Yeah hopefully when my older black is over 5 years old it will have put on another couple inches. Though it is at the point now where it's growth is in bulk more then length. My two blacks seem to be on opposite ends of the growth rate scale. The older took 2.5 years to go from 10-11" to 19-20", whereas my younger black is pulling that off in about 7 months.
My feeling is the big difference in growth rate had much to do with feeding. The older was a very picky eater often going a week on just one shrimp and a few pellets. The younger has been putting down 2-3 shrimp every other night and lots of pellets in between.
One other note, when I introduced the older black into the new tank with the two big silvers, her eating habits drastically changed. She became rather aggressive and probably tripled the amount of food she was eating. The result of this was a 5" growth spurt in about 7 months.
My feeling is the big difference in growth rate had much to do with feeding. The older was a very picky eater often going a week on just one shrimp and a few pellets. The younger has been putting down 2-3 shrimp every other night and lots of pellets in between.
One other note, when I introduced the older black into the new tank with the two big silvers, her eating habits drastically changed. She became rather aggressive and probably tripled the amount of food she was eating. The result of this was a 5" growth spurt in about 7 months.
