About 3 years ago i bought a baby rhom. The reason i bought it was the 8 inch monster rhom in the tank next to it. But after three years it is just barely 5 inches, and hasn't grown out of that skittish personality,(The 8 inch rhom in the store followed you as you walked across the tank). I jsut don't know if it is worth it anymore. Not to mention it is impossible to feed anything but live without starving him. any responses would be great.
to sell or not to sell?
- Thread starter kif
- Start date
honestly, some people may disagree with this and say that buying a fish is a commitment you have to stick with for life, which i dont disagree with completely, but the thing is if you are not having fun definitely sell him and find a new fish. If i was in your place and he was growing that slow I would definitely sell him and get some cool piranhas. I would sell him.
if you're not happy with your fish, selling is always an option, but if it's only five inches long after 3 years, i have to question the care that it received... i'm not saying that you didn't take care of it, but if those are the results you got after 3 years, you might not fare so well with the next one either.
29 gal tank with an eclipse filter. 25-50% water changes weekly. The food is the problem. I can't get him to eat anything but live feeders unless i starve for over a week. I have tried multiple kinds of pellets, frozen krill, worms, you name it. Also remember he wasn't much more than an inch when i bought him. I havn't checked the water parameters other than pH for a while. pH is about 6.8
I just want to throw out that i also keep a puffer which are more vulnerable to poor water quality, and it is fine. I like to think i take care of my animals. The tank size is a problem with the p but with the water changes it should be ok until i get something bigger, which would be as soon as possible. But if i am wrong about that and the p is hurting because of tank size right now, i will definately get rid of it as long as it is going to a good home.
ahhhhh I hate stressing out about critters
ahhhhh I hate stressing out about critters
First thing-Are you SURE this fish is Serrasalmus Rhombeus?
If yes, do you have any kind of current going through the tank? Rhoms come from faster flowing waters and deffinately benifit from having good water movement. Have it set up on a timer or have plenty of "dead spots" for the rhom to seek refuge.
Water changes are good per week. Probably want to look at a bigger tank as that might be one reason for the lack of growth.
When it comes to the food....one week without food is nothing to these fish.
How I have gone about this in the past is: Not offer any food for about a week and a half to two weeks. Then offer what I'm trying to get my fish to feed on whether it be tilapia, catfish, squid or shrimp (in appropriate sized pieces). I only let the food sit on the bottum of the tank for one to two hours max before I remove it. I offer the food ever night the same way for about 3 or 4 days and then starve him again for a week before offering again. Repeat the whole process.
Gonna be a challange. Your Rhom has been eating goldfish (which are very ****ty btw especially for growth) and will be very difficult to ween him from. But you can do it.
Personally, I don't think you should get rid of him....Yet anyways. 3 years is a long time to have a fish just to give up. I would change over a new leave completely...bigger tank, lots of current, good water quality and way better diet and I think you will be suprized.
I'm also a little suspicious about internal parasites transmitted from the feeders (which is an extremely good possibility.....probably wouldn't hurt at all when you cut out the feeders to treat with PraziPro.
Depending on where you are, Rhombeus' can be extremely difficult to obtain. I would do everything listed, give it another year and if theres no improvement then decide on what I was going to do with him.
Good luck with what ever you do.
If yes, do you have any kind of current going through the tank? Rhoms come from faster flowing waters and deffinately benifit from having good water movement. Have it set up on a timer or have plenty of "dead spots" for the rhom to seek refuge.
Water changes are good per week. Probably want to look at a bigger tank as that might be one reason for the lack of growth.
When it comes to the food....one week without food is nothing to these fish.
How I have gone about this in the past is: Not offer any food for about a week and a half to two weeks. Then offer what I'm trying to get my fish to feed on whether it be tilapia, catfish, squid or shrimp (in appropriate sized pieces). I only let the food sit on the bottum of the tank for one to two hours max before I remove it. I offer the food ever night the same way for about 3 or 4 days and then starve him again for a week before offering again. Repeat the whole process.
Gonna be a challange. Your Rhom has been eating goldfish (which are very ****ty btw especially for growth) and will be very difficult to ween him from. But you can do it.
Personally, I don't think you should get rid of him....Yet anyways. 3 years is a long time to have a fish just to give up. I would change over a new leave completely...bigger tank, lots of current, good water quality and way better diet and I think you will be suprized.
I'm also a little suspicious about internal parasites transmitted from the feeders (which is an extremely good possibility.....probably wouldn't hurt at all when you cut out the feeders to treat with PraziPro.
Depending on where you are, Rhombeus' can be extremely difficult to obtain. I would do everything listed, give it another year and if theres no improvement then decide on what I was going to do with him.
Good luck with what ever you do.
you need a bigger tank, better filtration, and a better diet... you need to start it on healthy foods right from the beginning, they can be stubborn, but once you get them eating what you want them to, things will go much better. growing a 1 inch rhom out to 8+ inches is gonna be pretty hard to do in a 29 gallon