caroldaisy3 Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 ...i have had two discus for about 6 months but they have not grown. Does anyone know what can stop, or slow down, discus from growing please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Not sure about discus but with most fish poor water quality, the wrong foods and insufficient of space can contribute to lack of growth. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 what size are they now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Discus need good water and good food and to be worm free to grow.. Most discus breeders keep their fish in bare bottomed tanks (easy to remove waste so the water quality stays good) and do large water changes daily or every few days. Good food is a no brainer if you don't feed good food then you wont get good growth. Worms and stuff are a difficult one I know that most discus breeders regualarly worm their fish using a mixture of drugs because discus are quite susceptable to worms again it is hard to know when to do it or how much is too much. If you got the fish off someone who doesn't know what they were doing chances are the fish could already be stunted (typical picture of the tiny discus in petshops with the massive eyes and pinched in foreheads). Discus are relatively easy to keep alive but difficult to get them to achieve their max size/colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroldaisy3 Posted November 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 My tank is 120litres, i do 3 buckets of water changes no less than every two days and they are now fed every day instead of every second day. they have normal fish flakes and freeze dried worms and the next days's feed is fish flakes and frozen blood worms. I got them both from a reputable pet shop. can't think that i am not doing all the things that should be done. they do not look stunted i.e. their eyes are not bulging nor are the discus pinched as mentioned in post above. how long does it normally take for discus to grow to full size? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 How old are your discus? I think discus should grow at the rate of about 1cm per month but I may be wrong until they reach about 10 - 12cm in size. When they are small they need daily water changes and plenty of food. Mine are fed twice a day with tetra gold tropical granules and at night they also receive frozen bloodworm (1 cube per fish). They are always hungry and with discus hungry fish are a sign of healthy fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroldaisy3 Posted November 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Phoenix44, the picture of them is next to my name. I have no idea of their sex but i call the blue one George and the orange one Mildred. Do not know how old they are but i would say George is quite young. Adrienne...I think I better feed them more often and do 2 x cubes of frozen blood worms instead of the one they have been getting. They are a great pair, the first discus i had was very aggressive but this time these two get on extremely well. Perhaps they will breed at some stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 and they are now fed every day instead of every second day. they have normal fish flakes and freeze dried worms and the next days's feed is fish flakes and frozen blood worms probably the problem.. not enough food and they're much better on tetra colour bits, JBL novo bits, or hikari discus bio-gold as opposed to flake. get them some daphnia, brine shrimp (live or frozen), and whiteworms too. you should see some improvement. increasing water changes to daily will also help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 How big are they? They look pretty nice to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 How big are they? They look pretty nice to me. I agree they are nice looking fish maybe you do need to change to a pellet based food, maybe some colour bits and/or NLS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Feed them colourbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroldaisy3 Posted November 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Adrienne, George would be approximately 7cm and Mildred approximately 8 1/2 cm. i will get some of the food that Luke suggests..thanks for the tip Luke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 If you want your discus to grow fast feed them with color bit and frozen food at least 4 times a day and change 25 percent water daily. Flake food is a waste of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k1w1y2k Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 You should feed them atleast twice a day with either tetra colour bits or JBL nova bits, both have been formulated for discus, beef heart is also another widely used food for discus. The water changes are not so much because of the waste, but because they give off hormones that stunt the growth of the other discus in the tank. If you dont do enough water changes then you will get one fish that is larger than the others. As for worming it is best to use Prazi and Aviverm, both are available from your vet. There are a few threads on here for dosing rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroldaisy3 Posted November 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 I can see what a novice i have been with my two discus. My son-in-law has two beautiful discus but they lay eggs every Thursday and eat them every Saturday!! oh dear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Not your fault, it's hard to know when the fish shop doesn't tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroldaisy3 Posted November 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 That's true antwan..thank goodness for the fish room and all the help we give each other! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flosty Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Does anyone know what can stop, or slow down, discus from growing please.8 Weeks in quarantine will do it If you want your discus to grow fast feed them with color bit and frozen food at least 4 times a day and change 25 percent water daily. Flake food is a waste of time.+1 Not all discus will grow to full potential, for that to happen a fish must not have any setbacks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windsparrow Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Personally we would feed them some NLS, tested nitrates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Not all discus will grow to full potential, for that to happen a fish must not have any setbacks This statement is the most important Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted December 1, 2010 Report Share Posted December 1, 2010 hi discusguru.. good to see you haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted December 1, 2010 Report Share Posted December 1, 2010 hi discusguru.. good to see you haha Good to see you too Luke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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