Stunted fish vs grow

[chipmunk636]

I would like to learn more about stunted fish and grow , ive seem people say that with good care they can grow out nicely , while on other thread some people get stunted fish with just a little mistake ,my little experience with 2-3 inch stunted discus is that they don't grow anymore...

Is a 4.5-5" discus with poor eye to body ratio considered a stunted fish , my turq are like that and i feed them a lot , i don't feel they will grow much more than that .


I have them for couples month and i didn't notice any grow , if any its minimal .

Just don't know what to expect form those , if they will not grow much more i will reduce feeding and get better water clarity , and keep the cost down on food a bit .

[Trier20]

I really don't know much on this subject except from my own experience. I had a friend who needed tiger rid of his discus. So I bought them from him sight unseen. They were 6monrhs old and were only about two inches in total length. I brought them home and brought the temp up to 88-89 degrees and fed them FDBW. After about 2-3 months they are up to around 3.5-4 inches. I was surprised. If I get them to 5in ill be happy with that but I'm going to be optimistic.

[Eddie]

There is an actual window of growth for discus, up into adulthood. After roughly (this is a wag) 15-18 months, the fish isn't going to get much size at all. It will however get thicker. The greatest window for growth is within the first 6 months and then their growth slows little by little. There are exceptions and some fish can keep growing fast but thats entirely genetics. Now, If a fish has been raised in poor conditions (bad water, little food) or if it falls ill, it slows growth. If you happen to get the poorly kept fish at 6 months of age, you can make a small impact on the fishes growth but the it won't grow to reach its full potential because it was held back at an early age. All these numbers are not exact and others may have different experiences.

[pastry]

I'm pretty much an expert on stunting discus. I've done it several times in my experience! One time knowing that if I didn't get 7 small 3" juveniles out of a 30 gallon after a month or so (it wasn't BB either) then they'd run a higher and higher risk of being stunted (or we'll say not reaching their full potential growth). I had planned to have my 150 soon after getting them yet economy ("sh**") hit the fan and I was stuck with the 30. Still had a great time with those fish and didn't get them into a 150 until they were nearly 2 but they didn't get much bigger than 5" (I also was horrible on WC's with that tank... that didn't help).

So what Eddie said is actually what I believe as well; you have a window of time to get them to full potential growth. I also had some they were near stunted in the store but I knew they were still young and the store wanted to get rid of them (I don't buy from a store but took a chance on these ones). 2 of the 3 still grew another 1.5" (ended up being around or short of 5.5") in the end. The third maybe only grew .5".

[Eddie]

I'm pretty much an expert on stunting discus. I've done it several times in my experience! One time knowing that if I didn't get 7 small 3" juveniles out of a 30 gallon after a month or so (it wasn't BB either) then they'd run a higher and higher risk of being stunted (or we'll say not reaching their full potential growth). I had planned to have my 150 soon after getting them yet economy ("sh**") hit the fan and I was stuck with the 30. Still had a great time with those fish and didn't get them into a 150 until they were nearly 2 but they didn't get much bigger than 5" (I also was horrible on WC's with that tank... that didn't help).

So what Eddie said is actually what I believe as well; you have a window of time to get them to full potential growth. I also had some they were near stunted in the store but I knew they were still young and the store wanted to get rid of them (I don't buy from a store but took a chance on these ones). 2 of the 3 still grew another 1.5" (ended up being around or short of 5.5") in the end. The third maybe only grew .5".


LMFAO.....Ahahaha, that was hilarious. hahahaha

[miaozer]

I bought six 2.5" shooting stars from kenny and placed them in a 30 gallon planted tank. I think that was a big mistake. Out of the 6, only 2 of them put on significant size. One is 4" the other is 4.5". The other ones are a tad smaller than 4". I've had them since November 2011, so 13 months and counting. I definitely feel that for my next batch, I'll raise small discus in a bb tank, then throw them in a planted tank once they've grown.

