I agree with most of what had been said, I believe stress is one of the major factors for slow growth, can be caused from water quality, to many tank mates, to little tank mates for juveniles, bottom of the pecking order, not enough cover, and numerous other things. Also sometimes we need to remember nothing worthwhile happens quickly in this hobby and fish sometimes grow at different rates.
increasing growth rate yes to water changes
- Thread starter candidpets
- Start date
Haha, i stocked my tank with fish that were all between 1-2 inch. I used to look at my fish everyday just to check if they'd grown a bit. I was willing them to get big. Now, a few months down the line i've had to rehouse one of them, half the others i wish they'd stop growing and my damn clowns have hardly started!!!! Haha.
I don't believe live food is always better, especially with the fish food industries ability to add nutritional elements to today's prepared foods.
And if the live food comes from substandard or crowded conditions, it may be worse.
if you raise your own live food and provide it with the proper nutrients and components like HUFA and or gut load the food with other vitamins your fish need, need that's perfect, but if you expect some small business to provide that at bottom line prices, that may not be realistic. I believe when feeder fish go for 10 cents each, or a bag of tube worms less that a buck, the profit margin is too small to expect quality in todays market place.
Worse yet is the possibility of adding bacteria or parasites from any aquatic species you might use as food. But....
To me water quality is usually the limiting factor.
In nature fish are in constant 100% water change, be it in rivers, Cenotes, or large lakes.
As part of my job, I tested water parameters for Lake Michigan, its nitrate level averaged <1ppm.
The accepted low end nitrate level in many general aquarium circles is 20 times that high. I always tried to maintain a 2-5ppm nitrate max with the use of water changes.
But experienced breeders that want max growth often change 90% of the fry tanks water daily.
And if the live food comes from substandard or crowded conditions, it may be worse.
if you raise your own live food and provide it with the proper nutrients and components like HUFA and or gut load the food with other vitamins your fish need, need that's perfect, but if you expect some small business to provide that at bottom line prices, that may not be realistic. I believe when feeder fish go for 10 cents each, or a bag of tube worms less that a buck, the profit margin is too small to expect quality in todays market place.
Worse yet is the possibility of adding bacteria or parasites from any aquatic species you might use as food. But....
To me water quality is usually the limiting factor.
In nature fish are in constant 100% water change, be it in rivers, Cenotes, or large lakes.
As part of my job, I tested water parameters for Lake Michigan, its nitrate level averaged <1ppm.
The accepted low end nitrate level in many general aquarium circles is 20 times that high. I always tried to maintain a 2-5ppm nitrate max with the use of water changes.
But experienced breeders that want max growth often change 90% of the fry tanks water daily.
keeping tank size out of this, test your water, and if you can not, water change water change water change, protein is protein, keep in mind protein=ammonia=nitrite=nitrate, it does not matter where your fish get it from equation is the same. good quality pellet in best thing for your fish, any thing else is a treat or supplement and to only be a once a week thing, preferably the day before water change.
