Growth rate question
- Thread starter Mikegoeshard
- Start date
I also found the article an interesting read, and agree stress (is the most important factor that comes into play).
Just for reference...
My zonata experiment was started with tiny (1") x 4 zonata in each 50 gal tank (no other tankmates) fed at minimum 3 times per day, with a spirulina based, high vitamin pellet, and both tanks were laden with algae (so constant grazing available.
At the end of the year, the largest zonata (in the frequent water change tank) hit up to 7".
The zonata in the less water changed tank 4"-5".
Just for reference...
My zonata experiment was started with tiny (1") x 4 zonata in each 50 gal tank (no other tankmates) fed at minimum 3 times per day, with a spirulina based, high vitamin pellet, and both tanks were laden with algae (so constant grazing available.
At the end of the year, the largest zonata (in the frequent water change tank) hit up to 7".
The zonata in the less water changed tank 4"-5".
Duane, as a scientist (you, not me), that's hardly what anyone could even loosely define as scientific evidence. 
Had all those fish been raised in the same tank, you may have possibly seen the exact same results.
Having said that, there is no question that frequent water changes are key to optimum growth. There is no argument there, anyone that has ever bred and raised fish knows that water quality is just as important as diet quality, perhaps even more so.
I don't know what part of that water quality plays the largest role in potentially stunting the growth of a fish, but everything comes into play, even the mineral content of ones tap water.
I'm still not convinced that lack of water changes is what affected the growth of these RT juvies, but without any additional data to support anything else it would certainly be the most obvious place to start.
Dan ..... no doubt there are a lot of fish out there in fishland that suffer from malnutrition, but at the same time there are tens of millions of fish that are overfed daily, and are borderline obese. I would think that would be far more common than aquarium fish starving. lol
Had all those fish been raised in the same tank, you may have possibly seen the exact same results.Having said that, there is no question that frequent water changes are key to optimum growth. There is no argument there, anyone that has ever bred and raised fish knows that water quality is just as important as diet quality, perhaps even more so.
I don't know what part of that water quality plays the largest role in potentially stunting the growth of a fish, but everything comes into play, even the mineral content of ones tap water.
I'm still not convinced that lack of water changes is what affected the growth of these RT juvies, but without any additional data to support anything else it would certainly be the most obvious place to start.
Dan ..... no doubt there are a lot of fish out there in fishland that suffer from malnutrition, but at the same time there are tens of millions of fish that are overfed daily, and are borderline obese. I would think that would be far more common than aquarium fish starving. lol
Rd you post a article which you say you agree with that states hunger and malnutrition as causes of deformity and lack of growth in aquarium fish, and when I say that's interesting cus like you it's normally overfeeding you hear about you disagree and go on about obesity.
Well the article isnt scientific at all. I was a biology major in college and when i hear scientific evidence i swear i think you guys read peer-reviewed journals not just regular cichlid site but at any rate im ready to try anything. Like i said im doing the same amount of water changes i have always done for the last twenty years and this is the first time my fish have grown this slow. I uses to have two flowerhorns 2 manganese a marbled goby and a sn catfish in a 120 with 2 hob filters nothing fancy at all and they all got over a foot with the cat reaching almost 2 feet on two water changes a month and that took about a year or two dont remeber exactly i was in high school at the time. So im lost on these guys ready to flush them and get a new batch honestly but im no quitter so im stuck...
I would also agree my experiment could not be called truly scientific (too many variables, and too few tanks), and may have come to a similar conclusion had they been in the same tank. Maybe if I had used 4 or five tanks, and all had a similar percentage growth rate, it would have been more conclusive. Yet I find the result that all fish in the frequent water change tank were considerably larger than the others in the less changed tank interesting, whether it was from pheromones, or lower nitrate buildup in the more frequently changed tank, I'll never really know, but still worth mentioning.
Here in Panama, we have introduced peacock bass, and according to fishermen I speak with, they never get as large as the ones caught in their native range of S America, here they are all nearly 50% smaller. Whether its the higher pH in Lake Gatun, or incursion of salt water, or some other variable, it is an interesting phenom.
Here in Panama, we have introduced peacock bass, and according to fishermen I speak with, they never get as large as the ones caught in their native range of S America, here they are all nearly 50% smaller. Whether its the higher pH in Lake Gatun, or incursion of salt water, or some other variable, it is an interesting phenom.
Dan you might want to reread what I actually said. "pretty good" and " fairly accurate" does not equate to me agreeing with 100% of the content.
And Mike, many of us here do in fact read peer reviewed articles, some of us 100's of them over the many years that we have been keeping fish. Some of us also use that info combined with several decades of our own personal experience to draw conclusions, which is about all one can do when presented with a small amount of data from someone posting on a public forum. Wish there was something more definitive to add, but there isn't. Duane's advice is the best place to start, hopefully it helps.
And Mike, many of us here do in fact read peer reviewed articles, some of us 100's of them over the many years that we have been keeping fish. Some of us also use that info combined with several decades of our own personal experience to draw conclusions, which is about all one can do when presented with a small amount of data from someone posting on a public forum. Wish there was something more definitive to add, but there isn't. Duane's advice is the best place to start, hopefully it helps.
