Stunted growth: Is there a minimum length threshold?

[discusdave]

Hi everyone,
I have kept Discus on and off for about the last 19 years. I would call myself an experienced keeper, but not an experienced breeder.

We all know the poor specimens we usually see in the LFS: big eyes and poor shape, etc. My experience tells me that if you grow discus out to about 4.5-5 inches, then stunting is less of a problem and the fish tend to grow well given adequate food after that point.

So is this a figment of my imagination, or does this correlate with other's experiences here?

Thanks.

[pcsb23]

Dave, until I read this I hadn't thought about it but it does seem to make sense and when I think back it does seem to correlate, like you I am an experienced keeper but still learning about breeding (and keeping for that matter) Sorry I can't be more factual but...
Paul.

[RichieE]

The way I've always thought about it is the average discus does most of its growing in 12 months. The importance of water quality,nutrition, and overall health is most heavely weighted in the first days/weeks/months. Problems early on may cause stunting. The same problem in the 3rd or 4th month might not have a noticeable affect on the growth of the fish. What the cutoff days are is anyones guess. The severity and length of time the problem is allowed to linger is also a factor. Typically one problem will go hand in hand with another ; bad water quality = fish eat less . HTH Rich