I hate to do this as I am new to this forum and don't want to get a reputation. I am however very experienced in keeping cichlids and been an active member in other forums for years now. I also have years of educations as I am a doctor and majored in premed and minored in biochemistry. So I can in all confidence say that AquaPishFimp is completely wrong! Not just in most of what he has said in this post but in a few others I have seen on this site over the last few days.
You state that:
"Any fish will stop growing at a certain point in smaller aquariums or if they are fed a different type of food."
Of course a fish will stop growing at a certain point when you are feeding it a diet that is deficient or lacking the proper biological building blocks needed for proper growth. After years of evolution these animals are adapted to become fish that require high protein diets. When you deprive them of the key protein building blocks of course they will not grow as large. It is clear that by no means is a fish that you say only got to be 6" after years a healthy fish if they naturally grow to be 12+".
Just because most fish in the hobby are now generations from being wild species does not change the environmental and dietary requirements for this fish. It is true that these factors can influence the genetic expression of these fish, but by no means should anyone advice taking that to an extreme. What you are doing shows your lack of responsibility and respect for others on this site, the fish they care for, and the hobby as a whole. Not to mention you are clearly just someone who enjoys picking fights on this forum by arguing with practices that are very wildly excepted throughout the hobby. It is clear that you would not admit being wrong on this matter anyways.
I truly hope that the OP and anybody else reading this or post like it would go with the mainstream advice for care for fish like these. And not take the advice of somebody that is just obviously trying to get attention.
-Cage
You state that:
"Any fish will stop growing at a certain point in smaller aquariums or if they are fed a different type of food."
Of course a fish will stop growing at a certain point when you are feeding it a diet that is deficient or lacking the proper biological building blocks needed for proper growth. After years of evolution these animals are adapted to become fish that require high protein diets. When you deprive them of the key protein building blocks of course they will not grow as large. It is clear that by no means is a fish that you say only got to be 6" after years a healthy fish if they naturally grow to be 12+".
Just because most fish in the hobby are now generations from being wild species does not change the environmental and dietary requirements for this fish. It is true that these factors can influence the genetic expression of these fish, but by no means should anyone advice taking that to an extreme. What you are doing shows your lack of responsibility and respect for others on this site, the fish they care for, and the hobby as a whole. Not to mention you are clearly just someone who enjoys picking fights on this forum by arguing with practices that are very wildly excepted throughout the hobby. It is clear that you would not admit being wrong on this matter anyways.
I truly hope that the OP and anybody else reading this or post like it would go with the mainstream advice for care for fish like these. And not take the advice of somebody that is just obviously trying to get attention.
-Cage