stunted discus - rule of thumb

[simmo2302]

I was just browsing some of the threads and read that the rule of thumb for seeing if a discus is stunted is 7 1/2 eyes along the black bar on the discus' face.

is for any age of discus ?

ie. providing that the discus is not stunted there will allways be 7 1/2 eyes along the black bar on the face no matter the age /size of the fish.


also once stunted, is it permanent?

for example. if a fish gets stunted early in life but then if sold at a LFS to an owner who takes perfect care of the animal in pristine conditions will the animal right itself?

[Hollowman]

Hi Simmo,

The eye size is a 'general rule' not fixed. Some fish, wilds for instance tend to have larger eyes, most probably becuase they have to forage for food and do not get the high protein stuff that domestic fish can be fed.

Is it permanent?? well, in most cases yes, the fish once stunted by the lfs (generally) or by the greedy breeder will not catch up it's growth rate again. Stunted fish are not necessarily sick, they live good lives, and can breed, but when you get into the hobby a bit more, you will start to look at your stunted fish in a different way. You will see good quality fish and wonder why you eever bought the ones from the lfs, it is a learning curve, we have all done it.

Lots of clean water, lots of good food can help, but ime it pays to do some homework and be prepared to say no if you see these traits.

Steve

[mistakes r crucial]

I've always got an indication by taking a line straight through the centre of the eye through to the very upper and lower parts of the head. If there were 6 I'd be real happy and 5 wasn't too bad either but as Steve said, it's not fixed.

I've seen some nice fry produced by stunted parents so I suppose it depends on what you're doing but you're always going to be better off without them.
Cheers
MAC

[Oygle2]

I'm a wilds fan. They come as they are. They're as good as nature has provided. I think I'll leave it at that.

Mick.

[mistakes r crucial]

That's all you can do with Wilds, this discussion is more about what nature hasn't provided.
Cheers
MAC

[Hollowman]

Another trait is of course the rugby ball shape, this will generally combine with the eye size problem as explained above.
Again, this is started very early in life, poor conditions, poor food, poor environment, lack of maintenance. You will quite often see fish that have very badly formed heads, ie the nose area. This also makes the fish look ugly. I will try to find some photos for examples, but if you look around local shops you will see what I mean.

As for wilds, they are only going to be how nature intended for them to be, some nice, some not so. If you want wilds, you have to take what comes. :wink: