Discus Growth?

[The Happy Mud Skipper]

I just started a fully planted 55 gallon aquarium with about 12, 2-3inch discus. How long does it take a discus to grow to a decent size (6inches) :thumbsup: :thumbsup: ???

[Princley]

the size the discus will grow will depend very much on how much food they intake.
they are a slower growing fish than many others.. feed the beefheart etc as this is one of the better foods for them. i also suggest reading some books by
Jack Watltley ( i may have spelt his last name wrong ) but to me Jack is by far the KING in discus land... if u ever want to get more Discus also try a company out of Massachuttes called Apple Vally Discus , as they have some of the best i have ever seen

PS it's a good thing to mix ur own food using beeftheart and dried fly's etc ..i could give u a compleate mix if u want one let me know
PEACE!

[The Happy Mud Skipper]

Thank you for your input!! You sound like you know alot about discus yourself.

what are dried flys?

[The Happy Mud Skipper]

Does anybody know how to get discus to there brightest colors?? :woot: :woot:

[Princley]

dried flies can be found in many reptile sections in your local pet stores also mix in some ..
Veggie Flakes ( Omega One is a good brand) and baby freezdried Krill..mixvery well use a food grinder this is a great food for health and color after u mix it Freeze in to bite size peices...

Yes discus are by far my favorite fresh water fish , i had 12 that i travel from mass to oregon.
in a cooler the trip took nine days because i sayed in MN for a few days.. in this trip i only lost one ...NOT bad

[Dkarc]

Discus, assuming they are healthy and non-stunted, can grow in excess of 1" per month until they reach about 3.5-4" in size...then they begin to slow down to about 1/2" per month until they reach maturity, which then further slows down to even less until they reach and age of 2-3 years. So, to get a discus from 2.5" to 6" should only take about 6-8 months if everything is done right and you know how to do it....But on average, they will reach the 6" size range within 10-12 months. Feed them 3-4 times a day with nothing but a good beefheart mix if you want to max out their size potential. Also, water changes, water changes, water changes!! are key to growth as well. If you want accelerated growth, do no less than 50% water changes a DAY. The more the better.

As far as discus coloration goes...depends on the color types your discus are. For blue colored fish, mix in spirulina into their food (Beefheart is ideal for this). For red fish, mix in naturose or cyclop-eeze to make them brighther.

-Ryan