Stunted or not? Your honest opinion.

[jer858]

What's up all, new to the forum - first time discus owner and I would like to first off thank you all for the great wealth of information! It has proven to be very useful.

I recently took the plunge after the new tank finished cycling and purchased 5 discus. I went through the threads here on selecting discus until I felt pretty confident in my picking abilities and headed out to the LFS.

Now, with that in mind, I'm still in college and have a fairly small budget, so I decided it would be better to purchase locally as opposed one of the sponsors here as to avoid the costs/uncertainty of shipping. Hindsight is always 20/20 and in retrospect I'm starting to think I should've forked out some extra cash because I'm starting to worry that the majority of them are a bit stunted. I'm still very new, but are the eyes on some of these guys a bit big, no? What do you all think? - please be honest

I knew going into this purchase that anything from a LFS more than likely would be stunted or imperfect in some way, however since I'm still new I figured this would be a good stepping-stone before I become more committed to the species!

Thanks in advance!
-Jeremy


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[warblad79]

No offense but they are stunted.

[Len]

Welcome to Simply Discus Jeremy. While the fish honestly don't look the best, use them as a learning opportunity as you suggested and keep gathering all of the knowledge you can by reading through the forum. On your next purchase you'll be better advised on where and how to purchase better quality fish and how to keep and care for them.

[jer858]

No offense taken at all: it was kind of what I was expecting. Would you say all of them are? or are there a few that look more stunted than others (like the orange and black guy)? Either way I'm really pumped about them and looking forward to having them as my "learning" group! Even if that means a 4" or 5" max size haha.

[warblad79]

Yes, all four of them, football shape and large eyes.

[SNap0283]

Some are worse than others. The white and orange could end up half way decent for you with proper care. Read up and watch the video in the beginner section, its an hour well spent. Also might I suggest removing the lava rock. Discus tend to jet when startled, which happens often, and the sharpness of the rock could cause some serious damage.

[Len]

It's hard to tell from some of the photos, but the orange and white one and what looks to be a blue diamond don't look that bad. They'll probably never be awesome fish, but what matters most is how you feel about them. I couple things do grab my attention. 1) I see an angel in there with them so have to ask if you quarantined or are familiar with the concept? If not read up on it through the forum and ask questions if you need clarity because it will save you a lot of trouble in the future. 2) The gravel in that tank is going to make keeping the tank clean and in prime condition for discus very difficult. My suggestion would be to remove it and go bare bottom or maybe a very thin layer of sand if you absolutely feel you need something on the bottom.

[jer858]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions and responses guys!! Also, you all must be a fortune tellers, I noticed a scratch/knicked scales on my BD this morning and was wondering how the hell that happened. It appears the rock is the answer - I just took it out. As for the gravel, I have about maybe an 1" of it in there with an under-gravel that's hooked up to my canister filter. Think I should scrap it and go with some light sand? I do a 40% WC every other day and gravel vac so it's almost always clean but it could potentially be a nitrate powerhouse.

Also, the baby angels were what I used to start off the cycle in the tank and plan on moving them to a different tank in a few days, but the discus were all put in 2 QT tanks (2 in one 3 in the other, they were all from the same store) for 12 days before I put them in the main tank. --- thank you all for the critiques

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Jeremy, that is a good idea to remove the undergravel filter. It will honestly collect stuff you do not want in the tank. Sounds like you are making some good decisions. :)
Pat

[Tshethar]

Best of luck with the "learning group" and hope the learning process is more positive than negative. One quick suggestion: ditch the undergravel filter plate. It will definitely trap a layer of detritus or mulm under the gravel bed that can feed potential pathogens. If you stay with some gravel after doing this, try to make it just enough of a thin layer to barely cover the bottom. This will make it easier for your vacuuming to work well.

Edit: oops... What Pat said! +1 😉

[jer858]

While I have the tread open, I can presume there is no way to un-stunt even if you really baby them up and give them many healthy feedings? I guess what I'm asking is are they pretty much done growing as the damage has already been done? And with that I shouldn't expect more color/patterning to develop even if I feed or care well? I was under the assumption that more patterning and coloration would develop as they grew.... but if they're already old fish as I learned they're probably done with that part of their development?

