Discus Growth Rate

[salman]

I bought 10 juvenile discus about 1 inch. They all look healthy but i think one has stunted growth. I am doing 50% water changes, and im feeding them:
Appetizer: New Life Spectrum (helps kill parasites), and flake food
Main Course: Frozen Blood Worms
Desert: Brine Shrimp

I am wondering, how fast will they grow? They are in a BB tank. Like how long will they take to be 2 inches? etc. And at what size or age do they start mating or breeding?

[Green Country Discus]

There is a lot of "how often" and "how much" involved in answering your question. First, you did not mention if you raised the juvies or if you got them from another source. The growth rate of healthy fry is based on lots of good food, pristine water conditions, a clean tank and filter, and good health from day one. This starts at day one of free-swimming and continues from there. So...a few questions..Have the fry had any health issues to this point? Fry that have been or are sick rarely exhibit their potential in growth and in fact are usually compromised for life. How often and how much and what they were fed up to this point and what you are willing to do in the future? How often and how much water change (ditto)? How often was and is their tank and filter being thoroughly cleaned? Raising fry and getting good growth takes a lot of discipline and practice on the part of the hobbyist/breeder. With poor conditions and poor feeding, getting to two inches may take months, if they make it at all.

So, under poor conditions they may never get to 2" and under ideal (from the start) conditions- free swim to 2" in 7-8 weeks. Yours are 1" so in 3 to 4 weeks if everything has been done right you will have 2" Discus :;:).

Breeding can start as early as 9 months for females, males take longer to mature. Size and age of breeders depends on the two "Hows" above, as well as genetics etc .
HTH

[Polar_Bear]

I generally agree with what Andrew said. I will add that it appears that you are feeding fry 3 times a day, which is WAY too little IMO. I feed fish that size literally 4 TIMES more than that. Every hour or so during lights on.

[salman]

There is a lot of "how often" and "how much" involved in answering your question. First, you did not mention if you raised the juvies or if you got them from another source. The growth rate of healthy fry is based on lots of good food, pristine water conditions, a clean tank and filter, and good health from day one. This starts at day one of free-swimming and continues from there. So...a few questions..Have the fry had any health issues to this point? Fry that have been or are sick rarely exhibit their potential in growth and in fact are usually compromised for life. How often and how much and what they were fed up to this point and what you are willing to do in the future? How often and how much water change (ditto)? How often was and is their tank and filter being thoroughly cleaned? Raising fry and getting good growth takes a lot of discipline and practice on the part of the hobbyist/breeder. With poor conditions and poor feeding, getting to two inches may take months, if they make it at all.

So, under poor conditions they may never get to 2" and under ideal (from the start) conditions- free swim to 2" in 7-8 weeks. Yours are 1" so in 3 to 4 weeks if everything has been done right you will have 2" Discus :;:).

Breeding can start as early as 9 months for females, males take longer to mature. Size and age of breeders depends on the two "Hows" above, as well as genetics etc .
HTH

If you read my post again, i think it answers all your questions.
50% WC a day
I feed them 4 times a day, i'm feeding them anything they will eat.
I bought them, i didn't raise them. They all look healthy except for one which has a big head.

In a month i'll know which ones are sick and which ones are healthy depending on their growth.

[mmorris]

If you read my post again, i think it answers all your questions.
In a month i'll know which ones are sick and which ones are healthy depending on their growth.

50 % wc a day tells us nothing unless you tell us how large a tank your 10 juvies are in. I believe you said 100 gal. on another thread but it might have been useful to repeat it here. I, as well, would recommend feeding more often than four times a day. Can you post a photo? People on this forum might be able to tell you if the discus are already compromised. This could tell you much about their future growth potential. Besides, we like to see pics of other people's discus. :) There will be other indicators besides growth that will tell you if there is a problem. Good luck with the little guys! Keep us posted! Martha

[Elcid]

Hey Salman:

You know there are too many factors....My suggestion to you is to forget about growth and focus on health. You know how a healthy discus behaves? Sometimes feeding too much may hurt your discus more than helping it.....Try to find a regime that will keep your discus happy and healthy and the growth will take care of itself...

HTH,
Sandeep

[Green Country Discus]

Salman, I did re-read your post and some answers are there (my bad). However, my post was "food for thought" based on your questions. I thought I would share a few basic things that contribute to this topic and in doing so , encourage you to continue to read and learn and experiment . I did not question what you were /are doing now with the fry (I could have ;)) but wanted you to do it on your own. Martha and PB are point on with your feeding regime, way too little! WC'c same story and I did not mention they need lots of room with lots of friends. Best of luck and if done properly, they will really grow for you.
Andrew

[salman]

At first, i put them in the 100 gallon, they looked really scared! So i moved them into a 15 gallon i have. I will keep them there for 2 weeks and then move them to my 44 gallon. I think the 15 gallon looks big enough for them now. I'll go try to get some pictures, because once i turn on the lights, they go hide behind the filter.

[salman]

Actually i'll move them into the 44 gallon tomorrow. I'll BB everything and take out everything from the tank, even the water, and put them in tomorrow.

[salman]

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[salman]

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Sorry for the image quality but i hope you can still help me.

[Kindredspirit]

They are small aren't they? Cute too! I would, personally, stop moving them, Sal! lol! Are they settled now where you want them?

Lots of wc and as they grow slam them with bh and a variety of foods 5-6x a day ~ they will grow up and like everything:)

Remember that lots of little meals often through out the day is better than large meals...You want to see their little tummies full:)

[salman]

They are small aren't they? Cute too! I would, personally, stop moving them, Sal! lol! Are they settled now where you want them?

