Beginner's grow out log.

[Oscarsx]

Hello, I've been keeping discus for about a year and a half. Decided to give fry a shot, growing them out to their full potential (hopefully).

I've been getting all my fish from inland Empire discus, bill. I started out by getting some 4 inchers and grew them close to 6, sold those and picked up some month old fry. I knew the challenge of growing out babies and the risk of death at a early age. I went ahead and made the purchase.

I picked up 5 1" cobalts and two 1" turqs. Total of 7.

As of now I have them in a 10gal BB with a 200watt heater and a sponge filter.

If I remember correctly these guys went free swimming around 8/17

Wc routine: 60 percent morning wc, 90 percent evening wc. Refilled with aged water + prime.

Feedings : 6-8x a day, home made bf mix. Beef heart was shredded down with a cheese grader.

Bh mix includes: Beef heart, spinach, shrimp, powdered inland Empire super bh flake, powdered tropical crisps, prenatal vitamins and FDBW w/ garlic powder.

I made this thread to see my progress and get advice, and good or bad critiques, feel free to give a noob some advice :-)
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/29/8ejytase.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/29/abyhase2.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/29/ta9uzuvu.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/29/aru7yduv.jpg

- oz

[Oscarsx]

As for size I'm not sure, I'm afraid I'll hurt them with a net since they're so small, I'll take better pictures when I get home from work, these were taken by my girl
^_^

- oz

[Second Hand Pat]

Oz, tape a quarter to the size of the tank and take pictures of the fry next to the quarter. Looks like you have a good start on these guys.
Pat

[Eddie]

Nice, good luck with them!

[Oscarsx]

Thanks pat and ed, I'll do that tomorrow and do that, take some pics and compare.

- oz

[Oscarsx]

Took these tonight while doing my 90%.http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/30/ytesu8u2.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/30/8udujesu.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/30/je3y7a5u.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/30/apugeryh.jpg
- oz

[Oscarsx]

I've also noticed some broken/uneven bars on these guys, do they usually fix themselves as they grow or is it a permanent thing.

- oz

[Second Hand Pat]

Broken/uneven bars are permanent Oz. Even wild discus have broken/uneven bars.
Pat

[Oscarsx]

Oh okay, is it frowned upon?
- oz

[Second Hand Pat]

Some care, some don't. Purely a personal thing.

[damba]

They are looking good. What matters is if you like the fish. I have sone frontosa with broken bars. I still like them just wouldn't breed from them

I live in Eastbourne - the sunniest place in Britain. That isn't really saying much...

[lipadj46]

Many of my fish have broken bars, stendkers and hobbiest breeder fry both. I don't give it a second thought. If you buy fish small to grow out it just happens. I personally care more about shape, size, color/pattern than a broken bar.

[Dudley Eirich]

I've also noticed some broken/uneven bars on these guys, do they usually fix themselves as they grow or is it a permanent thing.

- ozOne of my prettiest fish had broken bars. I'll take a pretty fish with broken bars over an plain fish with even bars any day!

[Inland Empire Discus]

Looking good. Looks like they are healthy.

[Oscarsx]

Thanks guys, It dosent bother me at all I was just curious if it was a culling defect. Either way I'm happy and I'll post my progress through out the year whether i fail or succeed.

- oz

[Oscarsx]

small update, they are growing very quick. Starting to get a small tint of blue...

They actually started coming to the top to eat their food... I'll be taking them out and measuring them on the 17th their 2 month birthday update :)

http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-10_19-59-48_706.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-10_19-59-56_417.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-10_20-00-04_82.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-10_20-00-29_426.jpg

They're 90% daily wc...

my wife "omg stop torturing them!" lol noob.
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-10_20-08-32_794.jpg

[random-cichlid]

They're 90% daily wc...

my wife "omg stop torturing them!" lol noob.
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-10_20-08-32_794.jpg


hahah gold

[Eddie]

They look great.

[chaoslite]

They look great Oz!

Mishka

[wdeleon01]

They're 90% daily wc...

my wife "omg stop torturing them!" lol noob.
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-10_20-08-32_794.jpg

LOLOL my wife freaks out when I do the same thing to my big ones. so i do an 85 % water change

[Oscarsx]

They look great.


They look great Oz!

Mishka

Thank you both, learning the route to a nice discus fish, thanks simply!

[Oscarsx]

LOL wdeleon01, she's very protective of her "discy poos" (her nickname) lol... I'm lucky to have her share this awesome hobby.

[davidw]

they r really cute... hope u continue sharing their progress...thanks

[Oscarsx]

they r really cute... hope u continue sharing their progress...thanks

Of course, I'll keep updating throughout their months until adults. :)

- oz

[Oscarsx]

Small update:

Decided to move my little guys to my 20 gallon, my 10 gallon was getting to small for them.. Will still maintain a daily 90% and 6-8x feedings a day.

Here are some pics.
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-15_20-13-47_573.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-15_20-14-05_514.jpg

[Eddie]

Nice, they will outgrow the 20 before you know it.

[Oscarsx]

Nice, they will outgrow the 20 before you know it.

