Will BB with 80% WC 3x/wk stunt 3 inchers?

[Oxboy]

Is it possible to do 80% 3x/week WCs in a BB without stunting 3" fish?

[Shan_Evolved]

Of course. I would be wary of how much you feed for water cleanliness

[Oxboy]

Of course. I would be wary of how much you feed for water cleanliness

So we don't have to do daily water changes to avoid stunting? Granted, I understand you give yourself better odds of avoiding stunting if you do perform daily WCs. Just trying to get a feel for the stunt/no stunt boundaries.

[Johnny95132]

No, you probably don't have to do daily w/c's for discus past 3" inches, which is their rapid growth stage. I believe the daily w/c regimen was used by breeders/ serious hobbyists who stocked their tank to the max and strived to get every last millimeter growth out of their discus. In my experience, once you raise discus past 3 inches, you don't need daily water changes just to avoid stunting. I have grown out 4" inches with 3x, even 2x, w/c's in the past. But like Shan said, you'll need to go light on the feeding to preserve water quality.

[Iminit]

I’d say 50% daily or 80% every other day till at least 4”. My new group is at 4.5-5 and I’m now doing 50% every other day and I feed almost whenever I go past the tank. Less food and less water changes may slow down there growth. What size tank?

[seanyuki]

One wise discus veteran once said.

That's kinda like saying I'm buying a new Cadillac, but I don't want to change my oil every 3,000 miles. I want to change it every 30,000 miles.
I know many people will advise me to change oil every 3,000, so I'd only like to hear from the people that change their oil every 30,000 miles.
Therefore, the responses I get would all be from people who are willing to risk damaging the Cadillac engine or shortening it's lifespan. ??? There are many other fish that might suit your needs.

[chevyvega927]

One wise discus veteran once said.

That's kinda like saying I'm buying a new Cadillac, but I don't want to change my oil every 3,000 miles. I want to change it every 30,000 miles.
I know many people will advise me to change oil every 3,000, so I'd only like to hear from the people that change their oil every 30,000 miles.
Therefore, the responses I get would all be from people who are willing to risk damaging the Cadillac engine or shortening it's lifespan. ??? There are many other fish that might suit your needs.

I don’t know why you like being so off putting in your responses.... First off Cadillacs run synthetic so you have 10k miles between changes. Plus most cars that run regular oil will tell you when you need an oil change now. So times change and the hobby evolves, like the quality and hardiness of fish getting better. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t keep up with the times and subscribe to the that’s the way it’s always been done mentality.

To the OP... Like every other living thing on the planet, Discus have genetics that ULTIMATELY determine their size and shape.

[seanyuki]

From my personal experiences with discus over the years..... Keep your water clean by doing water changes. If the water is clean, the fish won’t be stressed. Stress-free fish won’t succumb to diseases.Then you won’t have to medicate them constantly with medicine.

[Johnny95132]

While the quality of discus may be improving, the rate of improvement is nowhere near that of the rate in automobiles and similar technology. Discus are biological things while cars are mechanical. It takes millennia for organisms to evolve, while the next year's car model can be leaps and bounds ahead. Today's discus may appear to be more hardier than those of a few decades ago, but much of that is due to better keeping practices such as the aforementioned water change. Unless some scientist is able to splice some goldfish genes into discus genes, discus will remain relatively sensitive fish.

[Iminit]

RV I came back to discus almost 2 years ago. I kept discus for 15yrs from the late 80s to early 2000s. Coming back they’ve got many new colors but that’s it! If anything the water changing is more important now. Especially in there juvenile time. Clean water is everything. Bottom line. You want good strong fish keep the water clean. Want to experiment with your fish don’t change the water. I’m on other forums and it’s funny how many people tell me you don’t have to change the water as much as I am. Thing is I don’t here from them for long. Francis is just telling the facts.

[seanyuki]

Back to OP is it possible to do 80% 3x/week WCs in a BB without stunting 3" fish?....Of course IMO with proper water quality,high protein food ,quantity of food and stress free environment .

I don’t know why you like being so off putting in your responses.... First off Cadillacs run synthetic so you have 10k miles between changes. Plus most cars that run regular oil will tell you when you need an oil change now. So times change and the hobby evolves, like the quality and hardiness of fish getting better. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t keep up with the times and subscribe to the that’s the way it’s always been done mentality.

To the OP... Like every other living thing on the planet, Discus have genetics that ULTIMATELY determine their size and shape.

[danotaylor]

The ppl that have been here the longest and do things the way "they have always been done" do it because that's what works. They have seen many fly byes come and go who wanna do it differently, get discus that don't reach their genetic potential, get sick, suffer and often die, and then move on. Tried and true is keeping up with the times. RV you're entitled to your opinion, do what you want with your own discus, even share your thoughts and experiences, that's what the forum is for, but don't demean the ppl who have stuck it out, share their knowledge and been through it all over and over with newbs...that's just rude. Genetics do not "ultimately" determine size and shape, clean water & good nutrition does. That's the same with every living creature. Take it out of it's ideal environmental requirements and they do not reach their genetic potential, often suffer, get sick and then die an untimely & unnecessary death.

[Vinni Smith]

To put it simple, and that is the way my mind works, : ^ ) Discus love WCs.
I kept them in the 70s and they are no different these days.
The more WCs you do, the happier they are.

Do you have to change the water every day? No.
Every other day? I think not.
However, if you do, you will see a difference.

It is like every other hobby.
The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

I change my water as often as I feel like doing it.
Sometimes it is every day.
Sometimes it's every 3rd day.
I do not like to go a week as some do.

Again, Discus love WCs.
The more effort you put into your fish, the greater the rewards.

Just my 2 cents.

[timvriens]

To put it simple, and that is the way my mind works, : ^ ) Discus love WCs.
I kept them in the 70s and they are no different these days.
The more WCs you do, the happier they are.

Do you have to change the water every day? No.
Every other day? I think not.
However, if you do, you will see a difference.

It is like every other hobby.
The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

I change my water as often as I feel like doing it.
Sometimes it is every day.
Sometimes it's every 3rd day.
I do not like to go a week as some do.

Again, Discus love WCs.
The more effort you put into your fish, the greater the rewards.

Just my 2 cents.

Totally agree with this, more clean water means bigger and happyer fish

[Oxboy]

I'm not looking to cut corners. I am not even talking about illnesses. What I AM looking for is the magical stunt/no stunt cutoff in terms of WC % and frequency. Assuming ten 3" fish in a 75 with a moderate (not heavy, not light, say 4x/day no BH) feeding schedule, I gather that a 50% WC daily will not stunt the majority of them. All things being equal, if you drop the WC sched to 50% 4x/wk, will you stunt the majority of them?