your fish? It's a matter of degree. With option 1, you'll be lucky to get 5" discus. With option 2, 6" discus are common. With option 3, you can get 6 1/2" to 8" fish. You see people do that on this forum and elsewhere.

The fact is that the fish in the first picture looks like it has potential to grow more. The second and third fish have stopped growing, as you can tell by the ratio of the eyes to the forehead. But they look like happy and healthy fish. It's not reasonable to do option 1 and get option 3 fish.

A happy hobbyist is someone who has clear objectives and clear expectations. I know I am, Willie

Thanks so much for your input. I absolutely agree. I am already plotting my next endeavor which is much different. I'd like to grow some juvies towards the "text book" discus then move to a very large show tank. Something like a dozen or more of a single species or half and half of 2.

For now I am pleased with the "look" of my fish though a few may be small. If they remain round and colorful and most importantly healthy then I am satisfied.

I want a show piece that my family and I can enjoy. With that in mind its been a success. My son loves it and I find my dad visiting just to pull a chair up in front of the tank and watch them as he enjoys a cold beer.

[Ryan925]

People raise discus for all sorts of different reasons. Some want to have a pretty fish tank in their living space, with nice gravel, nice plants, etc. Some want to breed discus and sell fry. Others want to produce show specimen for competition. If you go with option 1 or option 2, then your fish will not be as big and nice as going for option 3. Does that mean you are stunting your fish? It's a matter of degree. With option 1, you'll be lucky to get 5" discus. With option 2, 6" discus are common. With option 3, you can get 6 1/2" to 8" fish. You see people do that on this forum and elsewhere.

The fact is that the fish in the first picture looks like it has potential to grow more. The second and third fish have stopped growing, as you can tell by the ratio of the eyes to the forehead. But they look like happy and healthy fish. It's not reasonable to do option 1 and get option 3 fish.

A happy hobbyist is someone who has clear objectives and clear expectations. I know I am, Willie


2nd and 3rd pic are same fish. 2nd pic is July 3rd pic is June. I can see this fish noticeably fattening up.

Thanks so much for your input. I absolutely agree. I am already plotting my next endeavor which is much different. I'd like to grow some juvies towards the "text book" discus then move to a very large show tank. Something like a dozen or more of a single species or half and half of 2.

For now I am pleased with the "look" of my fish though a few may be small. If they remain round and colorful and most importantly healthy then I am satisfied.

I want a show piece that my family and I can enjoy. With that in mind its been a success. My son loves it and I find my dad visiting just to pull a chair up in front of the tank and watch them as he enjoys a cold beer.

Heres 2 of the smalleys with a couple over their larger tank mates.

Sorry for poor photo they obviously always want to face front when I'm near. 99771

[MarktheShark3]

The Discus I keep has attained a length of around 5" and is eating well and not diseased. The fish is in a high-light aquarium with nitrate and phosphorous dosing along with co2 injection and weekly to bi-weekly water changes. Only issue I have noticed is it is very shy.

According to the discussion set forth here, my fish should be unwell/stunted. I'm really confused. I think some Discus must be the exception to the rule?

[Ryan925]

The Discus I keep has attained a length of around 5" and is eating well and not diseased. The fish is in a high-light aquarium with nitrate and phosphorous dosing along with co2 injection and weekly to bi-weekly water changes. Only issue I have noticed is it is very shy.

According to the discussion set forth here, my fish should be unwell/stunted. I'm really confused. I think some Discus must be the exception to the rule?

There are exceptions to every rule. My smaller ones, though aren't stunted, may always be small. I'm ok with that.

The guidelines for discus keeping are to give optimum conditions to receive the most from your fish. Can they be kept in less than ideal conditions and thrive? Possible but not likely.

I'm happy with what I have but believe that my next go will be very different.

Id like to grow out a group of juvies" the right way" then transfer them to a large show tank when they are ready. I've learned so much from reading here and from experience.

[MarktheShark3]

There are exceptions to every rule. My smaller ones, though aren't stunted, may always be small. I'm ok with that.

The guidelines for discus keeping are to give optimum conditions to receive the most from your fish. Can they be kept in less than ideal conditions and thrive? Possible but not likely.

I'm happy with what I have but believe that my next go will be very different.

Id like to grow out a group of juvies" the right way" then transfer them to a large show tank when they are ready. I've learned so much from reading here and from experience.

The Discus you have look happy and I would say you are doing the best you can for them. I think this concept of creating ideal conditions is akin to perfectionism almost. While theres nothing wrong with perfectionism, it can be tiring and unnecessary some times.

[Filip]

The Discus I keep has attained a length of around 5" and is eating well and not diseased. The fish is in a high-light aquarium with nitrate and phosphorous dosing along with co2 injection and weekly to bi-weekly water changes. Only issue I have noticed is it is very shy.

According to the discussion set forth here, my fish should be unwell/stunted. I'm really confused. I think some Discus must be the exception to the rule?

Your discus might have been twice as big as it is now (guessing 4 inch discus ) given the perfect conditions.
Then again , if he/she was genneticly small discus , aka a runt he would still ended up 4-5 inch no matter what you did .
The point , like Ryan said is to give your best for the fish and try to use their full god given potential for growth and strength. You'll always end up with a runt or two in every raised discus batch anyway.

[Ryan925]

Your discus might have been twice as big as it is now (guessing 4 inch discus ) given the perfect conditions.
Then again , if he/she was genneticly small discus , aka a runt he would still ended up 4-5 inch no matter what you did .
The point , like Ryan said is to give your best for the fish and try to use their full god given potential for growth and strength. You'll always end up with a runt or two in every raised discus batch anyway.

I firmly believe its a mixture of having slower growing fish (runts) as well as less than ideal conditions. Not that I have kept them in poor conditions however not ideal. Since removing a lot of plants and making some changes I have noticed more growth in these smaller guys. Maybe not so much in length but definitely in thickness. I think I may have been on the under feeding side of things as well. I have also increased feeding regiment.

Since rescaping I imo my tank is much cleaner. When I do a thorough vac of the gravel I have very little debris to suck up. After removing the large number of plants and vac'ing daily there was a or of stuff being sucked up.

Tank is much cleaner now which means water quality is much better.

I was always worried about over feeding so may have not fed enough. My hope is for the smaller guys to grow some more even though they may never reach their potential. I can see the larger ones are still growing as they start to leap frog each other.

Again their color and shape give myself and my family pleasure. Watching them gracefully swim throughout the tank and interact with us is satisfying.

I agree it's all about expectations. As long as they are happy and healthy I consider this endeavor a success.

I had a very bad experience my first time with discus. This time I have been satisfied.

The next go at it will be geared more towards growing them to fill potential.

Many thanks to all the members here and all the feedback

[MarktheShark3]

What aspect of frequent water changing induces faster growth? Is it the replenishment of calcium (involved in strong bone integrity and growth) that is helping?

[Ryan925]

What aspect of frequent water changing induces faster growth? Is it the replenishment of calcium (involved in strong bone integrity and growth) that is helping?

I believe it's more for the immeasurables. I'm sure the more veteran discus keepers can give more detail. There is much more to "water quality" than we test for. Discus are much more sensitive to this than most fish.

I must admit I thought with a planted tank and 3.5"-4" discus I could get away with less. I couldn't be more wrong.

Although my water perameters were always acceptable I can see a big difference since I have made my changes.

I've removed the majority of my plants and have increase my frequency of WCs. I see the difference in appearance and behavior of my fish no doubt.

[Filip]

What aspect of frequent water changing induces faster growth? Is it the replenishment of calcium (involved in strong bone integrity and growth) that is helping?

Discus are less tolerant to heterotrophic bacteria and pathogens that live and feed of DOCs(decomposed and disolved organics)n our aquarium.
That's why we perfform almost daily cleaning tank walls, siphon sand (if there is one ), keep filter materials almost debris free and finally change a lot of water .
Remineralization like you mentioned is also an important aspect of the WCs.

[MarktheShark3]

Discus are less tolerant to heterotrophic bacteria and pathogens that live and feed of DOCs(decomposed and disolved organics)n our aquarium.


