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Thread: How do you measure your discus?

  1. #1
    Registered Member cooksa's Avatar
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    Default How do you measure your discus?

    Do you pull each and every one out of the tank and measure with a ruler?

    I recently purchased two fish to add to my tank, and realized if the person I bought them from actually measured this way, I'm HORRIBLE at eyeballing size. I think I'll just tape a ruler to the front of the tank and take a picture of each one as it swims by.
    Stacey

  2. #2
    Registered Member Eddie's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    Quote Originally Posted by cooksa View Post
    Do you pull each and every one out of the tank and measure with a ruler?

    I recently purchased two fish to add to my tank, and realized if the person I bought them from actually measured this way, I'm HORRIBLE at eyeballing size. I think I'll just tape a ruler to the front of the tank and take a picture of each one as it swims by.

    I'll tell you, I will never in my life pull a fish out of the tank to measure it only. The last time I did, it damaged the fish enough so that secondary infection went out of control. Seriously though, there really isn't a need to measure a fish. You can put things up against the tank glass to gauge the size of the fish.
    Visit Eddie's Place

    "If you ask for an opinion...don't get pissed when I give you mine."

  3. #3
    Registered Member cooksa's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    Good to know, because I certainly was NOT going to risk pulling fish out of the tank. Not only am I a wimp, but...I'm a wimp. Size doesn't matter anyways. I only really need them to be healthy and happy since they won't be leaving my care. I'm just curious, I guess.

    I'll try the ruler method and see how that goes. It'll at least give me an idea.
    Stacey

  4. #4
    Registered Member Darrell Ward's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    Yeah, it's easy enough to tape a ruler across the tank. When the fish swims past it, you can get a fairly good estimation as to size. After a while, you can get good enough at estimating that you no longer need the ruler. I agree with Eddie, I don't like to remove any fish from the tank unless it's necessary. At the least, it stresses them, and at worst, they can get injured.
    Darrell

  5. #5
    Registered Member csarkar001's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    Quote Originally Posted by cooksa View Post
    Size doesn't matter anyways.
    always comforting to hear this from a woman.

  6. #6
    Registered Member Keith Perkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    I'm lousy at estimating size. I tell people I have 2 inch juvies for sale and pull them out of the tank and they're 2 1/2 or 2 3/4, 3 inch fish end up being 3 1/2. I do at times perhaps once or twice during a batch of juvies lives in my possession randomly pull one to measure it. I would certainly however do it when I was netting them for some other reason if that was an option.

  7. #7
    Registered Member cooksa's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    Quote Originally Posted by csarkar001 View Post
    always comforting to hear this from a woman.
    HAHA Between that and me being horrible at eyeballing size anyways...

    I see some lucky man in my future.
    Stacey

  8. #8
    Registered Member Eddie's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    Quote Originally Posted by csarkar001 View Post
    always comforting to hear this from a woman.

    I hear you Chandan!
    Visit Eddie's Place

    "If you ask for an opinion...don't get pissed when I give you mine."

  9. #9
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    From the rooter to the tooter . Oh wait thats hogs sorry.


    Jerry

  10. #10
    Homesteader Jennie's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    omg jerry!
    Jennie,

    Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten

  11. #11
    Tito
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    I net them out and place them on a wet t-shirt. Use measuring tape to measure from mouth to tail.

    It's really unfair to a hobbyist to say his Discus is 6" but did not actually measure the fish. It can be misleading.

    I can honetly say that I have grown out a few Discus from 2" and none of them made it to 6". Most have made it 5" and some have made it 5.5" exactly. That was a couple months ago. I don't know how they would measure today if I took them out. I might have one getting close to six who knows.

    As they grow together it becomes a challenge to really see how big they are getting.

  12. #12
    Registered Member tdiscusman's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    I'm bad as eyeballing myself so I netted them out occasionally to measure them. I've found that if you put them on a dry/not too wet towel they do not jump around as much as soaking wet towel.

    Tony

  13. #13
    Registered Member jball1125's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    The only time I have measured fish was when I bought my adult turqs. I simply drew a ruler on the styrofoam box they came in and as I pulled them out I sorta passed them by the styroruler and had a good enough measurement to make me happy. I don't really mind knowing the exact size of the fish as long as I can see a good shape and a nice eye size ratio.

  14. #14
    Registered Member John_Nicholson's Avatar
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    First thing ......

    Anytime you are talking length you need to specify SL or TL. SL = standard length so no tail is measured, TL is total length.

    I used to measure my fish fairly often. It was mainly because I would get tired of people claiming to have these 10 inch discus. Most of the time they would come to the house and see my old big red turq male and say that is the biggest discus that I have ever seen, How big is he and I would reply 6 3/8" SL. They would never believe me si you put a big fluffy towel on the floor. Put a tape measure next to it, net the fish , set it on the towel, take your measurements, put it back in the tank. I have probably measured 100+ discus this way though the years.

    -john
    Please check out http://forum.discusnada.org/

    SOS Crew Texas

  15. #15
    Tito
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    Default Re: How do you measure your discus?

    Quote Originally Posted by John_Nicholson View Post
    First thing ......

    Anytime you are talking length you need to specify SL or TL. SL = standard length so no tail is measured, TL is total length.

    I used to measure my fish fairly often. It was mainly because I would get tired of people claiming to have these 10 inch discus. Most of the time they would come to the house and see my old big red turq male and say that is the biggest discus that I have ever seen, How big is he and I would reply 6 3/8" SL. They would never believe me si you put a big fluffy towel on the floor. Put a tape measure next to it, net the fish , set it on the towel, take your measurements, put it back in the tank. I have probably measured 100+ discus this way though the years.

    -john
    John I don't know if it's on purpose or not but some people suck at measuring by eye balling. I balk at the 8" and 10" Discus. I might just flip over my chair if I read antoher one of those stories.

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