Discus Size and age

[PamC]

I was looking at picking up some local discus from someone who needs to rehome some fish.

I understand discus are slow growers, but I have read that healthy discus would reach 3 inches with in months and that was an acceptable age for selling. I wonder, would a 3 inch discus at 1 year old be healthy? Or even a two inch Discus at one year old? Only thing unknown is if the length is tail to head or just body length. Is this fish stunted?

I am a bit confused after reading up on discus growth. Please help.

[babers]

Most discus grow up to an inch for the first few months. Although some are slow growers, 2-3" discus that is a year old is definitely stunted. IMO. Any pictures? There are indications of discus being stunted....you'll find a bunch of great threads here.


I was looking at picking up some local discus from someone who needs to rehome some fish.

I understand discus are slow growers, but I have read that healthy discus would reach 3 inches with in months and that was an acceptable age for selling. I wonder, would a 3 inch discus at 1 year old be healthy? Or even a two inch Discus at one year old? Only thing unknown is if the length is tail to head or just body length. Is this fish stunted?

I am a bit confused after reading up on discus growth. Please help.

[PamC]

No pictures I can post, however I have a photo.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts, so I will keep looking around.

[GoingDiscus]

Hi Pam, I looked around for a long time for some nice Discus, I saw some in pet shops and none looked to be very healthy, I ended up getting some from Sabres1 here on Simply.Which are doing great by the way.
I see some of the other sponsors on here have some super looking strains that I`ll be getting eventually. I like the fact that from what Ive seen in my short time is that any of these sponsors and hobbyist here will also help you with any questions after the sale you may have about the fish you get from them.
and the prices on here are comparable and most time better than what you can get anywhere else I have seen.
Ron

[DerekFF]

At 12-15 months most discus are sexually mature and if well cared for are in the 4-6inch range. If they are only 2-3 inches they are def stunted/infested or not fed so that would grow to their full potential.

[babers]

Sponsors here have great discus at a very reasonable price. If you buy some discus, might as well buy them from reputable breeders/dealers. You might have to pay more bec of shipping cost...but it's well worth it.

just to clarify my first post....discus can grow up to an inch every month for the first few months...then slows down as they mature.

[Darrell Ward]

I was looking at picking up some local discus from someone who needs to rehome some fish.

I understand discus are slow growers, but I have read that healthy discus would reach 3 inches with in months and that was an acceptable age for selling. I wonder, would a 3 inch discus at 1 year old be healthy? Or even a two inch Discus at one year old? Only thing unknown is if the length is tail to head or just body length. Is this fish stunted?

I am a bit confused after reading up on discus growth. Please help.

A year old discus should at least be in the 5"-6" range IMO. A 3" discus at a year old would indeed be stunted. Also, I believe most people measure discus from head to tail.

[Jhhnn]

Welcome, Pam.


A year old discus should at least be in the 5"-6" range IMO. A 3" discus at a year old would indeed be stunted. Also, I believe most people measure discus from head to tail.

Overall length, "total length", tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, right?

The other measurement used by some is "standard length", from the base of the tail to the tip of the nose, iirc...

And, yeh, I agree with your assessment wrt age, size, and stunting.

Lots of unknowns in your questions, Pam, like why you want discus, where you'll keep them, with what other kinds of fish- so forth and so on...

It's important for you to understand what you're getting into, so you won't be disappointed... it's not like discus are terribly difficult to keep, just that they need certain things to thrive, and you'll find that information here if you look.

If you're not really familiar with discus, it's hard to know what to look for to get healthy stock, so it's best to obtain fish from somebody known to sell healthy stock, like one of our sponsors. I can recommend Kenny Cheung without reservation. He'll be posting pics of his soon to arrive shipment in a few days, I'm sure, so if you want some, act quickly, because they won't languish in his tanks, bet on that...

[PamC]

Thank you all for confirming my thoughts.

No, I do not have any experience with discus and thought picking up some that needed a new home would be a good way to start out. The one thing I do understand about discus, as well as with all fish, is you do want to start with healthy fish. I have been reading up on the misshapes, discolorations, deformed fins, eyes, gills, etc for quite awhile, but still have not totally jumped.