Thats really interesting. What i've attributed to intolerance/disease over the last 8 years is too much of cleaned filter system and environment. For instance, in the context of my Koi Pond, if the filter system acquires a lot of DOC's and I take actions to remove those DOC's through syphoning and doing a minor squeeze of the filter media that would catch the DOC's (in my case this is filter wool), I almost certainly have issues with a rise in total ammonia levels as I've dislodged or removed the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter colonies from the filter media. Based on these earlier experiences, I infrequently clean the filter media in my Discus aquariums as I would be reducing the filter medias ability to reduce ammonia and nitrite. The Discus I have doesn't seem to mind at all.

I think the only way to do frequent cleaning regimes and avoid an ammonia disaster would be to feed and stock lightly which is presumably what Discus keepers do?

[Filip]

Thats really interesting. What i've attributed to intolerance/disease over the last 8 years is too much of cleaned filter system and environment. For instance, in the context of my Koi Pond, if the filter system acquires a lot of DOC's and I take actions to remove those DOC's through syphoning and doing a minor squeeze of the filter media that would catch the DOC's (in my case this is filter wool), I almost certainly have issues with a rise in total ammonia levels as I've dislodged or removed the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter colonies from the filter media. Based on these earlier experiences, I infrequently clean the filter media in my Discus aquariums as I would be reducing the filter medias ability to reduce ammonia and nitrite. The Discus I have doesn't seem to mind at all.

I think the only way to do frequent cleaning regimes and avoid an ammonia disaster would be to feed and stock lightly which is presumably what Discus keepers do?

Wool or prefilter sponges are mechanical filtration. For bio filtration there are other types of materials with sufficient surface area for nitrosomonas and nitrobacter to inhabit . Bio filter should only be rinsed in the same aquarium water in order to keep Beneficial bacteria alive and unharmed , and mechanical filtration can be replaced or washed more agressivly under tapwater, cause their main purpose is to catch poop/ dirt and not biofiltration.

If you think that rotting fish poop (DOCs ) in your filter or anywhere else in your tank is beneficial in any way for your fish , sorry but you are dead wrong.

And on the contrary , experienced discus breeders / sellers ussualy overfeed their fish to accelerate the growth and also overstock their tanks in order to optimize their profits.
They just keep tanks sterily clean and change 100% water multiple times a day when needed.

[MarktheShark3]

Wool or prefilter sponges are mechanical filtration. For bio filtration there are other types of materials with sufficient surface area for nitrosomonas and nitrobacter to inhabit . Bio filter should only be rinsed in the same aquarium water in order to keep Beneficial bacteria alive and unharmed , and mechanical filtration can be replaced or washed more agressivly under tapwater, cause their main purpose is to catch poop/ dirt and not biofiltration.

If you think that rotting fish poop (DOCs ) in your filter or anywhere else in your tank is beneficial in any way for your fish , sorry but you are dead wrong.



The removal of the filter wool caused an increase in my pond ammonia levels. Thats fact. So while the main role of the filter wool was to catch faeces, it also clearly had a role in the nitrate cycle as well. If it played no role at all, the several methods for which I tested for total ammonia after cleaning, namely, the use of a Seneye ammonia sensor, a Seachem ammonia card and an API Master Kit ammonia test, would have showed a negative result for ammonia.

As for poop in the water column, I suggest you go for a swim in a pond, you'll find lots of it alongside happy and healthy inhabitants.

Its no surprise that Discus keepers would have to do 100% water changes a day since if they keep disrupting the nitrosomonas/nitrobacter filter bacteria potential for ammonia and nitrite to be converted to nitrates.

The Discus I keep are living proof that they don't require 100% water changes on a daily basis. The only issue I have had with my Discus relates to its genetically acquired bad eyesight.

