babies growing

[Song]

my question is, when people breed their own discus, and when the fry grows older, do most of them grow the same rate? I mean if it came from the same batch? what if most of the brother and sisters are fully grown, and 2 are smaller... would that mean they are stunded?

[BIGFOOT]

No more like runted. Butt they are just like people. Do you look exactly like your daddy?

[SSteino86]

This happens with all fish. It's simple genetics. Bigfoot is right. Not every person in a family is exactly the same size, just like is a spawn of fish. There are naturally bigger and smaller ones. I've had 7 Oscars for about 6 months now and 4 are about 5", 2 are about 6"+, and 1 of them is hardly 3" :P . Just the way it goes.

[Song]

wat's the difference between a runt and stunt??? whichone will is worse???

[Timbo]

a runt is usually genetic in nature...ie - its born that way (as in a puppy litter) and unavoidable
stunting is from exposure to poor environmental conditions and avoidable

[Luca]

Hi Song.
Well said Timbo, so right.

I have a batch of babies two months old at the moment, my first big batch ever. There is an amazing range in size amongst them. Basically between 1" (2.54cm) and 2 1/4" (5.6cm). Looks like a big difference when you see them all schooling together and you know they're from the same parents and have had the same food and water changes. Of course the ones that get bigger probably get stronger and push there way to the top to get more food first too so they get even bigger

[AADiscus]

Depending on how big of a batch they are, you could always separate them into two different tanks. Put the smaller to medium size ones in one tank and leave the larger ones together. Maybe you can get the smaller ones to catch up with the others.

[Song]

ok... so as long as they eyes are proportioned and they look healthy, even if they are smaller than the bro and sis.. (runts) its ok.... (guess as long as all the fish are healthy, can i assume the runt is also healthy?) Thanks for all your help! I was getting worried about it... someone was gonna give me bunch of 'runts' (i hope, not stunted) as part of a package deal... its good to know that 'runts' might still have a little potential. dont like feeling jipped!