Newbi Question

[DiscusMad]

Do Discus have a slow groth or am i doing something wrong?
I have a Brown 5cm had him for 4 months now and he just doesen't seem to be geting any bigger

[Annie]

I want to say that they are both, slow growing and fast growing...just at different times. My Blues grew like mad for the first 4-5months that I had them, and now the last 2-3 months, they are still growing, but it has been a much slower growth than early on. I am still doing the same routine with water changes and feedings as I did then, so I think they go through both periods where for a while they show a size improvement and then where they do not.
But then again, everytime I have company "ho does not see them on a daily basis", say they they are getting bigger and bigger everytime they see them. :wink:

[Proteus]

From what I know and have heard the rate of growth can be largely due to the amount of water changes and the chemistry of the water.

Whereas Discus prefer a pH of around 6.5 for breeding, they will grow quicker at a Neutral pH of 7.0, plus the better the water quality (lots of water changes) the quicker they grow as well...

[DiscusMad]

So I might not have a runt of a fish then?

[Proteus]

Easiest way to tell apart from looking at a healthy fish of the same age is the eye size, they should be small in comparison to the rest of the body...

If the eyes are bulged or somewhat large, it is stunted to an extent.