Grow out question

[inkfam]

I bought eight 2" discus from Kenny. In your opinion, how long should they be in a grow out tank to get maximum growth? At what age do Discus stop growing? I do 100% water changes on them daily in a 120 gallon tank and feed them 3-4 times daily. They certainly have grown and look great! Any advise will help!

[troysdiiscus]

Hey inkfam, well normally grow out tank means you have in a smaller tank to grow out till they reach 4.5 or higher to transfer to main tank. Do you have them in a FULL 120 gallon tank which means you are changing 120 gallons a day?

[blueluv]

I bought eight 2" discus from Kenny. In your opinion, how long should they be in a grow out tank to get maximum growth? At what age do Discus stop growing? I do 100% water changes on them daily in a 120 gallon tank and feed them 3-4 times daily. They certainly have grown and look great! Any advise will help!

That can be their permanent home. How is your tank set up?

[MKD]

Its depends on strains, food and water quality. There are 8+ size discus but i am VERY happy in 7". Anyway i think your 120G tank is too big for 8x 2" discus. you can try to raise them in smaller tank or add more to 120 tank.

Have fun and enjoy growing them out.

Tony

[blueluv]

Hey inkfam, well normally grow out tank means you have in a smaller tank to grow out till they reach 4.5 or higher to transfer to main tank. Do you have them in a FULL 120 gallon tank which means you are changing 120 gallons a day?

+1 on the grow out tank size

[blueluv]

Its depends on strains, food and water quality. There are 8+ size discus but i am VERY happy in 7". Anyway i think your 120G tank is too big for 8x 2" discus. you can try to raise them in smaller tank or add more to 120 tank.

Have fun and enjoy growing them out.

Tony

Good point! It didn't occur to me mention that

[inkfam]

They are in a 120 gallon bare bottom tank. I do want to transfer them over to a planted 180 gallon tank eventually. ... but before I tranfer them I want to be sure they have grown to their fullest potential. Anotherwards, do I need to stay on this water change and feeding routine for a year or less or more? I can put them in smaller tank if needed. Thanks for quick replies very much appreciated!

[troysdiiscus]

Well the reason I brought that up about tank size, I would rather have them in a smaller tank if your doing 100% WC cause awhole heck of less work and water and time. I would do those WC and feed them a good balanced diet, feed them 4 to 5 times a day and watch them grow out....

[troysdiiscus]

Let me add if it is a 120 gallon tall and you cant get a hold of a smaller tank, you could fill it about half way and grow them out...

[Skip]

tank is TOO BIG.. they fish get lost.. food goes everywhere..

they must fill like LITTLE NEMO when is swam out past the reef..

[Ryan]

IMO if the fish are comfortable and don't seem skittish in the big tank, there's no such thing as a tank being too large. The larger the water volume, the easier it is to maintain and keep consistent.

[strawberryblonde]

You asked how long they'll continue to grow. For my discus, I started with them at 4" and they grew for 18 months total. (So I figure that they were about 2 years old when they finally quit growing)

So long as they are comfortable in that big tank and you don't mind changing such a large volume of water, you can keep them in there. If you want to make it easier on yourself, you could raise them to 5" in a 55g, 60g or 75g tank. You'd just need to keep up with the daily water changes because the water will get fouled a lot quicker.

Once they reach 5" they're definitely ready for your 120g tank.

For feedings I found that feeding my 4" discus 6 times a day seemed to work best for them. I gave them flakes for breakfast, then a big cube of freeze dried blackworms about an hour later. Then more flakes in the afternoon, followed by a frozen beefheart cube for dinner, one more beefheart cube an hour before my night time water change and then a cube of the FDBW's for a night time snack before bed.

That regimen gave me good growth. Ohhhh, forgot to mention that if you are changing water daily and feeding that many times per day your discus should reach 5" in a few months. After that they'll slow down but continue to grow for another year or so. =)

[MKD]

agree with Toni. imagine 8x 2" discus in 120G tank (assume 4feet long x 2feet wide x 2 feet height), each one stays at each corner spread out apart, that does not great. Try Toni's suggestion for few months and move them to bigger tank as they grow. They can grow from 2" to 5" in few months if they get proper cares. you'll be glad how much time and water you safe.

PS: other option, you need to add 6 more to the group and raise them in 120G tank. Then move them to 180G and that's great number for that tank. i think.

[inkfam]

Lol I hope my Discus don't feel like Nemo in the open Reef!!! I like the advice of adding more discus! I will be checking to see what August shipments will be coming in with the Simply Sponsors.I will continue on my feeding and water change routine....Thanks Srawberryberryblonde for your input on Discus growth and feeding routine. I am hoping to have some big healthy discus to show off in the future!

[Skip]

Go to home depot and get a light grill/diffuser.. keep them corralled in one area

[Discusdude7]

Or you could get a tank divider and as they grow give em more space.

[Skip]

Or you could get a tank divider and as they grow give em more space.

Yep. That's what I said