Blue pigeon grow outs

[modealings]

Hey all - just wanted to share a quick update about a grow out I've been doing.

I got 12 blue pigeon discus at approximately nickel size back in early November. I knew it was a risk getting them this small but I've been wanting to try a grow out at this size for my own education. Unfortunately I dont have any great pictures from when they first arrived - just the one below showing them in the bag before adding to their first tank.

IMG_0463.jpg

[modealings]

This video is after 4 months of 100% daily water changes and 2x daily BH mix feedings. There is 1 significantly stunted fish that I am continuing to keep again just to educate myself to see how it will end up (not leaving my fish room). (I originally ordered only 10 and was given 2 free.) Of the other 11, I would say 5 have shown very nice growth and are approximately 4in from nose to tail. The other 5-6 have grown to approximately 3 in length at this point. I'm looking forward to seeing how their growth will continue. Thanks for looking.

[brady]

Very nice. What size tank did you put them in?
What size tank are they in now?
When you say 100% w/c do you actually drain out all the water so that there flopping around for
a minute or so?
Thanks, Jay

[modealings]

Thanks Jay. I started them in a 20 gal. Moved to a 45 gal after a month or so, and have now been in the 75 gal (filed to about 50-60 gal mark) for the past 2 weeks.

I do the daily wc's to the point that they lay on their sides. Probably not exactly 100% but maybe in the 90-95% range.

[Clawhammer]

They look fantastic, great shape. Blue pigeons are a great strain, these are going to be stunning when full grown. Congrats!

[modealings]

Thanks Eric! Its been fun to watch them grow. Here's anther quick shot showing a little more color after eating.

[brady]

Thanks Jay. I started them in a 20 gal. Moved to a 45 gal after a month or so, and have now been in the 75 gal (filed to about 50-60 gal mark) for the past 2 weeks.

I do the daily wc's to the point that they lay on their sides. Probably not exactly 100% but maybe in the 90-95% range.

Thanks for the info. That's what I'm going to do.
What are they a cross of. They really look like awesome fish.
Can I ask where you got them?
Jay

[RogueDiscus]

Looking good Eric!

[Doc Andrew]

Nice shapes!

[modealings]

Sure - I got them from Mark at SomeFinsFishy, shipped from Chicago. I believe they are Stendker's as his pair originally came from Hans. I'm not sure of the original cross from Stendker though. They don't really show much peppering so I'm pretty happy with them overall.

[modealings]

6 month update.

So it's been about 6 months since I got these guys. I'm conitnuing with the 90-95% daily wc's in the 75 gallon. The biggest 3-4 have just crept over 5 inches, while a few others lag behind. Unfortunately I did lose one after we lost power for 2 days; just couldnt get him eating again.

I've also moved over to feeding Al's fdbw in the AM, discus chow in the afternoon, and BH mix in the evenings prior to wc's. Unfortunately I think this may be feeding too much given that the tank is significantly dirty and water starts to get cloudy by the end of the day. So I'm planning on cutting back to 2x/day feedings as before.

I also picked up some Fluval Aquasky LED's off CL so I've been experimenting with the different settings. Fish definitely seemed more skittish with the brighter lights before but have been coming around to tolerate the lower setting. Adding the blue LED's to the mix helps to bring out their blue fins as well.

(Apologies for the low quality cell phone video. Also not sure why I get the scrolling now with the LED's.)

[smsimcik]

Nice job growing them out. Large daily water changes are a pita but this is the age where it really starts to pay off.
There's a few really nice ones in that group. Won't be long and you should see some breeding behavior.

[Willie]

Great size, great shape, great color development - great job! Keeping discus can be so simple. Change a lot of water every day and keep them in a bare bottom tank!

Willie

[two utes]

They have turned out very good Eric. You have done a great job raising them. Its very satisfying when you start with very small discus and grow them out like you have. I hear what you're saying about cutting back on their diet, but if i were you, keep up with the beef heart. going to freeze dried black worms is a good move as well in my opinion. If i were you, i would feed the beef heart 30 minutes or so before your daily water change, and the FDBW in the evening.
Lots of work, but very satisfying. Looking forward to further updates

[modealings]

Nice job growing them out. Large daily water changes are a pita but this is the age where it really starts to pay off.
There's a few really nice ones in that group. Won't be long and you should see some breeding behavior.

Thanks a lot. Ive actually started to enjoy the wc's - but I did take a few months haha.