Looking for advice

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IrishLad2017

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 20, 2017
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Hey guys,

So i have this 240l tank running the last 6 months, i bought all 14 of my cichlids within 3 weeks of each other after setting the tank up(after cycling of course) but the fish have basically not grown at all. My water readings are perfect and i do weekly water changes of 30% and always condition water with interpet bioactive tapsafe plus. Im starting to think the layout of my tank is causing the fish not to grow. They are all healthy and showing typical cichlid behaviour. I will upload a picture so you can see what im working with.
Thanks :)
 
IrishLad2017 said:
Hey guys,

So i have this 240l tank running the last 6 months, i bought all 14 of my cichlids within 3 weeks of each other after setting the tank up(after cycling of course) but the fish have basically not grown at all. My water readings are perfect and i do weekly water changes of 30% and always condition water with interpet bioactive tapsafe plus. Im starting to think the layout of my tank is causing the fish not to grow. They are all healthy and showing typical cichlid behaviour. I will upload a picture so you can see what im working with.
Thanks :)
Click to expand...

15032751743631997963885.jpg
 
What are you feeding and how often.
 
Grinch said:
What are you feeding and how often.
Click to expand...
I feed a variety of foods, frozen cichlid mix, tetra pro colour flakes, cichlid omni flakes, cucumber etc. I feed 3 times per day except for friday where i wont feed anything at all.
 
With weekly 30% WC and such frequent feeding, I doubt your water parameters are as good as you think they are. Specifically, I suspect your nitrates have crept up on you. What are your nitrate levels like when it's WC time? Adding some live plants like Anubias might help keep nitrates in check, if this is a problem.

Also, it's not like your fish are tiny.... I'd guess they are growing, just not as quickly as you'd like. Big water changes (75-80%) would help increase growth rates and water quality, if in fact your water quality is an issue.
 
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Grinch said:
With weekly 30% WC and such frequent feeding, I doubt your water parameters are as good as you think they are. Specifically, I suspect your nitrates have crept up on you. What are your nitrate levels like when it's WC time? Adding some live plants like Anubias might help keep nitrates in check, if this is a problem.

Also, it's not like your fish are tiny.... I'd guess they are growing, just not as quickly as you'd like. Big water changes (75-80%) would help increase growth rates and water quality, if in fact your water quality is an issue.
Click to expand...
Well i do water changes every tuesday, and after just testing my water i have 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and nitrates 30ppm. Temperature is running at 80 degrees. PH around 8.0. When feeding i dont overfeed. I put in small amounts over a couple of minutes and theres never a fish that seems to be left out. Im honestly baffled. I know you say my fish arent tiny but they literally have not grown at all over a 6 month period.
 
Anubias is a terrible plant choice if your looking for a nitrate sink. They are literally one of the slowest growing aquatic plants.

Look at floating plants like frogbit and mini water lettuce. Or co sider some of the faster easy to grow stems plants like Asian ambulia or hygrophila polysperma or similar. Pathos are is a great option if tossed in a refugium or job or directly in the tank.

Water changes are key to keep nitrates low and fish growing.
 
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