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Thread: Growing 4" discus

  1. #1
    Registered Member Gregkarr09's Avatar
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    Default Growing 4" discus

    Hey everyone, quick question for my Discus people! I have six 4" discus in a 75 gallon that I am trying to grow out to 5 or 6 inches, I'm feeding 4 to 5 times a day with beefheart for the first and last meal of the day, along with 80% to 90% water changes 3 days a week. Does this sound like a good feeding/water change schedule? Do 4 inch discus need to be treated like 1.5 inch or 2.5 inch discus to continue growing out? Thanks in Advance!

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    Registered Member + MVP danotaylor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    Greg the goal is to always keep nitrates <10, meaning before each water change. The types and freq of feeding dictates those numbers. But also bacterial counts and slime build up (esp when feeding beef heart) affect growth & health. Whilst discus growth somewhat slows when they hit 4.5" the cleaner the water you provide, the faster they will reach 6"+, and they will be healthier and have better colors and more vigor along the way.

  3. #3
    Registered Member Gregkarr09's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    Quote Originally Posted by danotaylor View Post
    Greg the goal is to always keep nitrates <10, meaning before each water change. The types and freq of feeding dictates those numbers. But also bacterial counts and slime build up (esp when feeding beef heart) affect growth & health. Whilst discus growth somewhat slows when they hit 4.5" the cleaner the water you provide, the faster they will reach 6"+, and they will be healthier and have better colors and more vigor along the way.
    Copy that, thanks for the quick reply. I never let any beefheart sit on the bottom of the tank, once the are done eating I syphon out the remaining pieces as best as I can. What kind of timeline do you think I'm looking at to get them to around 5.5"?

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    Moderator Team AquaticNerd's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    Daniel is spot on with that. I would just like to add - if you're feeding 4-5 times a day and feeding BH as the last meal I would say that daily water changes would have to be the minimum. BH is super messy and any residue left over after feeding should at least be cleaned up as to not foul the water. A WC at the very end of the day after feeding the BH would be ideal.

    Edit: I just saw your response, so it looks like you're doing your due diligence. Great job on that one! If the fish are all 4" already, that means they're probably close to the the 6-7 month mark. If you're looking for them to get to 6"+, you'll need to be heavy on WC and continue heavy feedings and you should see some good growth up until 16-18 months. Just be aware some discus just won't get much larger than 6".
    Last edited by AquaticNerd; 11-26-2020 at 12:04 PM.

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    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    How long have you had them? Clean water keeps them growing. I have 7 in a 75 that I change 50% every other day. Pictures would be nice!

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    Registered Member Gregkarr09's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    Ok, I agree I always syphon after each beef heart feeding. I will bump up the WC to every day then just to be on the safe side.

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    Registered Member Gregkarr09's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    Quote Originally Posted by Iminit View Post
    How long have you had them? Clean water keeps them growing. I have 7 in a 75 that I change 50% every other day. Pictures would be nice!
    Going on 2 weeks now. I'll get pics up soon. All from Uncle Sams Discus.

  8. #8
    Registered Member Gregkarr09's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    Quote Originally Posted by Iminit View Post
    How long have you had them? Clean water keeps them growing. I have 7 in a 75 that I change 50% every other day. Pictures would be nice!
    Are you feeding beefheart?

  9. #9
    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    I do but maybe once a week. I feed fdbw most of the time. I’ve got a pair from uncle sams but they were 5” and 5 1/2” when I got them. They grew to 6”. So they should grow to 6”. Clean water helps with growth.

  10. #10
    Registered Member Gregkarr09's Avatar
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    Default Re: Growing 4" discus

    Quote Originally Posted by Iminit View Post
    I do but maybe once a week. I feed fdbw most of the time. I’ve got a pair from uncle sams but they were 5” and 5 1/2” when I got them. They grew to 6”. So they should grow to 6”. Clean water helps with growth.
    ok cool thank you

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