why my Discus not growing?

[skyliner34]

i bought 10 discus ten monthly ago. put it in to a 4 foot tank. each around 5cm in the first place. after they start growing. it had one or two grown up to 10 ~ 12cm. but its around ten monthly now. i had 3 or 4 havent grown any..is there something i can do to make them grow faster? i worry about they wont grow. ( i change 1/4 water once a week. and i feed them 2 times a day).
i hear some people say if change more water it will help? is that ture? should i change water every 3days?

someone plz help me for this

thank you

[nevsfish]

hi firstly what type of filtration do you use .next 10 discus in a 4 foot tank is to many ,6 to 8 maybe.one thing i always check when there are sick or stunted discus are water parameters ie nitrate levels,most problems with discus are caused buy below standed water conditions.also small discus need 5 to 6 feeds per day to reach there full potential ,all discus food is not equal .the food must be high in protien( beefheart mix,good quality dry food)also minerals in the water also play a part in discus growth(calcium)so do more water changes with good quality water.hopefully they will grow.good luck lawrence

[Merrilyn]

Welcome to the forum skyliner.

Young discus are very demanding. They need really clean water and lots of high quality food or their growth will be stunted, as you have found out.

To raise young discus properly, you need a bare bottom tank (for easy cleaning) and a DAILY water change of around half the volume of the tank. They should be fed round 4 to 6 times a day with high protein food like minced beef heart, blackworms, mosquito wrigglers, and good quality granules.

Could you post some more details about your tank, and a few photos would be a big help too.

[Rossco]

The faster growing larger discus seem to let off a growth inhibitor hormone into the water.
Try putting the smaller ones into a tank on there own and they should catch up in size with good feeding and water changes in no time.

Its a pain i know.....

All the best.

[skyliner34]

hi all thx for the information.
Rossco: now i am try to putting the smaller one in to an other tank by they own to grow.. but it just a 2 foot tank. to grow but should i put all the small one or just one by one, should i do daily water change on my small tank?

Merrilyn: i will try to told a photo of my 4 foot tank later on. thanks

BTW: someone for the aquarium shop told me the disucs growing size will be limit by the tank. which mean i cant get full size if i just keep them i a 4 foot tank. and it wont grow too big if i put only one small discus in a 2 foot size Temporary? right?

[skyliner34]

BTW
Merrilyn you talking about feed them with beef heart, is it the one you can get it in Coles? and cut it in a small piece to feed the discus? cause i only feed them with dry food and bloodworms.

and if i change water daily, is it not too good for them? cause i every time i do the water change i will put GEO liquid in the tank.

[Rossco]

put the 3 or 4 slower growing ones all in at same time, 3 or 4 foot tank would be alot better.
smalish to medium size water changes every 2nd day would work well.

They will catch up in size fast..

Then put them all back with the others when they caught up in size.

others might say differantly whitch is fine, this works for me though.

Wish you well.

[boxters]

lets get a little more technical here. If the fish were poor quality to start with you will find that they are already stunted by the time they are 8 weeks old which is the case with a lot of fish you see in your local lfs. To that end there is nothing you can do. I would suggest learning to recognise what a stunted fish looks like so that you avoid buying them. Im happy to help in this department

[skyliner34]

Rossco: i don't have any more 3 or 4 foot tank. I only got 1 more 2 foot but I will try ur way. See if they can grow faster.

Boxters: can you tell how to tell the fish is stunted? My fish is not buying In the same aquarium but since same some grow bigger the other won't grow any more..

[skyliner34]

this is my 4 foot tank not a very good set up
you can see the red on is much smaller then the yellow one :shock
i got some fighter and loauch in the tank as well

[boxters]

I'm not here to criticize but you have asked for help. From the picture the red is obviously stunted and will not grow any more no matter what you do. The others seem very poor quality. I think you bought below average fish to start with. Unfortunately nothing can be done about that. Moving forward try buy some high quality fish

[skyliner34]

Boxers: thanks for the information it's so sad when start up this tank I bought all small try to gow them up. But since they didnt grow I have bought some bad quality big one to rise them up become more colourful the big one is cheap it just cost around $20 to $30 i live in melbounre, I try to find cheaper place to buy good quality one but cost too much, anyone in melbourne know where to found any low price and good quality one?

