About 7 months ago i bought a lima shovelnose and since then it hasnt grown at all, Maybe gotten a little thicker, but thats it. When i got it, it was already 7in long. Does anybody know what the growth rate of these fish are once they reach this size. Im thinking he never grew because since ive gotten him ive been trying to get him on pellets, which means i havent been feeding him normally. I decided to give up on the pellets and just go back to feeding him shrimp, which he loves. Now that im feeding him shrimp every night will his growth rate speed back up or have i sort have stunted him accidentally.
Lima Growth Rate
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i got a 3"er a few months ago and it blew up to 8" in a month and a half. Growth has slowed since but i can still see progress.
Mines stuck at 8", been the same size for 6 months. But i have 2 baby tsn's, one went from 3" to about 9 in 2 months. The other one was 3" and he's barely 5 inches now and i've had him for 6 months or so. I only feed them live fish, maybe thats my problem.
I added 2 to my collection about 18 mo.ago they were about 4" now one is 12" or more the other is around 10". The bigger one is a more aggressive feeder, but I only feed them shrimp once a week.
I know tank size plays a role, mine have been in a 125g the whole time. and they are still growing. It's a low stress tank too, only one other larger Lima a Gold saum and pleco that keep to themselves.
I know tank size plays a role, mine have been in a 125g the whole time. and they are still growing. It's a low stress tank too, only one other larger Lima a Gold saum and pleco that keep to themselves.
I'm an idiot. I forgot to tell you the most important thing ,IMO, Water changes, copious amounts my friend. The more I read in mags and here, if you want healthy fast growing fish...water changes, water changes, water changes.
I do a 90% water change on my lima tank two days after every feeding. On my big cichlid tank, I do two 90% WC's a week! I would do more if I had time.
I do a 90% water change on my lima tank two days after every feeding. On my big cichlid tank, I do two 90% WC's a week! I would do more if I had time.
808;3448207; said:
I am no expert on stunting, Ive read (mostly with cichlids) that alot of them don't hit their max size in aquariums. I've also read that a few get bigger in aquariums than in the wild. I don't see why your Lima won't keep growing, but I have no more experience with bigger catfish than you. Bigger tank and water changes can only help I would think.