how big should a jag be at this age

[Reaper13]

Anywhere in the 8-10" mark is normal & that's starting with a 2" fish. I bought my current male at right around 2" & I'd say he's around 8.25-8.5 tops at around a year. He's a picky eater though & I gave up on pellets after a 4-5 month battle. I've never seen a male jag top 10" within a year starting from around the 2" mark no matter what environment they grew up in.

My dovii did a little better since he wasn't a finicky eater. Reached around 10" in a year (12" in 18months) which is probably best case for both species.

I like to do 50% wc's 2x per wk, feed just enough to get a little full ( I keep them on the hungry side), filter gph @ 8-10x my tank volume, and keep the temp at 80F. Also hang pothos plants on the back along with a probiotic treatment 1x a month.

 

[Reaper13]

This is true to a point. However, there are other things that need to be rid of to ensure optimum growth that can't be measured, such as hormones. Especially in fry/grow out tanks. Young fish create a lot of hormones, some of which are growth inhibitors.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

This is very true. The hormones build up and if they build up too much it's body recognizes this then tells the fish to quit growing. You can never change enough water and nothing will make a fish grow faster than tons of clean water.

Also overfeeding will just make your fish miserable & hinder it's health. Slightly underfed is better than slightly overfed for growth imo.

 

[JRT8783]

This is very true. The hormones build up and if they build up too much it's body recognizes this then tells the fish to quit growing. You can never change enough water and nothing will make a fish grow faster than tons of clean water.

Also overfeeding will just make your fish miserable & hinder it's health. Slightly underfed is better than slightly overfed for growth imo.

Definitely agree on the underfeeding vs overfeeding..... but wouldnt there still be a point where you're changing too much water? Take my 125 gallon tank for example. I have 1,350gph of filtration on it with a single 9.5" male jag. I change between 60 and 80% a week and NEVER see nitrates even hit 10ppm. Isn't there a point if you're doing water changes (from the tap) and putting prime in the tank EVERY day that it could possibly do more harm than good if your water parameters are already as close to perfect as they're going to get? U know more about this than me so definitely not arguing here, just curious

Sent from my LG-E980 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[trace]

Definitely agree on the underfeeding vs overfeeding..... but wouldnt there still be a point where you're changing too much water? Take my 125 gallon tank for example. I have 1,350gph of filtration on it with a single 9.5" male jag. I change between 60 and 80% a week and NEVER see nitrates even hit 10ppm. Isn't there a point if you're doing water changes (from the tap) and putting prime in the tank EVERY day that it could possibly do more harm than good if your water parameters are already as close to perfect as they're going to get? U know more about this than me so definitely not arguing here, just curious

Sent from my LG-E980 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

It's possible but quite hard to achieve. 60-70% twice a week would be what I would shoot for but what you are doing certainly is adequate. Or if you are really ambitious 25% daily would be awesome. It all just depends on how much effort you want to put into it. Yes your fish would love you for it, but if it turns your hobby into a job it's a little counter productive. Up to you boss, but I would shoot for 100%+ wc weekly split between two changes.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app