New Male GT! questions PLZ

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G

GTbEaSt

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 14, 2009
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FRESNO, CA
Hi everyone I am new to this website. I came over here from Cichlidmadness and I am just looking for a new forum where I can get some help if needed. I have an 80 gallon tank with a Female GT and some community fish....I am gonna breed her, So I just traded some of my african cichlids to a guy who has a 6-7 inch Male GT.....The GT is 2 years old he said..............my question is, Does this size sound right for a Male GT who is 2 years old? or should he be bigger? The guy kept him in a 60 gallon with a Jack Dempsey and a Catfish.I know I know Idiot!
his colors are good but not the best and his tail edges are a light orange, he has a nice hump on his head,but some of his fins are torn up(fighting with a Jack Dempsey)..I am gonna condition him for a month in a 60g tank and restore his fins and hopefully fatten him up a bit.....any suggestions or techniques for a good month of rehabilitation?......this is how he exactly looks like, but with some fins torn up(This is not my GT, just a pic from google)......

gtmale1.jpg
 
could be stunted from tank size. at two years I would think he should be a couple of inches bigger, and his hump should be bigger. that could just be from diet
 
thats what I was thinking also....Well hopefully I can just fatten him up...I could be wrong about his length...probaly 7-8.5 inches....
 
Average IMO would be around 8" at 2 yrs but every fish is different. They are slow growers IME. A good diet and plenty of large water changes should spur his growth on. Nice looking Saum and welcome to Mfk.
 
well in that case he should be in good standing....I will just condition him really good and see what happens...thanks for the welcome!
 
Most of the GT's I have kept took a year to hit 6", and slowed down from there. The GT's I have kept at around the 2 year mark were 6-8", with most being around 7". Some will continue to grow steadily at about an inch or so every year. Others slow down substantially. Only exception are the ones I am currently keeping.

Best food I have used to condition GT's is hikari massivores. Protein concentration is pretty high so it is good to alternate the food with other hikari products, but would recommend bio gold in the mix as well.
 
Thanks alot you guys really made me feel so much better about this Male GT....I will get Him Ready for his future home in a 80g with a FEMALE! I want to look great for her... oh yea he is gonna get some booty! lol
 
his growth seems to be a little on the slow side, but its nothing to be worried about, they are slow growers. mine hit 7" in less than a year FWIW
 
at 2 years 6-7" is not very big at all. i had my 1.5" GT at 6" after 6-7 months or so. sounds like he could be stunted but he could just have bad genes. i dont know if its applicable but in all animals you get smaller than average so i would assume fish are no different, after all you get the odd GT at 12" so why not the odd GT at a small size.
as long as he is otherwise healthy i would not worry too much.
 
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