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Stuffs that affects Discus
growth
See your them grow bigger and faster!
A few months had past since I started keeping Discus and I
thought to myself.
"Why are they growing so slowly? Oh.. Maybe they are
just slow growers, unlike their distant cousin the Angelfish,
that grows real fast."
Well, after reviewing information on the Net and my experience,
I have come out with a couple of aids to help Discus growth.
Not everyone would agree on everything listed, but there's a
few which I do believe and maybe other people do too.
>> List of aids
1. Changing water
This first point I have experience it myself by accident and
I find this very true. Let me tell you what I did.
I had a new batch of 2 inch Discus and I placed them in a
quarantine tank. 50% of the water was changed everyday and YES,
they grew bigger and faster than I had ever seen. They were
3 inch in size in one months time. My baby Angels in the other
tank was growing even slower than the Discus. To make sure,
I went back to the aquarium to check out the other Discus in
the tank where I caught mine. Indeed they were much smaller
than my Discus.
There may be a few reasons to why this promotes a growth spurt.
None of them are 100% correct or neither am I sure of it.
- A world renown Discus breeder Jack Wattley, believes that
all Discus secrete a growth suppressing hormone that builds
up and slows the growth rate of other Discus. There are always
a few Discus in a tank that have a tremendous size advantage.
Keeping the smallest Discus with their siblings results in
continued slow growth. However, moving these smaller ones
into their own tank generally causes a large growth spurt.
- Nitrates are thought to be an impedance of Discus growth.
That is why many Discus owners like to have planted tanks
to get rid off nitrates that plants readily absorb.
2. Supplemental Air
A source said that air is one of another growth stimulant.
You see an airstone was placed in one the tank and sponge filter
in the other. Both sides were fed equal amounts of food. Within
a six month period, the Discus on the side with the airstone
grew to more than double the size the Discus in the other tank.
This is likely just pure coincidence. However, this may be a
very important discovery.
3. Increasing feeding frequency
Many people think that feeding a Discus large amounts of food
would enable them to grow faster. This is is not true. Your
Discus can only absorb the nutrients that they need from the
food and any excess is passed through the body. Therefore, feeding
a lot at one go is of no use. Try feeding more often with an
optimum amount and also a variety of food. Your Discus would
get a chance to absorb what they eat and continues to get stronger
and bigger with the increase in the frequency of food intake.
I feed my adult Discus three times a day. Beefheart in the morning,
flake and pellets in the afternoon and bloodworms at night.
That would ensure a balanced diet.
4. Feeding Tubifex worms
Many Discus keepers have found tubifex worms to be a very good
growth stimulator. Although I wouldn't recommend this, but if
tubifex worms can be cultured, then the parasite-free worms
can be safely fed to Discus. Tubifex worms is a major carrier
of parasites. The most common parasites they carry are tape
worm eggs and Capillaria.
Conclusion Thoughts
After reading all these growth stuff, how do you feel? I don't
really make it a point for my Discus to grow fast and up to
a huge size. But I do regular water change and feed them more
frequently to enable my Discus to grow optimally. Discus tends
to have growth spurts when they are young. After they reach
three inches, they would gradually slow down growth.
Growth is important and I think nutrition is the ultimate growth
stimulant. A good balance of nutrition in the food you feed
and an healthy environment would be the best for your Discus.
You don't want to see a stunted Discus in your tank would you?
Regards,
Sam Chng
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