Quick question, assuming you feed and change water frequently, how long would it take to grow a discus out to its full potential of 7"? Is that even its max size?

[Eddie]

I bought six 2.5" shooting stars from kenny and placed them in a 30 gallon planted tank. I think that was a big mistake. Out of the 6, only 2 of them put on significant size. One is 4" the other is 4.5". The other ones are a tad smaller than 4". I've had them since November 2011, so 13 months and counting. I definitely feel that for my next batch, I'll raise small discus in a bb tank, then throw them in a planted tank once they've grown.

Quick question, assuming you feed and change water frequently, how long would it take to grow a discus out to its full potential of 7"? Is that even its max size?

Between 15-18 months. 7" inches is a big fish. Everybody says they have 10" fish but rarely does anyone show the fish measured with a tape measure. Some folks do though, it's just not very common.

[pastry]

LMFAO.....Ahahaha, that was hilarious. hahahaha

I knew you'd like that one, Eddie. Giving classes if anyone's interested ;)

[camuth8]

I knew you'd like that one, Eddie. Giving classes if anyone's interested ;)

I'm already experienced. :) I think I've stunted most of the discus I ever got, mostly because I had them in 20 and 29 gallon tanks, not bb. But I did get one 2 of my stunted Discus to grow 0.25 inches in one month.

[Elliots]

I am not too good at stunting Discus. I am much better at killing them before they are stunted!

[pastry]

And Elliots, that's why I like ya... you speak the truth! Ha! Nah, I'm sure you're more focused with your current gang from Hans!

[chipmunk636]

Hahahaha you are funny , iam not that bad either at killing smallies !

[Bill63SG]

Between 15-18 months. 7" inches is a big fish. Everybody says they have 10" fish but rarely does anyone show the fish measured with a tape measure. Some folks do though, it's just not very common.

I'd say if you can get them to 6"-6 1/2" you've done ok.Anything more is gravy.

[ROOK45]

So is a 20 long BB a bad size grow out tank for 3 3" discus?

[Bill63SG]

So is a 20 long BB a bad size grow out tank for 3 3" discus?

Hard to say.depends on how you feed and your wc's.Quarintine is one thing,but gro-out means they'll be in there for awhile.Not the ideal number.Eventually one or two will be Bullied.If I had 5-6 at that size I'd be moving them into a 55.

[ROOK45]

I do 50% daily and I feed as much as possible. Tank temp is 85 degrees . I was thinking of upgrading to a 33 long cause the footprint is the same as a 55.
48x12 is the height required is is it just a water volume thing.

[Bill63SG]

If you can get the 33,I'd say fine,but thats an odd size,and you'll pay for it.You could probably get a used 55 or even a 40L off of craigs for the same or cheaper.There is something to be said for the water volume thing.If you have the space,I'd get a 55.I had a spot where a 55 wouldnt work,a 40 barely,and a 33 would,but I didnt want to spend the money,and I all ready had a 40.

[ROOK45]

If you can get the 33,I'd say fine,but thats an odd size,and you'll pay for it.You could probably get a used 55 or even a 40L off of craigs for the same or cheaper.There is something to be said for the water volume thing.If you have the space,I'd get a 55.I had a spot where a 55 wouldnt work,a 40 barely,and a 33 would,but I didnt want to spend the money,and I all ready had a 40.

Your right I priced it out and the 33 is $90 my girlfriend gets her discount it'll come out to about $70. I'm going to go with the 55 or 40 long. Most likely the 40 long because height clearance is an issue cause I want to keep it under a 120 gal.

[Bill63SG]

Your right I priced it out and the 33 is $90 my girlfriend gets her discount it'll come out to about $70. I'm going to go with the 55 or 40 long. Most likely the 40 long because height clearance is an issue cause I want to keep it under a 120 gal.

Hey,PetCo is haveing thier $1 per gallon sale right now.

[ROOK45]

Hey,PetCo is haveing thier $1 per gallon sale right now.

Yes they are but they don't have 40 long....only 40 breeder.