No concern about shipping in fish, done this before. If I do ship in, hopefully I will have selected a quality breeder-distributor, which shipping should be part of their expertise.

Unknowns...sure there unknowns, there are some I do not even know about yet. LOL.

I do know, I am not looking for young fish as in 2-3 inch, meaning months old discus. I am not up to growing out healthy juvs with their massive growth spurts, relating directly to their constant feedings and constant water changes.
I do know, I am looking for a healthy year old, sexually matured couple.

When I find the mature-mated or at least in-like discus pair, they have a 75 gallon set up waiting for them. As for tank mates, that is up to them, every fish-couple is different. Since I keep a couple SA fish (another tank) I might be able to accommodate them with some distraction, if needed.

Officially talked out of the questionable discus. Again thanks for your great in sites and suggestions, that is why I posted.

[PamC]

Thank you all for confirming my thoughts.

No, I do not have any experience with discus and thought picking up some that needed a new home would be a good way to start out. The one thing I do understand about discus, as well as with all fish, is you do want to start with healthy fish. I have been reading up on the misshapes, discolorations, deformed fins, eyes, gills, etc for quite awhile, but still have not totally jumped.

No concern about shipping in fish, done this before. If I do ship in, hopefully I will have selected a quality breeder-distributor, which shipping should be part of their expertise.

Unknowns...sure there unknowns, there are some I do not even know about yet. LOL.

I do know, I am not looking for young fish as in 2-3 inch, meaning 3 month old discus. I am not up to growing out healthy juvs with their massive growth spurts, relating directly to their constant feedings and constant water changes.
I do know, I am looking for a healthy year old, matured pair. I do not want to start with 6-8 discus.

When I find the mature-mated or at least in-like discus pair, they have a 75 gallon set up waiting for them. As for tank mates, that is up to them, every fish-couple is different. Since I keep a couple SA fish (another tank) I might be able to accommodate them with some distraction, if needed.

When I set up my first tank (ten gallon) I wanted to keep discus, thankfully someone explained to me discus was not a good idea for a beginner with a ten gallon.

I know what I am looking for maybe bit more difficult to find and that when the couples are available, they go quickly. But I would rather wait, then jump and have regrets.

Officially talked out of the questionable discus. Again thanks for your great insights and suggestions, that is why I posted.

[babers]

Pam,

I think it would be a good idea also to check your water parameters in your area...if you can use tap water or if you will need an RO system. And make sure you start cycling your tank now...they say around a month is considered cycled, before you buy your discus. Goodluck!

[Wahter]

I do know, I am not looking for young fish as in 2-3 inch, meaning 3 month old discus. I am not up to growing out healthy juvs with their massive growth spurts, relating directly to their constant feedings and constant water changes.
I do know, I am looking for a healthy year old, matured pair. I do not want to start with 6-8 discus.

When I find the mature-mated or at least in-like discus pair, they have a 75 gallon set up waiting for them. As for tank mates, that is up to them, every fish-couple is different. Since I keep a couple SA fish (another tank) I might be able to accommodate them with some distraction, if needed.


One big reason people buy juveniles (other than to watch them grow out and develop), is price. If you end up buying a proven pair, they will get along with each other better, but the price will be a lot higher. In some cases, you can buy 10 juveniles for the price of two adults. Typically, people buy 6 juveniles because statistically, there will be at least one female and one male in the group and to spread out the cichlid aggression in the group.

On the other hand by buying adults, you won't have any surprises when it comes to the appearance of the fish. Some strains will change appearances as they grow (striations disappear, spots either form or merge into lines, etc...).

Also, keep in mind just about every fish benefits from frequent water changes.

HTH,


Walter

[PamC]

Water parameters are very good to know. A few months ago, I finally looked at my local water report after much heartache and work. After reading the report I decided to go with RODI, clean slate, so to speak, to create good, stable water conditions.

So when I said the tank is waiting, it really is. The 75 is cycled-cycling, I used the fishless method by feeding it ammonia and continue to do so, plus water changes to keep the nitrates at a reasonable level, as to not stunt the cycle.

