How is this possible?

[Aquanero]

"Keep an open mind, just not so open that your brains fall out."

Sig worthy! Love it!

 

[Jason_S]

A coworker of mine keeps a currently 15 inch long Oscar in a 29 gallon tank, I've never held that the tank size is crucial to fish growth, though a factor due to its difficulty in keeping the water clean so that the fish can grow properly. Do I believe this a good idea? Hardly, if nothing else the psychology of not being able to move affects it.

There are a few things I'd like to know about this particular case such as just how perfect the parameters are and how long they stay this way after a month in an overstocked tank? What species of Malawai is it exactly? I've kept Malwai's before and learned that sometimes you cannot keep 3 of them in a tank together, other times 9 in a 55 gallon works great, it depends on the temperment and combination/hiding spots/tank layout/which species is dominant in the tank. How big is the FH exactly? They are a notoriously aggressive hybrid bred from an agressive line. It is possible that due to overstocking the fish show less aggression, they just don't have enough room to claim their own territory.

I am quite skeptical of this reliably working, but am always open minded. This will not be the holy grail of fish keeping epiphanies that allows us to keep fish overstocked without doing waterchanges healthily, but I also realize even if it was, the more veteran keepers would fight tooth and nail to make sure it never caught on. Keep an open mind, just not so open that your brains fall out.

That's exactly right. That's the typical reason for the "fish grow to the size of their surroundings"...only because the water quality becomes harder and harder to maintain and the fish then become stunted. However in a well maintained tank such as one on a drip system, tank size will not matter when it comes to fish growth.

Like others have said, I'd be interested to know what "perfect" water quality means. To a lot of people, "perfect" water quality is simply clear ater and this couldn't be further from the truth. Just because the water is clear doesn't mean it's not full of nitrites and ammonia. I'd like to know what the exact ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are in this tank. Also I'd be interested to know the species of the malawis that are in there. In the original post the OP mentions the largest malawi is at ~9" so I'm thinking probably venustus, blue dolphin or malawi eye biter as these are probably the more common Malawi species that grow this large.

 

[jclyde13]

"Keep an open mind, just not so open that your brains fall out."

Sig worthy! Love it!

I can't remember who, but there's a member here who has already had that in their sig for a while now.

 

[JTRG05]

"Keep an open mind, just not so open that your brains fall out."

Sig worthy! Love it!

It's actually Carl Sagan, and I feel like it belongs in a lot of threads around here sometimes.

 

[Ghost9001]

You know that if there is enough BB the ammonia and nitrites should never be above 0, even if you never do a water change. The reason you want to do water changes is to get all of the crap at the bottom that can feed pathogens and also cause the pH to crash. I dont think its too crazy to mix a FH with malawis, a little unusual but if it works it works. Doesnt mean the FH wont outgrow the tank and shred everything though

 

[Aquanero]

I can't remember who, but there's a member here who has already had that in their sig for a while now.

I haven't noticed it, but don't doubt it. I works!

It's actually Carl Sagan, and I feel like it belongs in a lot of threads around here sometimes.

Yes, agreed it could fit into a lot of threads. I understand Carl was a hell of a Monster Fish Keeper too!

PS.... and he was a stickler for weekly water changes.

 

[Gatorxxx420]

I had an overstocked tank of Convicts, Cutteri, Jack Dempsey's and a Flowerhorn. There were 2 breeding pair of fish in there and one day the Flowerhorn snapped and killed 2 of the fish in with him. This all at 3.5"s or so, it's just a matter of time before it's just the Dempsey and the FH and the rest will be corpses IMO. As for water quality, small tanks with a lot of fish foul up fast and I feel it's negligence to not change the water once a week. That's my 2 cents.

 

[JTRG05]

PS.... and he was a stickler for weekly water changes.

Haha, this comment just made my day, and yes I believe he was!

 

[jclyde13]

You know that if there is enough BB the ammonia and nitrites should never be above 0, even if you never do a water change. The reason you want to do water changes is to get all of the crap at the bottom that can feed pathogens and also cause the pH to crash. I dont think its too crazy to mix a FH with malawis, a little unusual but if it works it works. Doesnt mean the FH wont outgrow the tank and shred everything though

I think you're forgetting a very important product of the nitrogen cycle... nitrates. Unless the tank is planted densley enough to take care of the nitrates on its own, the main reason for doing regular water changes is to keep the nitrates from passing certain level.

 

[baldtaxguy]

What is the filtration setup for this 55g?