Lots of wc and as they grow slam them with bh and a variety of foods 5-6x a day ~ they will grow up and like everything:)

Remember that lots of little meals often through out the day is better than large meals...You want to see their little tummies full:)

Yep they are small lol. About an inch. Can you tell if they are sick or not and if they have stunted growth? They look fine to me but you never know.

I just cleaned out and set everything for them to move into a bigger home tomorrow morning (44 gallon).

What is BH?

I am feeding them frozen blood worms, brine shrimp, and New Life Spectrum 3 times a day, i don't have an auto feeder and i don't plan on using one. Do you recommend any other foods i should be giving them?

[Kindredspirit]

I am feeding them frozen blood worms, brine shrimp, and New Life Spectrum 3 times a day, i don't have an auto feeder and i don't plan on using one. Do you recommend any other foods i should be giving them?


I don't have an auto feeder either ~ I think I am the only one in the whole wide world sometimes:o

BH is Beefheart ~ there are numerous of recipes here on Simply ~ just search it ~ I am not sure though if 1" babies can handle that...better wait for the Powers To Be to return!

You only feed 3x a day? How come? I would feed much much more than that....they are constantly hungry or should be at this size ~

Remember....feed little often ~ really often! Hence, the reason you have gone BB, remember?:)

[salman]

I'll feed them more then. Thank you.

I'll look for the recipes and then feed them BH in like a month if they grow.

Do the fish look healthy to you in the pictures? They are active they look perfectly fine. But i think some of them have stunted growth.

[Kindredspirit]

They look bright, not dark and they look active! This is a good thing:) You say they are eating, correct? Try not to worry so much, and wc wc wc with plenty of meals:)

Keep their water pristine ~ if you start to slack, esp at this size, you may run into some problems~

Keep us posted!



Marie ~ :balloon:

[salman]

They look bright, not dark and they look active! This is a good thing:) You say they are eating, correct? Try not to worry so much, and wc wc wc with plenty of meals:)

Keep their water pristine ~ if you start to slack, esp at this size, you may run into some problems~

Keep us posted!



Marie ~ :balloon:

They eat like pigs. But i didn't raise them. I bought them 4 days ago. This is why i am worried.

[mmorris]

I'm not one to comment on stunted growth because I don't have enough experience with fish that young. Others will. They are cute! I don't see any that are dark and hiding in the corners. That's always a good sign! You might find frozen bh in the LFS. I use theirs. I would feed it now. If they won't eat it it might be because the pieces you cut are too big. I had to shave the bh off so it looked like frozen powder when I had juvies that age. BH will put the size on fast. I could never figure out if I was feeding juvies `too much' so I fed them all they could eat constantly and not so much that there was uneaten food left on the bottom. For heaven's sake, forget breeding for now and worry about raising these guys! Martha

[Kindredspirit]

They eat like pigs. But i didn't raise them. I bought them 4 days ago. This is why i am worried.


Well, 4 days 4 hours....You are worried.......Why? Don't worry ~ been there done that:o

Remember you should do at least, at least, 50% wc a day and feed a lot! Puppies, babies, all eat often through out a day, baby discus are no different....

And read. Knowledge is Power:)


You have the best book to start with right here on Simply:)

[Kindredspirit]

For heaven's sake, forget breeding for now and worry about raising these guys! Martha


The lady has a point:) You obviously want to learn....as you went BB and changing things....

Don't slip away now!

Martha is right as well re the BH...I had forgotten you can shave little pieces for them:)

Patience GrassHopper ~ enjoy them!

[AADiscus]

I don't know what you are looking at but normally you can not tell if a discus is stunted at only 1". These guys/girls are still very, very young. I will mention that a few in your pictures looked pretty skinny (bony). It could be the pictures though. Keep them in one tank and let them get settled in and used to there surrounding. Lots of feeding and lots of daily wc's. You have a long wait before they reach breeding size. We will go there next year for ya. ;)

[Green Country Discus]

Salman, no harm intended but...these fish are months + old. Please contact your source and question their techniques. The color and shape of these Discus is disturbing. Way to much for 1". I will guess 4+ months old and some help with color :mad: I wish you the best and recommend another source!

[Kindredspirit]

The color and shape of these Discus is disturbing. Way to much for 1". I will guess 4+ months old and some help with color :mad:


I thought something strange about this! That one is so blue and prominent in it's colors....but then when it was stated that they are one inch....

~ I never put 2 and 2 together:(

The Power of the trained eye.

[Richy44]

My technique for feeding beef heart.

Get a nice fresh heart from a local butcher.
Trim it very well. Remove all the fat and veins
Cut into 2" square as long as the heart is ( 2x2x6 )
Wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze
When you want to feed take out a piece and immediately use a kitchen grater and grate some on a plate. The friction will thaw the small pieces. Return the balance to the freezer.
As the fish get larger just use a larger grate size.

Work well for me. You cannot cut the pieces small enough with a Knife when they are that small. Grate away.:)

If there is a problem with this method I hope one of the experts would mention why.

Rick.......

[salman]

My technique for feeding beef heart.

Get a nice fresh heart from a local butcher.
Trim it very well. Remove all the fat and veins
Cut into 2" square as long as the heart is ( 2x2x6 )
Wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze
When you want to feed take out a piece and immediately use a kitchen grater and grate some on a plate. The friction will thaw the small pieces. Return the balance to the freezer.
As the fish get larger just use a larger grate size.

Work well for me. You cannot cut the pieces small enough with a Knife when they are that small. Grate away.:)

If there is a problem with this method I hope one of the experts would mention why.

Rick.......

Thanks for the method.

But, i think i'm going to go and see if the have frozen BH. Sounds like too much works and i hate kitchen work. :P