Paul Sabucchi
06-10-2018, 04:29 PM
My fish are now one year old, I got them when they were 3 months old and about 2" long directly from an amateur breeder in Bologna (Italy). He got his breeding pair of red melons from SG, One of the top Italian professional breeders. Since then I have done my best as a novice discus- keeper to look after them. I have them in a 100 gal BB tank and every day change 2/3 of the water (TDS 100 ppm, KH3, pH 7.5, T 28C), syphon the bottom and wipe the 5 panes of glass. I feed them every 3 hours from 6 am to 9 pm (then WC) mostly grated (from frozen) Alaska wild salmon, I used to alternate it with mussels but stopped that (thought it had an adverse effect).
Today I fished out one of the 5 bigger ones ( not necessarily the biggest but thereabouts), he measures15 cm total length and weighs 180 grams. One of the two smallest is 11 cm long and weighs 68 grams. The other fish appear to be somewhere in between these two extremes. Worth mentioning that one who used to be the joint smallest about 4 months ago (and unmistakable as he is the only one with a touch of deviation of the caudal vertebrae) is now one of the biggest. The one that was as small as him has now caught up with what was the third smallest and they both seem to be growing steadily. The smaller ones do not appear visibly stunted, they are as round in shape and as chubby as the biggest ones (so no football shapes or pinched faces) - as they say small but perfectly formed! For what it is worth I think this difference in growth rate is due mainly to feeding habits, the smaller ones seem to prefer (and not under duress) to eat the smaller fragments of food that float mid-water while the ones that go for the bigger bits that sink to the bottom are the ones that have grown most. With the benefit of hindsight what would I have done different? Surely avoid the mussels and increase the water oxygenation sooner, other than that I don't know.
I apologise for the poor quality of the photos, I was anxious keeping the fish out of water and Management (wife) even more, I think she would have slapped me if I dared keep the fish out a second longer.
I would appreciate the feedback from the more experienced discus keepers of this forum and hope that what I have done, good and bad, may be of help to others thinking of starting with these mesmerising fish
Today I fished out one of the 5 bigger ones ( not necessarily the biggest but thereabouts), he measures15 cm total length and weighs 180 grams. One of the two smallest is 11 cm long and weighs 68 grams. The other fish appear to be somewhere in between these two extremes. Worth mentioning that one who used to be the joint smallest about 4 months ago (and unmistakable as he is the only one with a touch of deviation of the caudal vertebrae) is now one of the biggest. The one that was as small as him has now caught up with what was the third smallest and they both seem to be growing steadily. The smaller ones do not appear visibly stunted, they are as round in shape and as chubby as the biggest ones (so no football shapes or pinched faces) - as they say small but perfectly formed! For what it is worth I think this difference in growth rate is due mainly to feeding habits, the smaller ones seem to prefer (and not under duress) to eat the smaller fragments of food that float mid-water while the ones that go for the bigger bits that sink to the bottom are the ones that have grown most. With the benefit of hindsight what would I have done different? Surely avoid the mussels and increase the water oxygenation sooner, other than that I don't know.
I apologise for the poor quality of the photos, I was anxious keeping the fish out of water and Management (wife) even more, I think she would have slapped me if I dared keep the fish out a second longer.
I would appreciate the feedback from the more experienced discus keepers of this forum and hope that what I have done, good and bad, may be of help to others thinking of starting with these mesmerising fish