how big do Discus get?
- Thread starter poly-nomial
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Hi Hillbilly,hillbilly;3892238; said:
do you have many discus that reach up to 8"? I'm obsessed with growing my discus big, and just want to learn. Would you mind sharing your water parameters on your grow out, and WC regimen, foods and number of feedings a days? etc
Most would say that for discus to grow big, large and massive daily water change is necessary. However, I've seen some farm that produced consistently large and healthy discus, but only changing 10% of water a day, and feeding only tetrabits. I would love to hear your thought on this.
Sorry for hijacking the thread.
Thanks
Tony
I've had a few in the past that were 7" to 8". I tend to trade off larger fish from time to time in order to get new ones, since larger ones are worth more. My routine varies with the size of the fish. Small fish receive daily 50% to 75% water changes, with 5 or more feedings daily of home made seafood-beefheart mix, live blackworms, and dry food. Larger fish usually get 50% water changes every other day, to 50% water change every two days, depending on tank size and load. I never do less than a 50% water change at any time with discus. It's a waste of time IMO. They are fed mostly seafood-beefheart mix, and live blackworms. My water comes straight from a well to the tank. It's very soft, PH is around 6. Tanks are always aerated with airstones, and or sponge filters. Large tanks are filtered by wet-drys or Ocean Clear canisters with external pumps for their ability to turn over large amounts of water if needed. I keep the temp. on all tanks from 84F to 86F. Little ones are always kept in the warmer water. All tanks are kept bare bottomed for ease of cleaning, and driftwood added to make the fish feel more secure. Very bright tank lights are avoided, standard fluorescent strip lights are used in most cases.
Hi Hillbilly,
thanks for the great information. Since your on well water and it's soft do you re-constitute it in any way? The reason, I've asked is from what I've been reading which lead me to believed that water hardness has lot to do with growing discus big.
Thanks
Tony
thanks for the great information. Since your on well water and it's soft do you re-constitute it in any way? The reason, I've asked is from what I've been reading which lead me to believed that water hardness has lot to do with growing discus big.
Thanks
Tony
No, I don't do anything to it, just pure NC mountain water.TonyN;3897318; said:
My hatches are good, and fish grow well in it, so I leave it alone. The PH will drop if you slack on water changes since the hardness is quite low, but I change water frequently enough that this never happens. A garden hose is attached to the faucet, hot and cold mixture adjusted for temp., and it goes straight into the tank. Some people store water to off gas it, but I've never really found the need to. The fish show no stress at all during water changes. They are use to it, and nibble on my fingers and arm when I'm cleaning a tank.
