How much should I sell my stunted discus for?

[broadfoot]

I want to have another go at growing out discus.

On my first attempt I undervalued having bare bottom. I undervalued having an extremely accessible tank for wiping down. I undervalued having filters that are very easy to keep perfectly clean. So my discus haven't grown into beautiful dinner plates. When I got my discus 8 months ago they were ~2.5" so I assume they were ~3 months old and are now 11 months old. I have seven discus ~3-4" who should be closer to 5".

All that being said, I've enjoyed the experience and want to have a crack at doing it better, so I need to clear out my oversized tank, buy a new one and do it right.

What are the ethics surrounding selling stunted discus? Some of mine are worse than others. Two or three of them look ok. Should I just work out a price of the three better ones and throw in the four worse ones for free? Is it ok to set any price if I inform the buyer that they're stunted?

Thanks for your input.

[oldmanmike56]

"In my experience" dinner plates take 14 - 18 months to 'bake'.

At 11 months I would expect to see them in the range of sizes that you mention.

Having grown my fair share from hatchlings to adults I can also tell you that nearly all of mine have at times seemed a bit small for their age, only to have a growth spurt not long after. Even more evident when you have 50 or so young at varying sizes that you know were born on the same day.

I have even bought the odd sad oval-shaped example from LFS that obviously didn't get fed well enough thru early development and they have come good after some months ( up to 6+ ) of enjoying 3-5 meals a day ( frequent small feeds are better than less frequent large feeds ).

Females tend to be a little smaller than males.

Post up some pictures, in order to have a better look before you condemn what could be good fish.

[broadfoot]

Here they are shortly after a water change. If they're grow-able I'll get a 55-gal tank and run it barebottom for them.



This guy is the smallest.


I'd love to be wrong!

[oldmanmike56]

Looking very healthy...if a little stressed ( is that a result of repeated photo flashes ? )

4 main points I have found for good growth..

- plenty of space
- plenty of warmth, 82-84F min
- frequent, varied, good quality, small feeds
- daily water changes ( i do at least 10-15% DAILY )

removing the other fish may improve things as the discus won't have to compete for food with these more aggressive feeders.

I would go with improving their enviro / living conditions and see how it goes.

[broadfoot]

Thanks Mike.
I've started moving the extra fish and substrate out. I'll keep working on these guys but I might move them to a smaller (55-70gal) tank that makes water changes easier.