Fully Grown?

[tcmemphisbbq]

How long typically in good conditions until a discus is considered an "Adult" and Fully mature or fully grown?

I know there are alot of factors involved, including wc's, etc - but just looking for a typical average....

Do different strains grow at different rates? I've noticed in my 125 fish outgrowing other fish that were "older" -

And last question - once stunted always stunted? Ive got a blue turq that is the same size as when I bought him 9 months ago, he might be a little bigger but hasnt grown much, fish ive put in since have flown by him in growth.

I do 50%wc 2 time per week, have over the top filtration(as in 5 times tank size), lots of plants, feed 3-5 times per day a wide variety (fbw, beef heart, pellets, flakes, blackworms)... they are healthy, i just want them to grow as healthy as they can.

[ifixoldhouses]

I've heard 16 months is the max growth, once stunted its always stunted, may grow a lil fatter is all.

[caparzo]

16 months to fully mature ?? Is that right ? I thought it might be a little longer, anyone ?

[DiscusKeeper403]

I thought 24 months?

[Jhhnn]

My limited experience is that domestic discus are almost completely grown at ~1 year of age. That matches with what I've read.

My blue scorps are now ~12-13 months old. Their appetites, still hearty, aren't what they were some months ago, and what growth that is occurring is smaller. 7 are honest 5-1/2" fish, most a little larger, a couple are definitely 6"+. The smallest isn't much smaller, and seems to be that way because it can't accurately locate and eat small bits of food. 2 have paired up, and spawn regularly.

Hans says discus in general may put on an additional 1/2" or so over the next 6 months, which would be nice. I'm not holding my breath, however.

When I think about it, it seems to me that the actual increase in mass between 5" and 6" is a lot greater than between 4" and 5" because of the round shape and the fact that the fish get thicker as well. When discus get even larger, the difference is even more profound.

As discus mature, the hormone balance shifts away from growth towards reproduction. That's true for most living things. Large size isn't a survival factor for all creatures, obviously, and clearly isn't for discus.

Judging from the pics of hand held mature wild discus, imagining them in my own relatively large hand, ~7-1/2", it seems to me that they're really ~4-1/2" to 5-1/2" long, with a few larger. Or the guy holding them has really, really big hands. Like this-

http://www.amazon-exotic-import.de/Gallerie/Diskuswildf%e4nge/INDEX.htm

Fishfarm professionals and dedicated hobbyists can get the most out of their stock's genetic heritage with lots of food and nearly continuous fresh water, also with selective breeding to the larger individuals. At that, fish larger than 7" are very much the exception rather than the rule.

Any discus that fails to grow over a period of months has pretty much achieved its max size, particularly if other discus outgrow it...

At least that's the way it seems to me and to my admittedly limited experience.

[tcmemphisbbq]

I appreciate the feedback, the stunted one we have is a red turq, he has been in and out of qt more than once, finally looked like we got him all better and he is fattening up when I noticed one of is side fins is a little eroded, no other fish seem to be having any issues, I have noticed the red turq has not grown maybe a half inch since we got him 9 months ago but just now after months in and out of qt is just now starting to fatten up and his color is beautiful, deep blue, nice red striations... he was my very first discus and at the time i got it from the lfs I really didnt have the knowledge I do know....

Back when I first got him, they only got fed pellets, now I feed them a very wide variety... even though he is stunted, still good to see him displaying colors and getting fat after all the crap he has been through lol, but he is definately weak, constituinally wise.

98% of that has come from this site and all the cool people on it.