How big until I need to upgrade?

- oz

[Oscarsx]

Their second month old update.

Doing their 2nd month old update, they have definitely grown since I got them.. I'm not sure If I have gotten the progress I wanted to get with them, most people have their fish @ 2 inches at 2 months of age, I'm aware that certain strains grow quicker than others..

Either way I'm happy with them, here is a few pics enjoy.
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-17_21-33-25_272.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-17_21-32-55_75.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-17_21-32-19_33.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-17_21-32-15_425.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-17_21-31-32_996.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-17_21-30-48_408.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-10-17_21-29-59_702.jpg

[discuspaul]

They're looking real good, Oz, keep it up !

[Oscarsx]

They're looking real good, Oz, keep it up !

Thank you Paul! Once they reach adult age, they'll be going in my high tech planted tank!! :)

- oz

[migdem]

Looking good :)

[Oscarsx]

Looking good :)

Thank you:)

- oz

[Oscarsx]

All fish are doing great, taking them out and measuring didn't stress them too much, all started eating 30min after the torture. Here's some pics, showing a decent amount of blue and getting bigger everyday. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/22/ypu4y9us.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/22/a7ysedeh.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/22/asu5ugam.jpg

- oz

[Oscarsx]

Small update..

Two of my cobalts have turned slightly dark, no change in behavior or appetite.. I'm hoping it's just his colors coming in??
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/27/ty2egu8e.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/27/degaha9y.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/27/mynajybe.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/27/qeda7a2y.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/27/hehybuby.jpg

- oz

[pastry]

geez, Oscar, what's taking so long? ;) kidding kidding... Dude, looking great!!! Definitely keeping up with this thread. Pleeeaaaase keep it going and with pics as much as you can. Unlike me, you're doing it right (BB). I'm trying to do what I can do but love what you're doing ESPECIALLY with as small as you started with!

[Oscarsx]

geez, Oscar, what's taking so long? ;) kidding kidding... Dude, looking great!!! Definitely keeping up with this thread. Pleeeaaaase keep it going and with pics as much as you can. Unlike me, you're doing it right (BB). I'm trying to do what I can do but love what you're doing ESPECIALLY with as small as you started with!

Haha thank you, looking back @ page one pics and comparing them now makes me feel accomplished, but I have a looooooong way to go.. This small adventure will be worth it in the end. Thanks pastry, I will post as many pics as I can hehe
:-)

- oz

[Oscarsx]

Took a few in the morning with my lights onhttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/28/2y6y8u3e.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/28/dy7udusy.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/28/be6e9e7u.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/28/uge9a4yr.jpg

- oz

[Curt]

They Look real good, hopefully some day I will take the plunge with fry.

Curt

[Oscarsx]

They Look real good, hopefully some day I will take the plunge with fry.

Curt


Thank you curt! It's rough man, I work full time and not home all day, luckily I have my wife doing most if not all my feedings. I get home and do my wc and call it a day.
- oz

[Curt]

Yea I hear you. I work all day as well and wife works grave yards so She wont be eble to help. I guess thats why they have auto feeders, lol... I am going to give some 2.5 to 3 inchers a shot and see how I do.

Curt

[Oscarsx]

I personally don't use automatic feeders but I'm sure they come handy with messy work schedules. Good luck with your future stock :)

- oz

[Oscarsx]

Just a few pictures, I will be taking them out on the 17th and measuring them...

Still eating normal, no odd behavior (knock on wood) daily wc's of 90% and feedings 6-8x a day.

good growth so far, I believe some are over 2 inches..

Sorry for the phone pics, I don't own a DSLR :(

enjoy.
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/IMG_20121103_231248.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/IMG_20121103_231252.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/IMG_20121103_231422.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/IMG_20121103_231410.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/IMG_20121103_231406.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/IMG_20121103_231426.jpg

[discus6628]

Good progress.. keep up the good work. I will some day raise some fry like you do for enjoyment.

[Oscarsx]

Thanks discus6628,

next week It's their 3 month update.. I'm not getting the growth I'm wanting from these guys, I've tried everything in the discus book, I'm just going to blame it on the fish strain lol!

As long as they are growing healthy, I guess that's all that matters.

[Oscarsx]

enjoy a few pics.
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-08_20-14-38_47.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-08_20-14-17_900-1.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-08_20-14-27_298-1.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-08_20-15-40_661.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/IMG_20121108_201237.jpg

[pastry]

Holy smokes... checkout he difference from the top of the page (10/21) and then straight to this most recent set of pics... keep it up Oscar! Also, they look so happy and content.

[Oscarsx]

Holy smokes... checkout he difference from the top of the page (10/21) and then straight to this most recent set of pics... keep it up Oscar! Also, they look so happy and content.


Thank you pastry, looking back now I have made some progress.. Happy to see you joining me in my grow out journey :)

- oz

[Oscarsx]

Bad news, Unfortunately I have lost one discus, He started showing bad symptoms a few days ago, I don't know what It was, maybe I hurt him while doing my WC.. I have 0 idea.

