My Yellow Lab Grows So Slowly

[Razor7Music]

Hello--

Minor deal, but just wondering...you can see all the fish I have in my signature and they are all juvies. I bought them around the same time, give or take a month. Everyone is growing nicely, but my yellow lab. It seems to not be growing at all. It's really noticeable as the other fish get bigger.

Now, because the yellow lab is so small compared to the other fish, it is now stressed and hanging out in one spot in the tank. It never used to do that.

All tank conditions are good and stable--food is stable--I really follow the "book" on taking care of them.

The 29 gallon tank I have now is an out grow tank and I plan on putting them all in a 75 gallon tank and if the yellow lab stays this small, I will probably end up getting a larger one that more closely matches the size of the other fish.

What could it be?

Thanks,

 

[seneca888]

Actually I have some yellow labs, but not all grow at the same rate. some of them are large and in charge, but the others look just a little bigger than juvi. And I got them all the same time.
Another possibility, is tank size. Bigger tanks make bigger fish faster.

 

[navygirl76]

ive also noticed that yellow labs are slooow growers, and stay a dwarf size compared to most other mbuna (like my red zebras and pse. acei-they get pretty big). yellow labs are good to mix with the dwarf species of mbuna like saulosis, rusties-they all stay about the same size.

 

[greenearthlawns]

ive also noticed that yellow labs are slooow growers, and stay a dwarf size compared to most other mbuna (like my red zebras and pse. acei-they get pretty big). yellow labs are good to mix with the dwarf species of mbuna like saulosis, rusties-they all stay about the same size.

Thats what mine are like, but in some pics I have seen some that are 7 + in so they must grow more as they age... or mabye it depends on genetics? I saw one at a lfs that was about 6.5 in as well so it's wierd, my male that i've had for a year is only 4.5 in and some others I got at the same time as him are past 5.5, like the red zebra and the ob peacock... I guess they do grow slow but I wonder if mine will stay at 4.5 or grow to be a biggie... we'll have to see~

 

[mike dunagan]

They can be slow growers, and if they are not as aggressive to attack the food, they get less, grow less.

 

[Pharaoh]

They can be slow growers, and if they are not as aggressive to attack the food, they get less, grow less.

This is pretty much the deal. There are a few fish in your tank that are on the higher side of aggression. Your labs might not be getting as much food. Some tend to believe that being dominant within a tank will spur growth rates.

From my experience, my labs have grown just as fast as my other mbuna, if not faster. Although, my labs are the dominant fish in the tank. My dominant male is one tough SOB.

 

[Cichlidsanders]

My Kenyi were some what aggressive and would cause my Electric yellows to not breed.

That being the case with the aggressors in your tank may be causing your electric yellow to not eat as much as it could for sure.

Also

I bought 3 Yellow labs and 1 albino red top zebra a while back to add to my numbers of yellows and red tops.

They were all very close to the same size.
The albino being the smallest at the time now dwarfs the 3 yellows,
but not all of the yellows are growing at the same rate some are still smallish and others are fatter.

 

[navygirl76]

i never realized that yellow labs can even get over 6 inches big! i had one that was probably 4.5 and i thought that was big.. thats really cool.

 

[1974Pantera]

I have some yellow labs, all bought as juveniles. Funny, the smallest one, who is the step child in the tank, actually eats the most. He is quite brave, taking food out of the mouth (damn close) of my dominant P.N.