tHE SCRiBBLEs
Fish Fanatic
How long does it take a 2in Dicus to grow to full length?
Discus
- Thread starter tHE SCRiBBLEs
- Start date
As long as you are doing daily water changes, and feeding them on a varied high protien diet, then it shouldn't take long. I had once seen full grown Discus (6-7") that where supposedly 5 months old. Might take a little longer then that though
tHE SCRiBBLEs
Fish Fanatic
Wow! I know that water changes are important, but what makes them so key?
And when is a good schedule to do water changes and how much?
And when is a good schedule to do water changes and how much?
Regular water changes dilute hormones that are released by the growing fish. If there are too many hormones in the water the fish become stunted.
You can do partial water changes every day if you like but most people do them once or twice a week. If you are trying to grow the fish up quickly then do them as often as possible, (perhaps a 30-50% each day). Make sure any new water is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature & PH to the tank.
Do a gravel clean whenever you do a water change. You don't have to gravel clean the entire tank but just try to do some each time you do a water change. Gravel cleaners are available from any petshop or can be made from a plastic Coke bottle and a length of syphon hose.
A clean tank will help reduce the number of disease problems discus get.
Tank size & water volume is another key to growing fish fast. If you have a big tank (say a 6x2x2ft) then the fish will grow rapidly. If they are stuck in a 3ft tank then they won't grow as fast or as big as they could in the bigger tank.
Good quality food and a varied diet has been mentioned. Don't feed them on beef or ox heart as they don't digest it properly. Use marine based foods like prawn and fish and any standard discus pellet. Insect larvae and brineshrimp are also good for variation.
Warm water is a must for growing them fast. The warmer water speeds up the fish's metabolism and helps them grow quicker. Keep the temp around 28C. If you have tetras and corydoras in the tank then have the temp around 26C. The warmer water can cause cories to lose their barbels and tetras to age rapidly.
Depending on the species of discus they will take between 1 & 2 years to reach full size. Full size can be up to 10inches depending on species.
You can do partial water changes every day if you like but most people do them once or twice a week. If you are trying to grow the fish up quickly then do them as often as possible, (perhaps a 30-50% each day). Make sure any new water is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature & PH to the tank.
Do a gravel clean whenever you do a water change. You don't have to gravel clean the entire tank but just try to do some each time you do a water change. Gravel cleaners are available from any petshop or can be made from a plastic Coke bottle and a length of syphon hose.
A clean tank will help reduce the number of disease problems discus get.
Tank size & water volume is another key to growing fish fast. If you have a big tank (say a 6x2x2ft) then the fish will grow rapidly. If they are stuck in a 3ft tank then they won't grow as fast or as big as they could in the bigger tank.
Good quality food and a varied diet has been mentioned. Don't feed them on beef or ox heart as they don't digest it properly. Use marine based foods like prawn and fish and any standard discus pellet. Insect larvae and brineshrimp are also good for variation.
Warm water is a must for growing them fast. The warmer water speeds up the fish's metabolism and helps them grow quicker. Keep the temp around 28C. If you have tetras and corydoras in the tank then have the temp around 26C. The warmer water can cause cories to lose their barbels and tetras to age rapidly.
Depending on the species of discus they will take between 1 & 2 years to reach full size. Full size can be up to 10inches depending on species.
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
Just to point out, the general consensus is 28c is minimum for Discus. I personally keep mine at 30c and I have two species of corries and three types of tetra with them. Cooler temperatures can make discus more prone to disease IME 30c is what I have found to be a happy medium between the health of the Discus and the other tank inhabitants 
HTH
Rabbut
HTH
Rabbut
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