Truly amazing! I've had my fish for a month and they are already laying eggs!

[STL_Cardinal]

So I noticed today while feeding that the two largest of my sub-adults were being extremely territorial to the other four. Then, to my shock and dismay, I discovered that they are guarding some eggs on my driftwood! The pair are a Fire Red and pigeon blood red. This is my first time keeping discus. They were purchased with four other discus a month ago as sub-adults and I didn't think they they were old enough to breed?? They are only 4.5"-5" in TL and according to the distributor I got them from, roughly 4-6 months old. Are mine stunted or did they just start early? Pictures are below.


6810668107
I have a 75g heavily planted tank, 50 daily wc straight from the tap. This is my first time keeping discus and I was just trying to keep them alive and grow them out. But I guess I'm doing something right... :D

[ExReefer]

That's a good question. I feel like your fish could be stunted only because the same thing happened to me. I bought some 4-4.5" discus from a reputable SD sponsor and within two weeks they paired off and laid eggs. I feel like 4-4.5" is too small to be spawning so they must sent me stunted fish by accident. I'm sure it happens sometimes.

[strawberryblonde]

I have a 4" discus laying eggs. It's not common, but not that uncommon either. The good part is that so long as you keep feeding them and leave them in the community tank they can continue to grow out. Probably won't be the biggest fish in the tank, but should still reach a nice adult size.

Your pics look like totally normal fish, not stunted at all, but still young. The Marlboro is still light orange in color and doesn't have his adult white/red markings yet. =)

[DLock3d]

They don't look stunted to me!

[wendy9722]

They don't look stunted to me!

+1

[STL_Cardinal]

I appreciate the replies everyone! I am also really glad to hear that you all don't think they look stunted. I was just confused as to how they could have possibly started breeding if they are only 4-6 mo old! :confused::confused: But, as it turns out, they are older than I initially thought. Here's an excerpt of an e-mail today from my distributor:



" I would say they are about a year old (they could be 9months to a year). My fish get fed 3x a day during the week and more on the weekends because I am home. 5 inches a good size discus but they can get to be 6+ inches and THICK. Remember you bought Stendker discus and they have the potential to be dinner plates. With the proper care they get BIG. "



OK, while I must stress that I have fallen in love w/ my discus this past month, I am a little disappointed in the sense that I was hoping to grow out some monsters in my tank... and now it appears that (as far as TL size) most of my sub-adults are only going to get an inch or so bigger? Is the average Stendker TL size 6+ inches, as he says? BTW, I have 1 BD, 1 RS, 1 PB, 1 FR, 1 BT, and 1 PSB (Pigeon snakeskin blue)

I was also wondering if there are other precautions I should take with my other 4 discus now that they've been relegated to one side of the tank by my pair? No injuries (so far) that I am aware of, but either of the pair will make an immediate beeline and bite/chase any fish that makes the mistake of getting too close to their eggs. Will my pair always be this aggressive or only exhibit this kind of behavior while there are eggs?

Best Regards,
Paul

[strawberryblonde]

When mine aren't guarding eggs they go right back to being normal, mostly friendly discus. There's always the occasional nudge or two, but not the aggressive biting that you see when they have eggs.

I bought Stendkers too, and so far the dinner plate size is turning out to be true. Yours really do look young, though he says a year, so who knows?

My Marlboro Red has been in my care for 4 months and is only JUST starting to get adult markings and coloration. He's deep dark orange all over, nearly red in color and has white markings showing up on his forehead and fins as well as some pretty red splashes of color on the fins. I don't see that in yours, so it's not an adult yet and still has some growing room.

Ohhhhh, forgot to mention actual sizes. I have a thread on here where I just updated the size of my discus. My Red Scribbelt is 7" and still growing. The Marlboro Red is 6.5" and still growing. My smallest is my Brilliant Turq and he's 5.25" and still growing. I expect them to continue growth (albeit a bit slower) for another 2-3 months at least...perhaps more since some strains grow till their about 18 months old.

Meant to mention that you called the orange discus a Fire Red, but to me he looks more like a Marlboro Red. I might be totally wrong on that though, but if he's a year old he'd be much darker red by now if he was a FR.

I hope that helps a bit. Keep feeding them often with high quality, high protein foods and they'll flourish for you. =)

[DLock3d]

When mine aren't guarding eggs they go right back to being normal, mostly friendly discus. There's always the occasional nudge or two, but not the aggressive biting that you see when they have eggs.

I bought Stendkers too, and so far the dinner plate size is turning out to be true. Yours really do look young, though he says a year, so who knows?

My Marlboro Red has been in my care for 4 months and is only JUST starting to get adult markings and coloration. He's deep dark orange all over, nearly red in color and has white markings showing up on his forehead and fins as well as some pretty red splashes of color on the fins. I don't see that in yours, so it's not an adult yet and still has some growing room.

Ohhhhh, forgot to mention actual sizes. I have a thread on here where I just updated the size of my discus. My Red Scribbelt is 7" and still growing. The Marlboro Red is 6.5" and still growing. My smallest is my Brilliant Turq and he's 5.25" and still growing. I expect them to continue growth (albeit a bit slower) for another 2-3 months at least...perhaps more since some strains grow till their about 18 months old.

Meant to mention that you called the orange discus a Fire Red, but to me he looks more like a Marlboro Red. I might be totally wrong on that though, but if he's a year old he'd be much darker red by now if he was a FR.

I hope that helps a bit. Keep feeding them often with high quality, high protein foods and they'll flourish for you. =)

She also posted great pictures.

[fscii]

That's a good question. I feel like your fish could be stunted only because the same thing happened to me. I bought some 4-4.5" discus from a reputable SD sponsor and within two weeks they paired off and laid eggs. I feel like 4-4.5" is too small to be spawning so they must sent me stunted fish by accident. I'm sure it happens sometimes.

Its possible they were stunted OR exceptionally healthy and developing fast, thus breeding at a smaller size!