Stunted Discus?

[sammigold]

Does a "stunted" discus still grow. For example my BD who was ill was described as stunted. Will he grow bigger or just stay the same size... Does stunted mean that he will still have the chance to get bigger just never as big as he may have given optimum health and rearing?
What sort of size range might a stunted discus reach?
Are these silly questions....? :oops:

[the_oracle]

Sammi,
Nothing is silly bout the thing you asked. I used to have this stunted turq. I was kinda busy and thus neglected WC and proper diet. He didn't grow as big as the others, but after I concentrated more on him, that is, 2 times WC daily and more BH diet, he managed to grow a lil bit. Took me 3 months though. He didn't reach his maximum growth though, but I managed to get him to slightly above 5'' and I was really happy bout that, cause I know even if they're stunted, with proper care and more TLC, you can somehow make them grow .............Maybe you should try to give yours more TLC and concentrate more on him, and hopefully, things will turn out good........


Sanie.

[sammigold]

Thanks Sanie, Well I have noticed that he has grown a bit since he was sick and he has definitely got his colour back.. meanwhile his tank mates are also benefiting as they have all grown especially my super red he was originally the smallest and now he is fast catching up to my pb and bbt and bd is now the smallest although I think he has grown some too. Its hard to gauge when you have 4 fish growing at the same time... anyway he (bd) is getting spoiled ie 4 or 5 feeds a day and I always try to make sure that he gets more than his fair share (he knows to scoot to the other side of tank for a sneak feed of brine shrimp while the others at the other side having their brine shrimp) he is a smarty pants. And he comes up and takes beefheart out of my fingers. Anyway its comforting to know that they can grow bigger to a certain extent. Thanks :D :D :D

[the_oracle]

Sammi,
It's GOOD to hear that..................... Well, take good care of them and give them lotsa lotsa TLC.....................

"Its hard to gauge when you have 4 fish growing at the same time..."

This happens to me sometimes. You know, I spend most of my time in my fishroom. The first place I go to when I woke up in the morning? My fishroom. The last place I was before I go in to bed? My fishroom. So, sometimes I can't really see whether they're growing or not considering the amount of time I spent with them. That's why I always have my wife by my side; to tell me how big and how fast they're growing. From there, I can really gauge the progress from my WC regime and their diets ...............


Sanie.

[G-1000]

Hey Sammi,

Sanie is right. A stunted discus is usually so because they have had inappropriate conditions for growth and/or nutrition. However, once these obstacles are removed, the fish will usually return to growth.

Bear in mind, as a rough guide - if the fish was neglected for x number of months, then the maximum size of the fish is quite likely to be however large it will grow in 18-x months. So for example, if the fish is neglected for six months out of its growing lifetime (first 18 months or so), then it will most likely get to a max of 2/3 the size of an adult fish e.g max of 4 inches.

Hope that helps to some extent.

Keep up the wc and feeding and should be fine.

G

[sammigold]

Thanks G-1000 thats a nice little formula.... Now I just have to work out how old he/she was when I got them. I have had them for nearly 4 months and it was about 4cm across body when I got it... I don't know if it was stunted when I bought it or whether I have stunted it through lack of knowledge.. but my others have grown and he has grown he was just sick and didn't eat for about 2-3 weeks overall so I think thats when he got stunted maybe.... anyway I will be aiming to get him as big as I can over the next 12 months guesstimating that he was about 3-4 months old when I got him..... He is about 6-7cm now (without tail) .... we'll see.... :D