Fell in love at the lfs

[MikeFromTheInternet]

Swapped out his nano powerhead for an AC70 powerhead. The tank some serious flow now and Jim is loving it.

[video=youtube_share;l3Pow81slng]http://youtu.be/l3Pow81slng[/video]

I tried to get decent pics to show how thick Jim's getting and how he doesnt have the normal potbelly look. Happy with the experiment so far. Hope this kinda growth continues.

 

[MikeFromTheInternet]

So i've had Jim for about a month. Here's a comparision to the last batch of reds i raised when they were about the same age and size.

So even with a considerably smaller and less nutritious diet, Jims showing better colors at a younger age, and better body shape, and the head size is considerably larger. Im pretty happy with how this is turning out so far.

 

[stempy]

Makes me wonder how much is attributed to diet, and how much is contributed by high flow? I wonder if it's high flow that leads to a more powerful body shape due to him having to "work out" as opposed to lazily laying around like most rbp that you typically see? Mine all had the pot belly look when I got them and the bigger ones still do but I can see the smaller ones streamlining as well already since I'm guessing they have a much harder time fighting the current in the tank. It's kind of funny to watch them move their tail at what looks like 100 mph just trying to go from point A to point B

 

[MikeFromTheInternet]

lol I know what ya mean about the little tails swimmin as hard as possible.

As far as what factors effecting what, idk. This wasnt a scientific approach so my results may vary greatly. That being said, i think the light diet with heavy flow helped streamline the body, and the hard to eat "grown up" diet is helping with jaw/head development. But this is all a guess of course. Hes also getting 50% water changes weekly, in a planted tank, and i even have a piece of mopani dw to tan the water a little. Those are other factors that might effect his development.