ANYONE Share: Raising 2.5-3.5" to +6" fails & success

[pastry]

I'm willing to bet around 98% of us have had juvies at 2.5-3.5" (whether homegrown or purchased). There are endless individual SD members who've already made threads on past groups they've had. But there's no concentrated thread on successes and (believe it or not) more importantly, failures.

I'll go first: my teeth were kicked in pretty good when I first got the courage to post on here. It started with my original "Growing in planted 150 gallon" thread. That thread lasted about 3 or so years and several groups. I had a number of fish reach beyond 6" but overall the average was 5.5" (huge difference in my book between 5.5 & 6).

I LOVED it... but ask me,"... if based on size & development would I say those fish were a success?" ...Nope.

I'll update this thread later with a link to that thread since it has the details but I'm encouraging others to either (1) brag with quick bullets (and links to past details within old threads if applicable) or (2) post experiences of growing that came up short.

MY BET: I might get 2 to 4 folks to post and that's it. Hoping for at least 20 experiences... not replies to others honest assessments... but posts on experiences. Lately, I'm willing to bet 20 is unachievable. Too many SD members are scared to post their experiences... therefore, nobody freak'n learns. "But BB, daily 100% WC with high protein diet has been said over & over & over &..."... yep, but fancy me & post. Even if you had successes regularly, tell us your early on failures when you thought you were immune.

Alright, time for another fireball and then switching to cab.

[pastry]

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...ank&highlight=

[Second Hand Pat]

Elliot, are you forgetting the 2018 growout contest? http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumd...r-Contest-2018. Granted those fry were smaller but the threads in that contests are full of information and both successes and failures.

I was part of that contest and learned a lot. I consider my experience a success in that instant. Today I am perfecting raising fry to 2 inches. Still a work in process.
Pat

[LizStreithorst]

I've raised a spawn of BD's from on their parents to a good 5" when I sold them. The fish were still growing. This was a good while back and the pics are long gone. I've has plenty of disappointments before and after that, though.

[bluelagoon]

Smaller discus just means that they weren't grown out properly. That's why folks like the bigger, healthier ones that will live longer. What you put into them is what you get out of them. It's just that simple when it comes to discus. When folks post pics you can really see how there are being cared for to the trained eye.

[bluelagoon]

Yes, I've grown out discus some as big as 7-8". Most discus are in the 5.5" to 6.5", some slightly bigger and it also depends on genetics. I did not say smaller things weren't as healthy as bigger things. I do know an elephant lives longer than a mouse, but that's all beside the point that I was making. But if you don't bring things to their full potential in growth then something has happened to their growth by their environment in the case of discus. Here is a growth rate chart and how they should develop.https://diskuszucht-stendker.de/plug...sfische_en.pdf

[bluelagoon]

The links are all on here. Check out the hospital section for a lot of the information.

[pastry]

Mervin, D'Bunk, Liz, & Pat,

All good. I failed when trying to "poke" those who are quiet. I might have to start threatening the forum with posts of me in a speedo if I can't get folks to wake up and post

[LizStreithorst]

Feeling lonely, Elliot? We've all tried poking but not much works and when it works it's just for a short time. Even the speedo didn't do the job!

What I'm after are beautiful well shaped Discus. That's why I do what all the old timers do here. For me it's about the fish. If you're happy with healthy happy smaller football shaped fish with a large eye it's fine with me. You and I simply have a difference of opinion of what makes a beautiful tank. If I had just one huge display tank in the living room as a show piece I'd go with something like Rainbow fish which won't be bothered by what we consider optimal conditions for Discus.

Hope I didn't make you mad. I don't want to make you go away like we did with Danny.

[pastry]

I heart the heck out of you, Liz

I know there are still a lot of active members, but man I wish the group of active posters (especially by those with a good bit of experience) would start sharing. I still believe there is an incentive that we can do to jumpstart that, ... but just trying to figure out what that incentive is! Obviously, me in a Speedo didn't work

[For100]

I heart the heck out of you, Liz

I know there are still a lot of active members, but man I wish the group of active posters (especially by those with a good bit of experience) would start sharing. I still believe there is an incentive that we can do to jumpstart that, ... but just trying to figure out what that incentive is! Obviously, me in a Speedo didn't work

I disagree, your Speedo post worked like a charm. How many views have you gotten so far?
You did not ask there to post pictures of other people wearing speedos. That’s the problem.

About this topic, I will post my experience (fair share of successes and failures raising fish to 6”+) when I get a bit of time over the weekend.

[pastry]

I disagree, your Speedo post worked like a charm. How many views have you gotten so far?
You did not ask there to post pictures of other people wearing speedos. That’s the problem.

About this topic, I will post my experience (fair share of successes and failures raising fish to 6”+) when I get a bit of time over the weekend.

LMAO...For100, the bar is set high for you since being a Texan ("Everything's bigger in Texas")

[bluelagoon]

The most important thing about large frequent WC's with discus are diseases that they are susceptible to and seem to come from dirty water. Pristine and discus are words that are often found and used together in literature. Now, if you want 5" discus that's just fine and dandy, but to get them even at 5" you'll still need to change lots of water. 5" discus usually wind up being sick sometime during their grow out period, this is what reflects their size as adults. When a discus is ill or has issues it stops growing some and it never totally recuperates or gets that growth back. Folks find it easier to grow out in BB tanks for this reason. Adding substrate can be done but comes with even more maintenance, cause of built up pathogens in it; hexamita being the most common condition, a long with other bacterial infections that it can pick up from an open wound. To avoid all this folks on here have found it best to do large frequent WS's. It has been proven time and time again over the last 15 years since I've been on SD and have read most all the posts. About the nitrates. That is an indicator to when water should be changed; when that raises so does all the other crape ( urea, harmfull bacteria, DOC's and TDS's, ect.).

[smsimcik]

The most important thing about large frequent WC's with discus are diseases that they are susceptible to and seem to come from dirty water. Pristine and discus are words that are often found and used together in literature. Now, if you want 5" discus that's just fine and dandy, but to get them even at 5" you'll still need to change lots of water. 5" discus usually wind up being sick sometime during their grow out period, this is what reflects their size as adults. When a discus is ill or has issues it stops growing some and it never totally recuperates or gets that growth back. Folks find it easier to grow out in BB tanks for this reason. Adding substrate can be done but comes with even more maintenance, cause of built up pathogens in it; hexamita being the most common condition, a long with other bacterial infections that it can pick up from an open wound. To avoid all this folks on here have found it best to do large frequent WS's. It has been proven time and time again over the last 15 years since I've been on SD and have read most all the posts. About the nitrates. That is an indicator to when water should be changed; when that raises so does all the other crape ( urea, harmfull bacteria, DOC's and TDS's, ect.).

+1

[smsimcik]

And I will reiterate here, it seems to me that a market exists for some entrepreneurial breeder who decided to breed a dwarf variety of discus. Just as some people prefer smaller breeds of dog.[/QUOTE]


I read an article about an Asian breeder who tried to do exactly that several years ago. He wanted to develop a line of dwarf discus. He tried to grow out some runts from some of his Blue Diamond spawns to see how big they were after a year and if they would breed. What he got was some 3-4" discus that were not very vigorous or fertile. He said the few that spawned produced offspring that were very weak and sickly. He gave up after a couple of years.

Whether a market for dwarf discus exists or not, the problem remains that small discus or neither healthy, vigorous or particularly fertile.