Growth and Color

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fishlover74

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 29, 2006
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Hey MFK members,
First much props to all who put time on this site it is an excellent resource for valuable info on fish. Second I have a quick question.

Background: I have a single red belly (named Tiny) I purchased about 3 weeks ago, bout 6" in a 55g tank w/ a large Whisper Powerfilter and a 528gph powerhead w/prefilter (Pics coming as soon as I get my MFK sticker). I feed him live tropicals (not Goldies) once a week, and peeled/cooked salad shrimp 1-2 times daily because thats all he will accept. I do partial H2O changes of approx. 3-5g per week.

Question: I have decided to keep Tiny alone in this tank and will eventually upgrade to a larger one, I have done a lot of research and learned that RB's can reach up to 14" w/the possibility of 16" (which is my goal). What I am wondering is if there is anything I can feed him that will make him grow bigger and increase his coloration, problem is he is very picky about what he eats??

Ideas: I thought of possibly making his food w/ gelatin, cichlid growth flakes, color enhancers, raw Spinache/Romaine lettuce, and a combination of frozen fish and beefhearts and feeding him every other day to ensure he eats what is offered.

-Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks beforehand for all your help. :thumbsup:
 
when i forst got my rbp's i fed them nothing but beefheart, and i think it helped them grow fast because it wasn't long before they went from about 1 1/2 inches to 6" when i started feeding them frozen krill, i noticed the coloration of them got better. so i would suggest frozen beefheart and frozen krill. and i feed them every other day
 
yeah you sound like you have it good so far, just make sure to feed him variety, raw shrimp is great, beefheart i would only do as a treat because its hard for them to digest, try and feed him earthworms from the gas station, they are great source or protein, also try fillets of fish preferably white fleshed fish because its not as fatty as say salmon, and stay away from carp, usually you can get scraps for free from the guys at the market, or smelt are good too. powerheads are great for them. as for size 13 is pretty much max for these guys its pretty much unherd of past that unless you have a P.ternetzi and 16 is still a long shot. great fish tho, cant wait to see pics.
 
I dont have a RB,but i do have a Brandti and what i noticed is that Smelt seems to put some size on him,i feed him a combo of raw shrimp and smelt.lately he seems to be "thickening"(filling out or widening)when i got him he was about 4 inches now he around 5 and a half inches(since Jan.)so i would say that Smelt is pretty good for putting on size. :naughty:
 
i agree beefheart will help him to grow and krill woould help with color....if you can see if the fish will eat algae wafers with spirulina its a natural color enhancer andit does wonders...my fish is proof...he gets krill algae wafers and a variety of veggies and fruits and look at his color...hes a beautiful red...and hes 17 inches most pacu by that size have all turned a dull grey color with barely any red on them at all....spirulina is a very good color enhancer...dont believe me look at my avitar!
 
There is a great pellet food that I buy at Walmart, called JumboMin Food Sticks...."The Live food Alternative" My piranhas eat this stuff up. I wanted to get away from live feeding and bloodworms for the convenience. Try it. I bet it will work for you.
 
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