View Full Version : How fast should they be growing?
strawberryblonde
04-22-2011, 10:01 AM
I've had my discus for 16 days now and they seem to be growing VERY fast!
When they arrived the flachen was the largest at about 4 1/4" TL. The brilliants and marlboro were all just a smidge under 4" and the red turk and scrib were both 4" exactly.
I just finished a huge meal and WC and took the time to measure them since some of them seem to have sprouted up. I figured it was just glass distortion or my imagination.
The red turk has caught up to the flachen and is now a full 5" WL which means he grew a full inch in just over 2 weeks!
The flachen is 5", the marlboro is 4.5" and the brilliants are 4.25 inches.
It seems as though the brilliants don't eat as much as the others and often will skip a meal and just hang out with each other.
Oh, forgot the scrib. He's 4.75" (a shade over that, but not 5") so he's fallen a bit behind the red turk in growth, but nothing too noticeable.
So is this normal growth for a 4" discus? They eat BH 3 times a day and flakes for 3 more feedings and are constantly following me at the front of the tank to beg for food. And forget trying to get the siphon into the water...I call them my little piranha's and have gotten swarmed and nibbled more times than I can count. LOL
If they are acting still hungry after feedings should I be feeding more?
SB
DiscusOnly
04-22-2011, 10:36 AM
Discus don't normally grow at that rate when they have reached that size. Maybe you under estimated their size when you first got them. From my experience, gaining .75" of a inch in 2 weeks is not the norm for the discus you are describing.
ericatdallas
04-22-2011, 11:34 AM
And forget trying to get the siphon into the water...I call them my little piranha's and have gotten swarmed and nibbled more times than I can count. LOL
Nice! I wish mine did that... they don't get bothered by the siphon (except the last two changes for whatever reason) but out of the group, only 1 or 2 will come to the siphon to see what's up.
If they are acting still hungry after feedings should I be feeding more?
SB
I do, not sure if it's the right thing to do, but as long as there is no food on the bottom, I'll give them a ton of tiny meals to their heart/stomach's content throughout the day. I do do several large feedings (especially when I feed BH). With flakes I'll give two pinches when they look hungry (coming up to the corner whenever I walk by).
wendy9722
04-22-2011, 11:37 AM
When I see mine hungry I feed them just like my kids
Individual fish genetics come into play also... A fish jus may be the runt of litter...
Jhhnn
04-22-2011, 10:08 PM
Dunno about your measurements, but it seems like you're feeding them well and changing lots of water, both of which are key ingredients, ime. You're doing a good job, I think, so whatever will be, will be.
If your discus have a nice plump forehead viewed from the front, like this guy, you're on the right track-
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?87024-Please-Grade-my-APD
strawberryblonde
04-22-2011, 10:30 PM
Hmmm, their heads aren't that fat yet (not skinny by any means, but not quite as full at the top). I'm pretty sure of my measurements though. It's almost like I can see the growth from day to day and it's not at all what I was expecting when I bought this size. The runty one is the brilliant, but from what you're saying, he's probably not a runt, he's just growing normally. Fred the Flachen and the red turk are the super fast growers in the tank for sure. I seriously kept thinking it had to be a distortion in the glass or just the way I was viewing them, so that's why I took time to measure them this morning.
Ok, so it's not a bad thing to just keep stuffing their little faces with food. They seriously harass me constantly for more and since they aren't as fat as the fish in that link, I'm not overfeeding them..whew!
They get plenty of clean water every day and are active, friendly fish.
Thanks for all the encouragement... I worry about them and want to do my best for them.
SB
Eddie
04-23-2011, 12:08 AM
The fish will eat and eat and eat and eat but whether its beneficial or waste of food is the main question. How much of that food are they actually absorbing/gaining from, its entirely up to you how you feed but the results may be the same whether you feed them 3 times a day, just good portions. I used to feed mine every 2 hours but once their bellies are full, there is no need to feed more. ;)
ericatdallas
04-23-2011, 12:34 AM
Eddie makes a good point... even if they are consuming the food and digesting it, they could be releasing protein, fat, and vitamins in their waste. In fact, I just read an article where the scientist replaced their protein source (can't remember which) to see if it changed growth rate in salmon (I think). It showed that there was no change in growth, but fish had signs of nephrosis (their word - to mean excess protein).
This can lead to other problems... another studied showed that too much food could actually be detrimental to growth because the fish has to expend energy to handle the excess.
puntific
04-23-2011, 09:59 AM
*Hijack warning*
So how often would you feed 4" fish?
puntific
Northwoods Discus
04-23-2011, 10:29 AM
Nephrosis means a Kidney (neph) condition (osis). Excess protein in the diet will be converted to energy and hence fat. If the fish cannot make more fish protein with the ingested protein. Protein will not be excreated in feces unless there is a maldigestion or malabsorption problem. Protein could be lost by the kidneys in a nephrosis. The kidneys are responsible for excreating the excess nitrogen from excess protein intake. A body will not just pass out the excess protein, if digested it will utilize it (growth and maintenance) or store it (fat). Extreme excess of protein places stress on the kidneys and may lead to nephrosis. Also hepatic (liver) disease can occur due to hepatic lipidosis ( fatty liver).
Jhhnn
04-23-2011, 01:47 PM
*Hijack warning*
So how often would you feed 4" fish?
puntific
I'm mostly with Eddie- I feed 3X daily, sometimes more on weekends, enough that it takes 20 minutes or so for them to clean it up, maybe a little left over for snacking.
I think larger portions help to equalize growth, with the more aggressive feeders filling up first, backing off so that others get their share, too.
Water changes are necessarily more frequent with heavy feeding, but worth the trouble, particularly if the hobbyist has invested in the means to make it easy.
It's hard to overfeed growing discus, at least when using beefheart, FBW, FBS, mysis & seafood mix. flakes & pellets may be a different story, dunno...
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