a_devis Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Hi, I had one XXL discus and bought 3 small ones to make him a company. These 3 where 50-cent coin size. One of them grew to 1/2 of the XXL size, another - to 1/3, but the last one grew just a bit (it is slightly different strain). The bigger ones push him a bit but do not prevent him from eating. Somewhere on the net I saw a note that large discus releases growth-suppressing hormone to remain dominant. Does anybody know about this? Is it real? Any references? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.apps Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 google search = Did a google and this is what i found! HTH Cheers daniel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlids_au Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 I asked Uncle Ron about this and he assures me that they do not release growth-restricting hormones. It is a metabolic waste issue. Water changes should sort it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momo Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 also if you have a group of discus generally speaking the smallest/weakest in the group will generally stay that way "runt". The theory i know when i kept a lot of discus along the same lines as Andy. They release a chemical of some sort in their poop which builds up in the water. By the concerntration of this chemical they can sense how big the tank is and stop growing, Water changes are very very good i used to do 90% a day on grow out tanks and all fish grew at amazing rates provided right diet, im talking like 40 3-4cm discus in a 3x18x18. So the secret seems to be water changes whether its got anything to do with the poop theory at all, but the runt is likely to stay a runt unlesss transferred to a tank where it can be dominant. If doing 90% water changes make sure water is aged, heated and as close to the parameters of the tank as possible! Otherwise i think we all know the outcome with 90% water changes with cold tap water. you brang back memories of the good old days of maintaining 18 discus tanks, with daily waterchanges! Good luck with the discus and i hope ive been some help hope all goes well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlids_au Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 If anyone is not sure metabolic waste = poop & Uncle Ron = Dr. Ron Coleman Dept. Biological Sciences, California State University Sacramento From the Cichlid Research Home Page Who Am I? I am a biologist by profession, an Assistant Professor of Biology, to be exact. I teach courses on Ichthyology (the study of fishes), Fisheries Biology, Ethology (the study of behavior), Vertebrate Natural History and other related topics. In my research, I am particularly interested in the behavior and ecology of fishes. Specifically, I am what is called an evolutionary ecologist, which means that I try to understand behavior in the context of the organism's whole life and in terms of how the behavior evolved by natural selection. Employment 2001-now. Assistant Professor. California State University, Sacramento, CA 2001. Lecturer, Tropical Ecology (Costa Rica), Trent University, Peterborough, ON 2000. Lecturer, Ichthyology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 2000. Lecturer, Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 1999. Lecturer, Tropical Ecology (Costa Rica), Trent University, Peterborough, ON 1999, Lecturer, Honors Evolution, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 1998, Lecturer, Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 1998, Lecturer, Evolution, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 1998, Lecturer, Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 1997, Lecturer, Human Anatomy, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 1997, Lecturer, Ichthyology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 1997, Lecturer, Introductory Biology for Non-Majors, University of California, Berkeley, CA 1995, Post Doctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley, CA 1994, Lecturer, Ichthyology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 1992-1994, NSERC of Canada Post Doctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley, CA Education Ph.D., Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, 1993 Thesis: The evolution of parental investment in fishes M.Sc., Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 1986 Thesis: Parental investment theory: tests in bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus: Centrarchidae). B.Sc., Zoology, 1st class, University of British Columbia, 1983 BTW He's not actually my uncle, we just share the same surname Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 I should also add that the build up of nitrate (and phosphate) Mark mentions - will stunt the growth of any fry, it isnt limited to discus. Small water changes are an important part of dealing with this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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