Growing, Growing, Not much Growing!

[Abercrombie6202]

I've had my discus for about a month and a half now and i really haven't seen much growing as in size. They have showed much color growth, but they are about 6-7 months old and are still at about 3 inches. Do discus start to slow their growth once they get older or do they grow in spurts?

[EIHAB83]

tell us about your water changes, is your water hard or soft, how many times do you feed them a day ...... how many gals is your tank, how many fish in there
EIHAB

[brewmaster15]

Adam,
You need to be patient with them, They do go thru growth spurts, but their growth is dependent on many factors including how much food and how often you feed, and what you feed. Water temp also affects their metabolism .

Also keep in mind you have had them for a month.. But you also had health problems with them.. Thats going impact their growth alot.... probably not permanently but it depends on their appetite, before, during and after the illness.

In short..Time will tell how yours grow.

hth,
al

[ronrca]

100% agree with the above posts!

Just a little experience of mine! When I first receive my little discus around 1.5", I did around 50% water changes twice a day however I didnt have an automatic feeder. So, I was only able to feed in the morning once and in the evening twice which meant that for around 12 hours they didnt get any food. Growth was not bad but not even near 1" per month.

My second batch of fry I started to feed around 6x a day using an autofeeder. What a huge difference in growth!

Another thing to remember is that different strains color up at different times. Some sooner, some later! ;)

O yea! As Al mentioned, stress has a huge negative impact on growth! Stress from unstable water parameters such as varying ph/temp, ammonia/nitrite/high nitrate!

Patience my friend! Discus require time not only on the discus part, but time on your part also! While textbook knowledge is great, nothing beats hands on experience which comes over time! ;) ;D Hang in there! Even though your first discus may not be show stoppers, your second batch will be closer, the third even better, etc, etc! ;) ;)

[RichieE]

Hi Adam. I agree with the other guys and you are correct in being concerned about their size. Takeing everything into account I would say they are 1-2 months behind in growth. ( I measure lips to tail as my doctor includes my head and feet ;D) I think the stage of development when your problems occured and what they were will be a strong factor in determining if they can "catch up". When I have fish that I know are not growing like they should be they get extra attention in the feeding, cleaning and water change departments.
I have some nice fish I cant get past 4 inches but my favorites are the dinner plates. Stay with it. They may surprise you. Rich