Discus growth rate -- is this normal?

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JenNewbie

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
211
Location
Davis CA
Well, the new discus is semi-social now and will actually spend time out in front of the tank with the other two. The original two are eating well, spend most of their time hanging around in front of the tank, or at least not hiding in the corners. A couple weeks ago I could see that one was larger than the other, though they are supposed to be the same age. And last week it seemed like all of a sudden one was twice the size of the other. The runt does get the majority of the bullying in the tank, but not to the extent that it can't eat. Could it just be a slow developer? I know the most likely explanation is that it just isn't getting to eat as much as the other two, but here is a comparison of the two:

http://www.geocities.com/adoptanapbt/discus8.JPG


http://www.geocities.com/adoptanapbt/discus9.JPG
 
What are you feeding them? Try mixing in some frozen bloodworms. Variety will always help. Like you mentioned, make sure he is getting enough food and that the larger one isn't preventing him from eating. If it looks like he isn't getting enough, divide the tank for a few months to help him eat and once he is big enough, take out the divider.

OR, he could just be smaller because of some genetic reason. Maybe BrianNY will know.
 
Here is a post by BrianNY

BrianNY said:
When you bought them were they all the same size? Clown loaches grow very slowly.

Runt is a great name! :D Fish spawns are generally huge numbers. Some of the fish IMO are genetically predisposed to certain problems. Runts might be one of the more common. Often a runt (at least with discus), will survive to ripe old age.

As for my clown loaches, I have 3 and it's hard for me to tell them apart. They are very social and seem to love playing and chasing each other. I couldn't really say if one was dominant.

So apparently there are normal discus runts...Just makesure he gets food everytime you feed.
 
I looked at your pics Jen and I think you're doing a great job :D . And yes, discus runts are quite common. Alot of genetic malfunctions will exist in nature but this one is more from inbreeding IMO.

Growing out juveniles is one of the more challenging aspects of keeping this great fish. A discus stops growing after 18 months. It should get to 6 inches within the first year. For maximum growth young discus need to eat ALOT of high protein.

My method: My young discus are fed frozen blood worms, Tetramin Color bits, earthworm flakes, and most important........live black worms. The black worms are a wonderful source of protein and because they remain alive in the discus tank for over a day, I can drop in plenty and these young fish can eat til their hearts content. This is another reason to grow out fish in a barebottom tank. You don't want worms burrowing into the gravel and dying.

I also change 50% of the water daily in my juvenile tanks. Partly to keep their tank clean, but also to keep the appetite stimulated.

The pic below is of discus that I bought at around 2 inches and what they looked like after 1 year. Most are 6 to 8 inches now.
 
Oh, one more thing. The yellow fish on the bottom was a runt and has since gone to discus heaven. You can tell if you've got a runt because the eyes will be unusally large in proportion to its body size.
 
I'm so jealous brianNY! I never seen Discus that pretty down here.. Accept for a few pretty blue ones, the LFS has Discus that always have black spots on them
 
Well, it's good to know that for once it's probably NOT something I'm doing wrong... The tank the discus are in came with all decorations/gravel/etc. and I just haven't emptied it out. I think the corys like to skim through the gravel too much, too and I'm scared to put the corys back in the community tank until I can figure out why so many fish keep dying. Anyway, my discus are fed TetraMin tropical granules (it had the highest protein value), Wattley's frozen discus cubes, frozen bloodworms 3 or more times a week and occasionally freeze-dried krill or bloodworms. They don't pay much attention to floating food, though. I do a 30% water change daily and use the Wardley DeChlor. The newest discus is still black more of the time than I'd like, but I got the impression that it had been a lone fish and the stress of being in a school (even of only 3 fish) has apparently been a lot to adjust to. Thanks for the input, guys!
 
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