[Second Hand Pat]

Jeremy, depends to how old they are. Discus grow the most in the first three months of life but generally continue growing the first year. Some will grow until they are two. You best you can do is feed well and do daily water changes and see what the fish might give you.
Pat

[Altum Nut]

Unfortunately the stunting develops during their grow-out process and can't be reversed. However under proper care they can be enjoyed just like any other Discus. Work with this group for the time being and if you decide later once you have some hours under your belt as a Discus keeper you can start with a group from one of our Simply sponsors.
Take your time as we have all been there...

...Ralph

[SNap0283]

Also stunting generally is referring to their size and not the coloration. Usually a stunted discus will still display most of its potential color if it is put into ideal conditions and they are maintained. If you do everything right you could still end up with 4-5" colorful discus that to the average eye will look very nice.

I think a lot of veterans on here tend to not understand the expectations of new discus keepers. Your discus will never look like show fish, but with great care will color up nicely and probably make you happy as a first timer. As long as you understand the limitations of the fish you have and don't expect miracles then youll be happy. On the other hand its hard for us to know just how far gone a fish is from pictures. If they are full of pathogens and disease itll be a never ending battle of medication and turn into a money pit. If they simply were just not fed and cleaned properly while young then what I said above will apply.

If youre dedicated to learn the right way to keep discus and read up on the forums and follow advise youll have success. Ask any questions you need clarity on and use the search feature. I promise any question you have has already been asked and answered 5 times and youll be able to search and find the old threads and get answers much faster than re-asking the same question and waiting for an answer. But we are always happy to help.

[Phillydubs]

I have to ask out of curiosity and to possibly use you as an example for others who may be coming here and headed down a similar path... If you don't mind...

What did you pay for the fish? Was each priced differently.. Etc?

I ask because as you stated in your initial post you didn't have the funds to go big or go with a sponsor yet I have to imagine the fish you did purchase weren't $5 either... I know around here, even when I do poke my head in a LFS and they have what they claim to be discus in a tank, the price tag makes me gasp. Since not many places carry discus I feel these places think they can slap crazy figures in a fish cause someone will buy it out of curiosity alone or think that expensive means special or rare and grab it ...

Back to my initial point, I think this is a simple math problem and I was hoping that you would share your info to again possibly help those that come after you... After seeig Kennys shipment today, he has a lot of great offerings for fairly cheap in my opinion or at least a lot cheaper than what you would get for a stunted guy at a LFS... I understand shipping factors in as well but even if you get a group of say 5 4" fish... You may be looking at max $20 per fish for $100 in shipping...

Also what needs to be factored in is time, energy and resources to try and grow or maintain these fish... I believe another poster mentioned meds and a money pit and that is so true. Or what I feel happens is someone in this situation gets discouraged quickly, looses interest or doesn't take much pride in the fish cause they say well they are far behind from the start so who cares anyway. But if you had a group from one of the sponsors that you know if you followed the formula could become stunners, people put on that extra effort and want to get their money's worth...

Sorry for the ramble... Again just seems to me like an influx lately of people coming here, reading, getting advice and then they dart off and go to a LFS and load their tank w gravel and all the other pitfalls ony to be scared away from the hobby...

Look forward to hearing more info from you and good luck with them...

[Yoda466]

I have seen the same thing with LFS discus. There is only one store in my area that occassionally has one tank of discus. They are usually around 3-3.5 inches. I don't know where they get them but they look average at best and usually a bit ragged and unhappy. They usually ask $50-$75 for them. I feel sorry for anyone buying them.

[Akili]

I have seen the same thing with LFS discus. There is only one store in my area that occasionally has one tank of discus. They are usually around 3-3.5 inches. I don't know where they get them but they look average at best and usually a bit ragged and unhappy. They usually ask $50-$75 for them. I feel sorry for anyone buying them. 100 agreement with you, A local fish store in my area got some Discus from Asia in September I was there yesterday and look at them they still look the same size.

