Wrap up update

Well it is almost over and I am a little bummed....Things started out just fine,but as time went on things went down hill...I usually haven't had any problems with growing out fish,but I must be losing my touch cuz these contest guys gave me fits...well not really,but out of the six I only had one that has made it to any size,around 4 in or so and that is still small for the age of the fish...the other 5 were no bigger than 2 in at the most..I will post pics as it gets closer to the end.
Here is what went on the last several months...the test fish all came in just super,great packing..they went into a 125 gal tank,bare bottom,4 sponge filters a few plecos...as to the food,I was feeding at least 3 times a day,they were eating everything I put in the tank...they got flake,beefheart,brine shrimp,bloodwormsand Tetra color bits...water changes of 50% a day...I cleaned the sponges every week...temp was 85 deg. and water Quality was just fine...after all that I am at a loss as to why they didn't do any better.The 5 runts I gave to some friends whose kids were interested in Discus...they know that they are stunted but they wanted to see if they could get them to grow...so far they haven't.
So that is my story and I am sticking to it!!! It was a fun contest and I want to thank Al for putting it on....maybe it can be done again.I have some new smaller fish to grow out so I will see how they turn out,hopefully they will grow up to be big guys...
See ya and again thanks Al.

Mench ( Ron Menchey)

Ron,
Thanks for the update!:) Sorry things didn't work out too well for you.:( Look forward to seeing the pics when you can post them but send me any pictures directly to brewmaster15@netscape.com if its a picture you want to use for judging..These should not be posted..

Thanks for participating here.
-al

ps...I'm already working on the next "contest":D

Thanks Al,I usually haven't had any problems with fish dying off after they get to the 3 in size.I really don't have a clue as to why 5 of the 6 passed on.Nothing changed with the tank readings...they were in a 125 gal. bare bottom tank with 4 air sponges and a couple of bushy nose plecos.the water temp was kept at 84 deg.hardness at 150 ms.nitrates and ammn. next to nothing.I did at least a 50% to 75% water change every other day...cleaned the sponge filters once a week.My water change water comes right out of the tap at 83 %..I have a tankless hot water heater..
I was feeding 4 to 6 times a day at first,then dropped down to 3 times a day. They were eating every thing that I threw in the tank.Tetra color bits,Tetra color flakes.Discus Diet beef heart,frozen blood worms,frozen brine shrimp..So they were getting a well rounded diet.
I really can't figure out why they didn't grow faster or larger or why 5 of them died,well I guess that is why I am just a hobbist and not a " pro Discus Breeder" Al you don't have to judge my fish,after looking at some of the pics of the other guys fish,mine is at the bottom of the list..I will still feed him a lot and try to get him larger.
I don't think that I would change anything that I did during the contest.It was fun and I will wait to see how the next contest group makes out.
Thanks again to Al and Simply for hosting the contest.

Mench

Hi Ron,
Don't beat yourself up over it...as you know..sometimes we get the best discus and things just don't work out... Its hard to second guess why yours did so poorly when others did better....

Besides the plecos, were they introduced to any other discus that may have affected how they did for you?
-al