Discus Growth rate

[Lovardi Discus]

How long does it takes for discus to reach their adult size? I feed mine blood worm, beef heart and black worms 3 times a day. Thank you

[rickztahone]

How long does it takes for discus to reach their adult size? I feed mine blood worm, beef heart and black worms 3 times a day. Thank you

usually when they are 1 1/2yrs they are considered adults. of course this can happen earlier and there isn't a definitive way to determine it. same with humans :p;)

[Elite Aquaria]

Depending on age you need to feed more often than 3x per day...

Fry are feed every 2 hours BBS...2" - 4" fish are feed 5-6 times per day...then my adults get feed 2-3 times per day.

Water should be changed to meet your bio load and water conditions...some tanks here need daily 100% while others need 50% every other day.

[exv152]

Does water quality really play a role in the size a discus can develop into?

[Discus-Hans]

Does water quality really play a role in the size a discus can develop into?

ABSOLUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My opinion is the water quality is more important as the food,.

Approx. grow Stendker Discus:

2 ~ 2.5" 3 months
3 ~ 3.5" 4.5 months
4" 6 months
5" 9 months
6" 18 months
7"+ 24 months

Hans

[Eddie]

Does water quality really play a role in the size a discus can develop into?

Agree with Hans, its the most important!

Eddie

[hedut]

I agree with both, water is the key :). Hendri

[DiscusKev]

Excellent water quality and a good discus fish to start with end in great result, excluding food.etc

[Apistomaster]

Good water quality is an essential aspect of successful Discus maintenance and breeding. Young Discus easily experience permanent stunting from exposure for even a relatively short period of time. Best example of that is Discus purchased from a LFS which have had to endure poor care in the wholesaler's and fish shop's tanks over a period of a couple weeks can easily ruin a discus for life. That is why it is always best to buy Discus directly from Discus specialists/breeders.

[exv152]

Speaking of stunted growth due to water conditions. Up to what age do discus absolutely stop growing? And, if a discus has been stunted at any point in its adolesence, can that fish begin to grow again if given good quality water before reaching adulthood?

thanks in advance

[Apistomaster]

Theoretically speaking, all fish continue to grow until they die. Of course the grow slows to imperceptible levels as it approaches the fish genetic potential maximum size.

Discus stunted from a stressful period never fully recover. The younger and smaller they are, the less stress they can recover from. You can't skip 2 days feeding of 3 week old discus and expect them to recover fully.

For the 2-1/2 inch size frequently sold, most can recover fully from 5 days of near starvation but not much more.

There is no real way to predict every possible result of excessive neglect at any stage during the rapid growth period.

Well cared for Discus of some strains may begin breeding as early as 10-11 months old which is sooner than they reach their full potential size. 11 months is the earliest any discus I raised has bred successfully.

[troweler]

I have some leopards that are approaching 7 ins and only a year old. I also have some c/bs that are approaching 5 ins and 6 month old.

[midnight1]

i find it interesting that people are so worried about feeding the discus so much and never miss a meal since it can't be "recovered" from....i was always under the impression that when shipping fish (even babies) you are supposed to "starve" them so they don't ruin their shipping water with undue amounts of waste. also i was always told not to feed the fish right same day i got them so they can acclimate and then eat the following morning. also i have always been told that smaller fish ship better and acclimate better than bigger fish...i.e. - dime size discus take the stress of shipping better than 2"+ fish do. have these things changed? these would contradict with the unrecoverable damage that would be done if the discus weren't fed multiple times per day every day. i would think that discus can miss a meal every so often without much effect if any at all. i am just getting back into discus after a 10 year break....i can't imagine things have changed that much in regards to feeding habits/shipping/food....but maybe i am wrong???

midnight1

[Sean Buehrle]

Yeah I don't buy the two day, three day whatever stuff either.

Im willing to bet there isn't a discus in the amazon that gets fed 6 times a day year round :)

Heck they hardly move and use any energy in a tank so I believe unless it's a small fry that one or two feedings a day is plenty.

You would be much better off trying to keep high water quality without trashing the water with waste and uneaten food.

JMO

[Apistomaster]

Discus forage constantly but the very young which are 1 to 2 inches can easily handle fasting for two days without any adverse effects.
Up to about one inch it is wise to keep them surrounded with food.

[JenTN]

I found this interesting...I purchased two of my discus from my lfs..they are Stendkers so good stock. Got them about a month ago. I wc daily large amount and feed..well it seems my life revolves around these things! They are always pecking at the bottom or begging at the top. Anyway, I was at the lfs last weekend and saw their former tankmates..my lfs is an excellent store btw..and they looke quite smaller and much thinner than mine, I thought. I also noticed a difference, esp. in thickness in the juvies and even inch babies that Hans sent me that had probably missed meals for shipping and my lfs stendkers...Hans's were definitely thicker.

[JenTN]

Yeah I don't buy the two day, three day whatever stuff either.

Im willing to bet there isn't a discus in the amazon that gets fed 6 times a day year round :)

Heck they hardly move and use any energy in a tank so I believe unless it's a small fry that one or two feedings a day is plenty.

You would be much better off trying to keep high water quality without trashing the water with waste and uneaten food.

JMO

I just read an article in AFI about obesity in aquarium fish. Related to energy not being spent swimming, searching for food, reproducing, also high fat diet. Also that it is often not noticed since fat is stored internally instead of like us lucky humans who store it under the skin.:-)

[Mep1127]

Nice to know all this.. So i guess 3 feedings a day for 3.0+ inch discus is okay? I try to feed them high protein like beefheart, flake, mysis all the usual good stuff all varied too

[Apistomaster]

Nice to know all this.. So i guess 3 feedings a day for 3.0+ inch discus is okay? I try to feed them high protein like beefheart, flake, mysis all the usual good stuff all varied too

Much depends on the nature of the foods they are fed. Some foods last hours so the fish continue feeding between feedings but some foods are consumed immediately so more frequent feeding then becomes necessary.
It also depends on the age of the fish. I feed fry 4 to 6 times a day but once they attain 3 to 4 inches three feeding per day may suffice.