firestorm Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) Well I have to say, IMO 3 inches is still too small. Fish should be grown out until they are adults (5+ in.) Studies have shown (on another forum) that keeping Discus with gravel and letting them grow out in them stunts the fish and it is not just because they cannot find the food, it is because it is much harder to clean a bare bottom. Even if you siphon your tank twice a day I doubt you will get anywhere close to the cleanliness you can get while managing a bare bottom tank. As for nitrates, if you do your recommended amount for Discus, (at least twice a week) then you should have no problem with them. I clean my tank once a day and my nitrates are 0. I wonder how many other people let their discus grow out to 5" before they add substrate. I don't know of many. And when you say 5" are you measuring from top fin to bottom fin, because I do not. I measure their body size not including the fins. And i'd rather take my chances at not having any nitrates. Edited February 5, 2009 by firestorm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscusKeeper403 Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Well I have to say, IMO 3 inches is still too small. Fish should be grown out until they are adults (5+ in.) Studies have shown (on another forum) that keeping Discus with gravel and letting them grow out in them stunts the fish and it is not just because they cannot find the food, it is because it is much harder to clean a bare bottom. Even if you siphon your tank twice a day I doubt you will get anywhere close to the cleanliness you can get while managing a bare bottom tank. As for nitrates, if you do your recommended amount for Discus, (at least twice a week) then you should have no problem with them. I clean my tank once a day and my nitrates are 0. I wonder how many other people let their discus grow out to 5" before they add substrate. I don't know of many. And when you say 5" are you measuring from top fin to bottom fin, because I do not. I measure their body size not including the fins. And i'd rather take my chances at not having any nitrates. Normally I say 5" fin to fin. Sorry if I am sounding harsh I am not intending to be only stating what I know and my practices of raising Discus. And yes, most serious Discus keepers will grow their fish out to 5 inches before adding substrate. 5 inches fin to fin is fine, even if you grow your Discus to 6 inches fin to fin you should be happy as this takes a lot of work. If you are interested in seeing the study they did on growing Discus PM me and I will give you the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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