I do understand why some buy juvies in volume, as described. It is said to know yourself and that is not me, right now. LOL. A 50% water change every third day, for my SA tank, seems to keep my fish happy. Willing to add a couple more wcs to my schedule if needed, but not wanting to do the twice daily 100% water changes for healthy juvie growth, not right now. Besides I do like the idea of knowing what the discus' will look, no surprises, as they are to be the center piece of the tank.

By the way, I have visited your great website, http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/discus/index.html many times reading up on discus. I did picked up the Discus Health by Dieter Untergasser at a used book store based on your review. Even though I do not have discus yet, it has a lot of info that has helped me become a better fish keeper. Great book.

[PamC]

Water parameters are very good to know. A few months ago, I finally looked at my local water report after much heartache and work. After reading the report I decided to go with RODI, clean slate, so to speak, to create good, stable water conditions.

So when I said the tank is waiting, it really is. The 75 is cycled-cycling, I used the fishless method by feeding it ammonia and continue to do so, plus water changes to keep the nitrates at a reasonable level, as to not stunt the cycle.

I do understand why some buy juvies in volume, as described. It is said to know yourself and that is not me, right now. LOL. A water change every third day, for my SA tank, seems to keep my fish happy. Willing to add a couple more wcs to my schedule if needed, but not wanting to do the twice daily 100% water changes for healthy juvie growth, not right now. Besides I do like the idea of knowing what the discus' will look, no surprises, as they are to be the center piece of the tank.

By the way, I have visited your great website, http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/discus/index.html many times reading up on discus. I did picked up the Discus Health by Dieter Untergasser at a used book store based on your review. Great book.

[gwrace]

One big reason people buy juveniles (other than to watch them grow out and develop), is price. If you end up buying a proven pair, they will get along with each other better, but the price will be a lot higher. In some cases, you can buy 10 juveniles for the price of two adults. Typically, people buy 6 juveniles because statistically, there will be at least one female and one male in the group and to spread out the cichlid aggression in the group.

On the other hand by buying adults, you won't have any surprises when it comes to the appearance of the fish. Some strains will change appearances as they grow (striations disappear, spots either form or merge into lines, etc...).

Also, keep in mind just about every fish benefits from frequent water changes.

HTH,


Walter

We elected to buy juvies for that very reason. To watch them grow out. We bought 6 Stendkers from Hans and 12 1 inch varied juvies from another hobbiest breeder here on Simply. In both cases we got some really nice fish. Although we won't know what they will look like for several months. The Stendkers are approaching 4.5 inches and really starting to look nice.

[mjs020294]

We have eight juveniles at the moment. Three from Hans (was four but one died suddenly), and five from Somethingphishy. Three of them (1XHans) are not growing as fast as the other five, mainly because they are shy and finicky eaters. They look healthy and have grown slightly, less than half an inch per month. I moved those three to a QT tank last night to try and feed them up a little. The QT is sat on the kitchen counter top so they will get very used to seeing us move around while they are being fed up. Hopefully they will lose their shyness and beef up a little in the next few weeks.

[darkknight87]

I can understand about not wanting to by juvies, after raising several to adulthood and now having a tank full of sub to adults, I myself do not wish to purchase anymore juvies if I can help it.
I do find though that there is nothing wrong with buying subs, those that range from 3.5-5 inch, that aren't fully mature yet, but have gotten past the most critical stage where they are easily stunted, and you can start to tell alot about their patterns, and they still dont cost as much as pairs or full 7inch adults cost.

[Eddie]

Somethingsphishy

[Jason K.]

Somethingsphishy

+1 eddie, guy needs to go!

[richiethebing]

I bought 5 juvies about a month ago, three are growing nicely two however seem not to be growing at all.

[Larry Bugg]

Sounds to like you are off to a good start. Knowing what yor are willing and not willing to do and then making the decision to go with a adult pair is a wise decision. Cheaper for more is not the best option if you know your really don't want to keep up with the daily water changes. A water change every third day for an adult pair will work just fine. If your goal is to breed them then your will want to not have tank mates in with them. A 75 is a little on the large size for a pair but they will certainly appreciate.