[jer858]

I have to ask out of curiosity and to possibly use you as an example for others who may be coming here and headed down a similar path... If you don't mind...

What did you pay for the fish? Was each priced differently.. Etc?

I ask because as you stated in your initial post you didn't have the funds to go big or go with a sponsor yet I have to imagine the fish you did purchase weren't $5 either... I know around here, even when I do poke my head in a LFS and they have what they claim to be discus in a tank, the price tag makes me gasp. Since not many places carry discus I feel these places think they can slap crazy figures in a fish cause someone will buy it out of curiosity alone or think that expensive means special or rare and grab it ...


No problem at all, I bought them all at $40 each and the BD was $55 I believe. In hindsight it probably would've been better to order some of the cheaper babies from hans or a sponsor here and fork out the shipping cost. I went to a place that claimed to 'specialize' in discus, about 7 or so tanks were dedicated to discus. Their prices were far lower than any of the 6 other stores I went to in my city and the fish looked way better- probably because they had far more of them. I believe my total came out to $190 after I talked down the guy on the orange and black fish.

It probably would've been better to take the risk of shipping and get a better quality fish for almost the same price, even after the cost of shipping. Either way I'm still satisfied, I'll just move the few that don't grow after a couple month to my planted tank with the rainbows; they'll be great contrast in there. My outlook on it currently is these guys will be my learning base as opposed to stunting perfectly good fish myself due to ignorance haha.

-Jeremy

[DISCUS STU]

Stunted. Live and learn. I started keeping Discus in college and got my Discus education along the way. It took much longer than college and I'm still learning.

[Phillydubs]

Jeremy,

Thanks for the info that's big of you to share but I was hoping you would. I expected you paid in this range, honestly I was expecting even a bit higher so that's good... Here on Long Island where everything seems to be a price hike I've seen sickly discus going for nearly $100 it is actually disgusting that someone who owns a fish store and should be knowledgable about many types of fish would a) not properly care for a fish and b) slap such a price tag...

I often have to remind myself that this is a business... Bottom line, to them this is inventory that needs to be moved, the faster the better and a lot of these places probably hope the fish will die because then you have to come back and get more... It is sad but true ...

When I first began ordering haps and peacocks online I too was like this can't be true, fish shipped to your door, but it sure is true and quits remarkable and I have to stress there really is zero risk what so ever because if you deal with a sponsor and a fish arrives damaged or in poor condition you better believe that money will be sent back or a replacement so what do you really have to loose. It's on the shipper to make sure it gets to you pristine which also should make someone feel confident that they take extra care to pack these fish because they don't want to have to dip into their price margin by sending a replacement or giving you money back...

Bottom line is back to my original simple math problem you spent $200... I know for a fact Kenny has fish from $30 on up so even if you didn't care about strain and took the cheapest fish you spend 150 and maybe max another $100 to ship so you spend only $50 and you are on a whole new league...

I wish you luck with these and keep us posted and hopefully you learn all you need and Max them out to their best potential and learn all you can!

Thanks again

[lksdrinker]

Considering these came from a LFS I'd say they look better than expected. Not perfect, but some of the better stock I've seen from a LFS anyway. The eyes on the fish aren't all too large, and a few have what looks to be decent shape, so there might be some hope still of raising them out into something quite nice.

[rickztahone]

Considering these came from a LFS I'd say they look better than expected. Not perfect, but some of the better stock I've seen from a LFS anyway. The eyes on the fish aren't all too large, and a few have what looks to be decent shape, so there might be some hope still of raising them out into something quite nice.

I am sorry but I do not agree with this statement.

[warblad79]

Dude, you making me laugh so hard. They might be decent looking discus for LFS standard that's for sure but for me as discus hobbyist and a breeder they are not even near the real discus standard. You can ask any expert from this forum and I can you assure they'll tell you the same thing. There's a hope for turning them to a very healthy fish but will not meet the standard. as they get older they'll stay stubby and will even more becoming uglier because the eyes will become bulging and football shape. I'm not trying to offend the OP but I'm just stating the future outcome might be. I'm also a newbie in some point in time and I have discus very similar to that.