Does stunt discus all have big eyes?

[ivo]

from what i know a stunt discus normally have big eyes because their body don't grow but their eyes do. is it a definite rule? anyone like to share their thoughts or experience?

i have this albino red melon for probably one year now ( i think). apart from it has gained more red in color it has not grown an inch but it's eyes have also not grown either, so the eyes still look relative in proportion. i guess if it has not grown any in one year then it is really not going to grow at all.

[Hollowman]

I would say it's stunted. Sometimes I feel that some fish just stop growing altogether. Perhaps this is the case here.
I have stunted juve right now, it is in a very small tank with a few cardinals. It is now 6 1/2 months old and 1.5" long. It has one large eye, one small one. It should be a good 4" + really and I should cull it, but it's happy enough. Stunting is a strange phenomenum, and in my case I think perhaps more genetic as it had the same chance as the others from the same batch that did well.
Stunting does not affect the health of the fish that I have seen, although in later life they do seem more prone to fading away. They can produce good fry, so I see this is caused by poor conditions as well as a degree of genetics too.

What do you guys think?

Hollowman

[ivo]

it eats like a pig and it's body is reasonable thick relatively to it's size. it does not have worms and i can't even blame it on hormone fed since it's redness was very pale when i first bought it. i guess it just does not want to grow. just looking at the picture it is hard to tell that it is actually stunted.

[samir]

Ivo, I have one from the exact same batch and it has a very small eye, plus you got first pick :P lol . I think mine is around 15cm plus now and it was 10cm when I got it so thats a good 2 odd inches.

[ivo]

no samir, this is not the one that came from fishrock. i didn't buy albino red melon from that batch. i chose the albino marborou instead. i bought this albino red melon from an aquarium in cremorne. it was about 8cm when i got it and it is still 8cm one year later. LOL. here is the albino i got from fishrock, the same batch as yours. hey, how is yours looking now? any chance for an update picture? i like to know what ARM looks like at adult size.

[samir]

ah, then its probably not you, just the fish hehehe :P my melon is not with me, its in a tank somewhere around sydney.

[ivo]

you have to say tho that batch of albinos from fishrock was awesome, great shape and all that, you just don't see that kind of quality albino around anymore. my albino leopard is the last albino that i have purchased. all the other ones i saw are pretty crap.