Should I separate the larger young from the smaller young??

[TomNS]

Hi Guys,

I have 11 young discus some of which are growing up a lot faster than others. The smallest would be the size of a 10c piece with the largest as big as the end of a table spoon.

As you can imagine the larger fish have a well established pecking order the the others seem to be missing out on food. Should I put a divider in the tank and group the larger ones together or should I just leave them be.

They are in an 80L tank together atm with bare bottom sponge and powerhead filter - not much flow in tank they seem happy. Just want them all to grow up fairly well together.

Thanks
Tom

[Merrilyn]

Tom, the asian breeders always separate off the smaller fish from the larger ones, believing that the larger fish produce a hormone in the water which inhibits the growth of smaller fish. I guess it's survival of the fittest.

The only way we can overcome it is to do daily waterchanges, so the level of hormone is not allowed to build up. Now I'm not sure if I believe that theory 100% but I can say I have witnessed smaller fish take on a growth spurt after being separated from their larger siblings, and I'm sure it's not only because of the amount of food they get.

Your 80ltr tank is pretty small for 11 rapidly growing fish, so it might be time to move some of the largest ones out into the 125g with the adult discus and allow the smaller ones a bit more room to grow.

[TomNS]

Thanks ladyred,

The adult discus is very large like 180mm are the little ones going to be ok or will knock them around ? I guess I can just get the biggest of the young and put them in and watch how they go - I have another tank I can prep which is also 80L just incase the big one is too aggeressive

Tom

[Merrilyn]

Tom, adult fish usually ignore smaller ones, seeing them neither as a rival, or a threat.

At feeding time, just keep a careful watch and make sure everyone is getting their fair share of food. Maybe even spread the food out a bit around the tank.