Anyways, He wasn't completely dead just floating on top of the water, with very slow gill movement. I didn't have any spare tanks for a hospital tank so I decided to flush him down the toilet before he destroys my other discus.

I measured him before tossing him, he was shy of 2 inches :( R.I.P
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-13_19-07-43_760.jpg

[Eddie]

Sorry to hear.

[Oscarsx]

Today is their 3 month update, I will be taking them out later in the evening when I'm doing my water change.

Everything has been good so far, except for that one death, everyone is doing great. Enjoy a few pics.

http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_11-54-16_997.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_11-55-13_664.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_11-54-45_498.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_11-54-56_869.jpg

[pastry]

Oscar, seriously? I can't see a profile! Coooome on! :p Just kidding but if you're able to post a few current profiles then would love to see the progress. I like staying tuned in to your log.

[Oscarsx]

Took them out and measured them just now, nothing impressive. They are growing but not at a fast pace.. I hope they go through some growth spurt soon to see some real results :)

anyways, still healthy.. enjoy few pics.

Wife took pics, sorry about that LOL

http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_19-51-43_204.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_19-53-19_417.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_19-52-56_671.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_19-53-59_897.jpg
http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/dominguez122908/2012-11-17_19-54-35_89.jpg

[Oscarsx]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/21/ady3ezuh.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/21/yvyvuvyn.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/21/y4e8u2aq.jpg

- oz

[Oscarsx]

Unfortunately I have lost one more discus, death is just like the first one. I'm starting to worry a bit here.. The one I lost was one of my runs, the other runtie is showing similar symptoms. So I'm left with four now.

I tested my water, both ammonia and nitrite are 0, nitrate is 5ppm or lower. Aged water for 24 hours. Using prime as a dechlorinator. I will be posting in the disease section when I get home from work.

I'm hoping it's death due to weakness in the fish as it was the smallest in the tank.


3 out of 4 look perfectly healthy, my last runt is dark and looks lethargic, no interest in food. I did treat with metro for 4 days, so we will see.

- oz

[Crystalwaters]

Those discus are super cute and I love reading/seeing your updates. Being a new discus keeper it was my mistake buying discus at 1", didn't know how to care for them properly. You look like a pro!
Sorry about your losses, could be mother nature being mean! The others look great, looking forward to more updates on the "discy poos" :)

[Oscarsx]

Unfortunately raising discus fry with my lack of experience proved to be difficult, I tried everything in the book to grow these fish out, went by every rule and have failed.

I am down to only 3 fish, 1 seems to be in excellent condition while his other 2 tank mates seem to have the same symptoms of my other dead ones. Something came down on my tank and wiped out my stock, It happens.. learned that by reading the stickies "cold hard facts about the hobby"..

As of now I don't plan on updating my thread anymore since there isin't much to update on, I don't plan on giving these guys the time anymore, once they die I'm going to bleach all of my equipment and start fresh.. hopefully with better results next time around.

Thanks everyone who has followed me through this process, will have to change things up a bit If I want to succeed with Discus.

[Kal-El]

Sorry to hear the bad news... Usually when you do all the right things good results show. I've only been keeping discus since April and so far no death due to disease or sickness (Knock on Wood) with any of my adults and juvies that I have raised. Like you I follow all of the rules advise by everyone here. Perhaps second time around will give you better experience. I will bleach your whole tank and start fresh like you say and new discus will be from good source with no disease or sickness. Starting from a good clean source will give you better experience in the hobby. Good luck.

[Oscarsx]

My source was not the problem, there were a few things I should of done different since the beginning. I'm a little bummed but not enough to make me a quitter... Bleaching this weekend, re cycling and buying more discus is what I'll be doing.

- oz

[Second Hand Pat]

Oz, sorry to hear but glad you are trying again. If you talk to most experienced discus keepers many have lost many spawns/fry. It happens and is part of the learning curve. I learning with my current contest fish as I am down to five and the largest is a bit over three inches at six months old. Chin up and I look forward towards your next adventure with those awesome fish.

[Eddie]

Sorry to hear man. Raising fry is a lot different and can be more difficult than raising/growing out juvies. When it comes to raising a batch of fry, not all of them will do well. Even myself, with a batch of 10 fry, maybe 6 or 7 will turn out and be keepers. I always recommend people to start with fish >3 inches.

[Crystalwaters]

Sorry to hear :( You put so much effort and time into these babies only to have something go wrong!
So glad that you have a great attitude, trying again. Looking forward to following your next grow out log :)

[lipadj46]

+1, start with 2"-3" fish and it is easy(ish)... Of my first batch of 7 (stendkers) only 2 made it. Take it as a learning experience, most fail at first.

[Oscarsx]

I've had grown out fish before, I had 9 of them from the same source, grew them out to 4-6 inches.. I wanted a good challenge and I though it would be a good learning experience. And that it was, I'm not done with fry yet... I'll just have to keep learning and try harder I suppose. It was definitely fun seeing these little guys grow.. I'm just wondering if this was something I could of prevented or nature being nature.

- oz