thanks for the comments.
yes in most cases I agree weekly water changes are best especialy when they are smaller .
ive seen since I keep the paramaters more stable BY having less fish ,15 tiger barbs and yes he will eat one or two a week water changes are not needed as often .
also the tank is in direct sun light almost 6hrs a day. there is tons of algae and in the mornings its a ton of oxygen being released by it. I have about a 250l OF SUMP consisting of just ceramic rings . bio balls and plants Im trying to get this system as natural as possible if that makes any sense. the less I do to it the better the jardini looks .I was taking pics this morning and measured him 49CM ,IT IS BIT OF A CONCERN cause the growth has slowed down a lot in the last year lenth wise BUT there as been an increase of mabe 4cm hight or girth in that time so im not complaining.I rekon once I have him in the wider tank there will be more growth again.
will post some more pics later