[Rossco]

Sonle sells nice Discus (Braybrook)


Also Mack below sells nice Discus,has a huge range.

Oakleigh Aquarium

Open 6 days, Wednesday closed, Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday from 12 pm to 6 pm. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 10am to 5 pm.

176 WARRIGAL ROAD OAKLEIGH VIC. 3166 PHONE: 9570 8330


Tip: When buying small discus make sure they have small eyes.......smaller the better.Its a sign that the young discus is not stunted.

[Rossco]

Also buy more than you intend to keep....weed and sell of the undesirable youngsters as they grow.

That way you will be left with all the nicer ones :)


Wish you well.

[boxters]

There is no such thing as a cheap good quality fish. Good quality discus are not cheap. I'm happy to help you out with some quality fish at a good price. Look at my website and tell me what you like.

[swifto]

There is no such thing as a cheap good quality fish. Good quality discus are not cheap. I'm happy to help you out with some quality fish at a good price. Look at my website and tell me what you like.
+1 marlon,but if maybe there is a breeder on here that lives near u that can help u out.

[skyliner34]

Rossco: The small one I bought it at the oakleigh shop is it the Chinese one u talk about or the one next to it, I buy most of the fish though the Chinese one. He is the one selling me the stunted one.

Boxers: u r in Sydney how possible I get the fish from u?

[boxters]

We ship fish all over Australia

[skyliner34]

Er that mean more cost?

[skyliner34]

Can anyone plz tell me how the stunted happen? Is it happen when they r born? Or will happen because some situration? Just want to make sure it won't happen again. Cause I used thought the fish stunted because they live in the small tank when they grow? Is that true.

And how should I take care the stunted one? Can they live as same as the normal one?

[ILLUSN]

as others have said the eye is the give away, buy juviniles which can fit 4-5 eyes minimum from top to bottom of thr head (ie make sure the eye is no bigger then 20% of the width of the head )

stunted fish can live a long life, I've had runts that have lived over 10 years

stunted fish can breed and NOT have stunted young (found out by accident)

stuntings happens when the fish are fry, over crowding leads to the more aggressive feeders getting more food (and growing faster).

as the fry grow they release several hormones that inhibit the growth of other fish around them, over crowding and insufficient water changes compound the problem.

my advice: live and learn, Id go back to basics with a bare bottom tank, maybe just 1 or 2 pices of driftwood for decoration only.

do water changes 30% 2-3x a week as a minimum

WIPE DOWN THE GLASS EVERY WATER CHANGE back front sides and BOTTOM

feed small feeds often 3 small feeds a day, 4 or more if you have REALLY young fish (for fry i do one at 5:30-6am, 8-8:30am on my way out the door to work 6pm and 10pm)

Read through the nutrition section, merrilyn's beef heart mix (Ladyred) is top notch and will grow big beutiful fish in no time.

Dont stress the low grade stuff in all honesty if your not going to breed sell and show, enjoy what ever fish you have, even C grade discus are still great fish plenty of color and personality thats the reason we keep them.

[skyliner34]

Thx illusn for this lesson I should keep the stunted one..

[Rossco]

oh....sorry to hear.

Cant go wrong with Malon.

[skyliner34]

rossco: its true u seen the red stunted one. that's the one i get it from him (the Chinese guy in Melbourne). i get it for $20, he told me its because smaller that why it sell that price.. he said to me "if feet it well it will grow." but i bought two from him for half year now.. never grow..




Edited by Admin to make meaning clear.

[boxters]

i hope you don't been you bought fish from me as i have no idea who you are

[Rossco]

ILLUSN'S post says it all.< Listen to the man :)

Yeah Mack the chinese guy sells some good fish some not so good.

Go Barebottom tank, only driftwood and some plants in a tiny teracota pot if you wish.

[skyliner34]

Thx rossco I may found out the way to get a cheap price but good qulity fish for it. Could be cheaper then the Chinese guy But still not really sure. Anyway Thx for telling me.