[Kyla]

i use fx5 filters and they contain sponges and bio balls. i know some ppl that rinse their sponges under the tap, but i rinse mine in tank water along with the bio balls because im pretty sure that even tho they r meant for mechanical filtration, bacteria tend to accumulate on them as well. if this is so, and if bacteria only grow to match the bio load, rinsing my sponges in tap water may compromise the BB on them and thus reduce the total overall #of BB in the tank and lead to spikes in ammonia/nitrite.

my thoughts re: the filter wool would be - if u remove and replace it more frequently, before there is an opportunity for BB to establish themselves on it, that may prevent the spikes u see because then the BB should establish themselves elsewhere. if, on the otherhand, u find that replacing it frequently results in a consistently higher ammonia level, this would lead me to believe u might not have enough media surface available for the BB to colonize.

[Clawhammer]

As for poop in the water column, I suggest you go for a swim in a pond, you'll find lots of it alongside happy and healthy inhabitants.

Its no surprise that Discus keepers would have to do 100% water changes a day since if they keep disrupting the nitrosomonas/nitrobacter filter bacteria potential for ammonia and nitrite to be converted to nitrates.


Discus live in the Amazon, not a pond. The Amazon flows 60 million gallons a second.

The water changes have nothing to do with removing ammonia. Im thinking more reading and less typing is in order for you.

[Kyla]

2nd and 3rd pic are same fish. 2nd pic is July 3rd pic is June. I can see this fish noticeably fattening up.

Thanks so much for your input. I absolutely agree. I am already plotting my next endeavor which is much different. I'd like to grow some juvies towards the "text book" discus then move to a very large show tank. Something like a dozen or more of a single species or half and half of 2.

For now I am pleased with the "look" of my fish though a few may be small. If they remain round and colorful and most importantly healthy then I am satisfied.

I want a show piece that my family and I can enjoy. With that in mind its been a success. My son loves it and I find my dad visiting just to pull a chair up in front of the tank and watch them as he enjoys a cold beer.

Heres 2 of the smalleys with a couple over their larger tank mates.

Sorry for poor photo they obviously always want to face front when I'm near. 99771

i sure love that red one on the left

[Ryan925]

Just wanted to update this thread as it's been several months since I had posted worried I'd stunted my dish. Thanks to the advice of many here I've made the necessary changes and have seen a complete turnaround with these fish. Just wanted to share a few recent photos of what these guys looks like now. The cobalt suddenly is as big if not slightly bigger than my largest. 104242104243104244104245

[two utes]

:thumbsup: Keep up the good work Ryan.

They will only get bigger from here.

[Ryan925]

:thumbsup: Keep up the good work Ryan.

They will only get bigger from here.

Thanks Joe. They are really starting to bulk up which so really like. Hoping they will be as beefy as yours

[Jenene]

They look great Ryan. I must say it is really hard to see the growth when you see them everyday. I knew mine were growing but did not realize it until my son returned from college yesterday and said "Whoa! they have really gotten big!" I thought phew....I am doing something right! (-:

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Wow the difference between the first pics posted and the ones now are amazing. Good job, they look great. The red leopard's shape has really improved imo. How big are they now?

[Ryan925]

Wow the difference between the first pics posted and the ones now are amazing. Good job, they look great. The red leopard's shape has really improved imo. How big are they now?


Thank you. I am pretty pleased with their growth.
Have not netted them to measure but try to measure up to the glass. Looks like 5.5-6

[Filip]

Great looking discus Ryan . You've done a good job with them and they look great to me , especially the red spotted leopard.

[Ryan925]

Great looking discus Ryan . You've done a good job with them and they look great to me , especially the red spotted leopard.

Thanks Filip heres a few more pics of him/her104319104320104321

[Filip]

He's gorgeous Ryan . TFS your pics .
The transformation he went through from the pic on the first page of this thread and the current look, is just amazing.

[Ryan925]

He is probably the shortest head to tail now, of the group,, it very round. My little runt has passed this one up now. My runt actually has actually caught up to the largest
104324104325

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Thanks Filip heres a few more pics of him/her104319104320104321

That's a really good looking fish Ryan.

[Ryan925]

That's a really good looking fish Ryan.

Thanks Adrian I'm very fortunate that I was able to catch my mistakes early and still have success with these guys

[Ryan925]

Just wanted to make one last update to this thread as a testament to water changes. The three fish that I had feared I stunted ended up showing much more growth after making corrections in tank decor and water change frequency. The checkerboard and the cobalt are now two of the largest fish. The eruption is a bit smaller but pretty round. I'm hoping that my experience can help with others to avoid the same mistakes 108122108123108124

[Filip]

What a nice chronological development of your discus fish Ryan . I'm glad that you were able to get your smallest discus on the right track just on time .
So the moral of this story ,at least for me here ,would be never to write off a smaller discus in any time of his growth period .
Great looking discus Ryan . Congrats on your upkeep.

[Ryan925]

What a nice chronological development of your discus fish Ryan . I'm glad that you were able to get your smallest discus on the right track just on time .
So the moral of this story ,at least for me here ,would be never to write off a smaller discus in any time of his growth period .
Great looking discus Ryan . Congrats on your upkeep.

Thank you very much Filip. I was very fortunate. I owe many thanks to the forum for getting on the right track. You actually were one of the most helpful. I think there are many lessons to be learned here but it becomes more and more obvious that fresh clean water is the cure for many things.

I will also be following your growout closely. That will definitely be the next endeavor I would like to try my hand at

During wc last night I actually picked up the cobalt and measured him on my hand. He is about 6.5" +/-

[CliffsDiscus]

They don't look stunted on the first 2 pictures but they do look stress. The Eruptions are slow growth
compare to some other Discus. They do look like
they are over a year old, as Eruption and LLS color up
late. I can only tell you from my breeding experience.

Cliff

[Ryan925]

They don't look stunted on the first 2 pictures but they do look stress. The Eruptions are slow growth
compare to some other Discus. They do look like
they are over a year old, as Eruption and LLS color up
late. I can only tell you from my breeding experience.

Cliff

Thanks cliff. Ya they are over a year. I got them from Kenny last April. They were about 3-3.5"

[Clawhammer]

Different strokes for different folks, but size is third in importance next to shape and color in my book.

[CliffsDiscus]

Thanks cliff. Ya they are over a year. I got them from Kenny last April. They were about 3-3.5"

My Eruptions originally came from Wayne Ng back in
2006, currently on F7 generation.

Cliff

[Ryan925]

My Eruptions originally came from Wayne Ng back in
2006, currently on F7 generation.

Cliff

Nice cliff may have to hit you up when I get ready to do kg first fry grow out. I am over in the east bay

[Neptune]

great looking fish Ryan!

[Ryan925]

great looking fish Ryan!

Thanks man. How are your little guys growing

[emil]

Beautiful fish Ryan. :) How often and how much WC? Thanks.

[Ryan925]

Beautiful fish Ryan. :) How often and how much WC? Thanks.

Ty
After realizing my mistakes I started doing about 80% every other day

[Ryan925]

Just wanted to do a quick update here as I learned a valuable lesson and hope to pass it on. I found that fish that look to be runts or stunted can really turn around when provided the right conditions. I have learned a lot along the way but definitely wish I had done things right from the very beginning.

2 of these 3 fish are now my two largest. Both big males. The eruption is still growing slowly but much smaller female compared to these guys.
111370
111371
111372

[Neptune]

wonderful fish Ryan!

[Ryan925]

wonderful fish Ryan!

Thanks brotha that cobalt is turning into a beast

[fishbubbles]

Nice looking fish Ryan, I'm happy for you that you were able to get some mass on those guys.

[Ryan925]

Nice looking fish Ryan, I'm happy for you that you were able to get some mass on those guys.

Ty I appreciate that. They are definitely beefing up

[two utes]

Thanks Joe. They are really starting to bulk up which so really like. Hoping they will be as beefy as yours


Thanks brotha that cobalt is turning into a beast

....You were saying?? Nice work mate. Not only a lesson learnt for you but hopefully others following your thread. Keep up to good work

[Ryan925]

....You were saying?? Nice work mate. Not only a lesson learnt for you but hopefully others following your thread. Keep up to good work

Lol thanks Joe. Your fish are my fish's idols

I think I may tape a photo of yours to the front glass to give them some motivation.