Lifespan of stunted discus

[Sheila]

I have a few discus that I believe are pretty badly stunted. I'm just wondering what I can expect lifespan wise. Do they tend to die younger than non stunted discus?

[Apistomaster]

As long as your stunted discus eat well, then you can expect them to live about as long as any other discus. Some few may surprise you and ultimately reach a decent size. Depends on what, why, when and how long they were exposed to cause of their initial stunting.
I have a friend who bought a pet shop blue diamond that I thought would be a real runt but that Discus was almost 7 inches in diameter at 2 years old. Maybe not typical results but it just goes to show you how resilient discus can be.

[Sheila]

Wow. I think I'd be happy if my runty blue diamonds hit 4 or 5", never mind 7! My stunted guys are pet store fishies that I think spent too much time there, or were just a bad batch. 3 or the 4 runts eat extremely well. Maybe there is hope for them after all, maybe it will just take them longer!

Thanks so much!