Keeping Juveniles vs. Adults

[alang]

I am still in research mode. I have read that keeping juveniles requires different water conditions and has more challenges vs keeping adults, but I have not found anything that clarifies exactly what those differences are.

My lfs has a large group of juvies that were spawned in the store, but I want to know what I am getting into before I take the plunge.

Thanks.

[1077]

IME the biggest difference is adult fish can be fed twice a day and do well where juvenile discus need several feedings per day to keep from becoming stunted. several feedings per day = daily water changes to remove waste from fish and any uneaten foods. I have two such stunted fish and although they are handsome fish they will not grow as large as they would have had i done a little more research on the species.

[1077]

If I had it all to do over again ,I would have raised the babies in a bare bottom tank which makes cleanup easier. And then i would have placed them in showtank. I am not a fan of bare bottom tanks but can easily see the benefits of doing so with very young discus.

[alang]

If I had it all to do over again ,I would have raised the babies in a bare bottom tank which makes cleanup easier. And then i would have placed them in showtank. I am not a fan of bare bottom tanks but can easily see the benefits of doing so with very young discus.

Unfortunatly, my only tank (except for a 10 gallon isolation tank) is heavly planted, and well established. There is no way I can revert back to BB, and no way the wife will let me get another big tank.

If I had a half dozen otto cats in my 60gal, do you think I could get away with weekly WC with 6-8 Juvies? 2x a week is the most I could manage for any length of time.

What is the approximate time needed to get a 1.5" juvie to a nice 4" adult? (assuming they are healthy, and I am feeding them 3x a day with high quality food). Is it months or years?

[1077]

The otocinclus primary food is algae and as such they would be a poor cleanup crew if that is your aim. Corycats such as sterba would do much better in that respect. Three feedings per day and you could possibly get away with twice weekly water changes in my view so long as you have plenty of filtration(biological) .With that said ,your fish like mine may not achieve the growth that many desire. Cannot help with growth rate for as mentioned my discus are stunted. The fish are healthy and recieve a variety of foods they just aren't nor will they be as large as their potential. Were it me and I had a choice I would opt for adult fish. In 60 gal Five in my view would be about right as far as adult fish. I am no expert ,I am sharing observations I have made perhaps others would disagree.:)

[thekeem]

I'm growing six juvies in a 90G densely planted show tank now. water changes twice weekly and multiple feedings daily and they're growing quite fast!

BB is not entirely necessary

[Darren's Discus]

Very few will obtain the growth rate and end size that comes from growing out in a BB tank.If you try to grow juvies in a planted tank odds are if you are feeding frequently you will run into problems in the future.It really depends what you want,If you want a nice planted display tank i would buy adults if you want to grow some juvies up do it in a bb then transfer them or plant your bb tank when they have grown.


cheers

[Peachtree Discus]

what it boils down to is feeding and wcs. more food and wcs for juvies than adults, and even more for fry.


...My lfs has a large group of juvies that were spawned in the store, but I want to know what I am getting into before I take the plunge.

i would be a little reluctant to buy these fish. of cos i can be wrong....but i doubt the lfs maintained wcs and proper feeding schedule to jumpstart the youngsters off right.

[Ed13]

i would be a little reluctant to buy these fish. of cos i can be wrong....but i doubt the lfs maintained wcs and proper feeding schedule to jumpstart the youngsters off right.
Well, the fact that the LFS claimed they have a confirmed pair that laid fertile eggs, did not ate them and that they got them to a large enough size to sell all at the store, confuses me enough:confused:

No disrespect alang, not doubting they told you so, but you either have the greatest discus LFS or the biggest liar;)

I'm I the only one that thinks this?:confused:

Maybe I'm missing something

[chitak]

Hello all,
I am just curious, we compare the adults and the juvis. Is there anything in between :) And when we talk about the lenght, do we count the back tail ? I have 3 discusses and 2 are almost 4 inches with the tail, are they still juvis ? I try to feed them twice a day at least, should I be feeding them more ?

I am sorry if I am asking just too basic stuff, probbaly this info is somewhere in the forum but just couldnt come across it yet.