How Long?

[Miss_Fish]

I am thinking about buying 5 Yellow Discus at around the 4 inch size maybe 3 inches. If I provide daily 100% water changes, and I provide lots of quality food; how long would it take to grow them to the 6-7 inch range? Also do yellow's even get that big ?
I know that many people say these fish go orange over time and that's fine. I just want to know about growth potential.
I live in an area with moderately hard water, and I have heard that this can have a positive effect on growing out discus. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks!

[Second Hand Pat]

If you are getting the fish from Kenny might be best to check with him or the supplier from whom you get the fish.

[Miss_Fish]

If you are getting the fish from Kenny might be best to check with him or the supplier from whom you get the fish.

Yes they will be from Kenny; I did ask him but I wanted other people's input from their experiences as well. :)

[OC Discus]

I am thinking about buying 5 Yellow Discus at around the 4 inch size maybe 3 inches. If I provide daily 100% water changes, and I provide lots of quality food; how long would it take to grow them to the 6-7 inch range? Also do yellow's even get that big ?
I know that many people say these fish go orange over time and that's fine. I just want to know about growth potential.
I live in an area with moderately hard water, and I have heard that this can have a positive effect on growing out discus. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks!

The growth number I've seen on SD is 1" every 1-2 months under optimum conditions, depending on age and size when you get them. If you get 4" fish they are optimally 4-8 months old. So theoretically you can grow them to six inches in 2 to 4 months. Once they are 12 months old, in my understanding, you might get another 1-2 inches of growth under ideal conditions. Kenny can give you the approximate age of his fish and the average adult size for the strain.

As far as yellows turning orange, it is foods that cause the change. If they are all yellow you can avoid red enhancing food (most food by the way) and feed a yellow enhancing food. Targeting food to color could have an impact on growth beyond my knowledge.

Here is a link to a discussion on yellow enhancing foods. It has a few sub links you can follow:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?115075-Flakes-for-Yellow-Discus

Best Regards

[jsullins]

around 6 months if all goes well.