Rhom, what am I doing wrong?

[Mystus Redtail]

So, I've had a Black P for idk, 7-8 months now. I got him at about 1.5" and so far he's managed to grow to a whopping 2.25-2.5". So at best he's grown 1"...

He gets fed at least ever other day. He's in a 20g all by himself. Although he just sits in the upper back corner facing the wall. I've been feeding mostly bloodworms, but also freeze dried krill from time to time.

He won't eat anything that sinks all the way to the bottom, so I have to throw the bloodworms in at night so that he will have the courage to come out to get them as they fall.

I've read a lot of the things about rhom's and try to follow them.

He gets regular water changes, I try for 50% once a week, but at worst it will be 50% every 3 weeks, but usually that is not the norm.

The tank is around 80F.

My RBP's grew like weeds on a bloodworm diet and they never even had a heater in the tank...

Not a lot of hiding spots, but he just sits at the top anyways, so I don't know if plants would do him a lot of good...

I need some suggestions. I'm beginning to lose interest, I just saw a 6" Black in Milwaukee for $100 the other day and I was tempted to just get that, but I wanted to raise my own.



Your help is very much appreciated.

 

[---XR---]

rhoms and most serra's grow very slowly, 1-2" a year. so seeing your guy grow so slow is not uncommon. in fact anything much faster is uncommon. everybody gets bored with watching them grow. so most people sell there juvi's and spend the extra cash on bigger guys. 13"+ many times. it'll take years 10+ to get your guy into the 14" range

 

[StIcKy~RiCe]

Rhomb can grow up to 5" with in the first year of his life. you said you got him around 7-8month now and it's still 2.5" which mean that you stunt it grow.

Becuase you got him in 20g....no enough room to swim, be atleast 40g by him self with proper care.

You don't feed him enough, every other day are not much. Small piranha should get feed 2-3 time a day.

after his first year, he will grow 1" every year.

 

[Mystus Redtail]

Rhomb can grow up to 5" with in the first year of his life. you said you got him around 7-8month now and it's still 2.5" which mean that you stunt it grow.

Becuase you got him in 20g....no enough room to swim, be atleast 40g by him self with proper care.

You don't feed him enough, every other day are not much. Small piranha should get feed 2-3 time a day.

after his first year, he will grow 1" every year.

I just read in another post of yours that said to feed rhoms every other day, but maybe you meant for bigger ones. He won't eat more that just the one time a day. If I throw it in there it just sinks and rots. Believe me I've tried. He was a finger chaser when I got him, but as soon as he got out of the bag he became a wuss.

I guess I find it hard to believe a 20g has stunted him with him being so small already and on top of that he just stays in the same place all the time, maybe I need a powerhead to make him have some resistance/ give him something to swim against.

For a few weeks he would come to one corner of the tank when he was hungry and eat, because that is where I would put the food in, but he stopped doing that after a while too.

 

[Mystus Redtail]

 

[StIcKy~RiCe]

I would add more current in the tank for him, and raise up the temps to 84f...the higher the temps the more active he is and the more he will eat. I would take all decoration out.

Remember growing Rhomb from baby is like any other fish.

Good water quality
ph
well feed
lots of room to swim
active
mood
etc....it's a combo for him to grow. Not just feed him every day, you need everything.

If I would you I would put him in a 40g by himself, no decoration only sand and gravel. put a power head in there, temp 82-84f, feed him 2-3 time doesn't matter he eat or not. just keep feeding him. Water change every 3 days about 30%.

you will see a different in couple of month when you do that.

When i mean feed every other day is for bigger one.

 

[RonTheRHOM]

wow that is slow. i got mine at 1.5" in middle Novemeber and hes now more or less 4".
mine is in a 30g tank on his own, hes been fed tetras, dannios, flakes, cod/coley and shrimp.
i dont have a power head because i use a very powerfull internal filter (1000Lph) and that creates a nice current that circulates the tank.
the temp of the water is 28'c and he gets fed twice a day. high end flakes in the morning and shrimp etc.. in the evening (leave it in over night)
if i give him neons, dannios then he wont eat anything else... just not interested when theres fresh blood in the tank...lol

 

[leviathon13]

i'd have to disagree about taking all the decor out of the tank. Rhoms, as most serras are, when juvenile, are parasitic fin eaters. they hide and wait for the opportunity to take a bite from a passing fish. he'll be very skittish and shy if he has nowhere to retreat to . and feel safe. remember , he's small, which makes him bite size for predators. (even though there aren't any in the tank) something else you should consider, is treating him for internal parasites, namely tapeworms. newly imported P. have them 9 times out of 10. Hikari make a safe treatment for p's and it works.it's called Prazipro.1 treatment should do it. keep the Nitrates as low as possible, closer to 0 the better.