Why does "lots" of water changes speed growth

[spidartankss]

i dont know if it is true myself, but i have read on numerous occasions THAT doing lots of water changes as well as good diet (obviously) increases fish growth rates....

is this really true and why? can anyone explain what it does?
and when you say lots of water changes, how often is this?

i try to do ateast a 50% water change once a week...

 

[Scorponok]

Do you grow faster drinking piss water or clean water?

nuff said.

 

[Onion01]

many water changes normally equates to clean water. Of course, too many water changes can stress fish out. But imagine this. Water flows through a fish's gills like air flows through our lungs. What if the air we breathed were chalk full of poisonous gases? I am sure we wouldn't develop too well. Another analogy; living in an aquarium is like living in a closed room. Imagine if none of our waste products could get out. I am sure we wouldn't be too happy. Your schedule seems good. Keep it up man!

 

[Onion01]

Do you grow faster drinking piss water or clean water?

nuff said.

or you could put it this way

 

[spidartankss]

Piss water or clean water, i have never tried drinking piss water...did it stunt your growth? lol -
i get where your going with this..BUT how often is often?

fish live in water to me there cant be much difference between water that has been in the tank for a week or 4 days.....a little sure, but enough to effect growth?

thats kinda like saying that humans grown faster and bigger if they're from down south?

im not saying it does not work, but i just wanted to know how i guess?

 

[spidartankss]

many water changes normally equates to clean water. Of course, too many water changes can stress fish out. But imagine this. Water flows through a fish's gills like air flows through our lungs. What if the air we breathed were chalk full of poisonous gases? I am sure we wouldn't develop too well. Another analogy; living in an aquarium is like living in a closed room. Imagine if none of our waste products could get out. I am sure we wouldn't be too happy. Your schedule seems good. Keep it up man!

Thanks, makes sense......when comparing it like that, clean vs. dirty..but not cleaner vs clean??

that might not make sense....either way. thanks

 

[Alistriwen]

Hey, finally someone on MFK also from London Ontario!! To answer your question, no water changes themselves do not aid in the growth of your fry at all. That said however, doing frequent water changes WILL reduce the amount of growth stunting nitrates in the water. If your fish aren't producing much waste, and you've got good filtration doing more water changes won't help past a point because nitrates won't have reached a harmful level.

You have to balance things keeping in mind that water changes do stress fish out to some degree, although experience has shown me that fry raised with frequent water changes eventually become used to them and indeed my fish born and raised by me swim up and try to eat the hairs off my hands and arms while Im cleaning the tank lol. They also don't seem to get too flustered when we refill the tank. I dont know if this applies to all species though.

Personally, I do 3x 20 - 30% per week on fry tanks with fry less than a week and a half old. The most crucial growth period is the first week and a half to two weeks and keeping nitrates near 0 here can be beneficial. Beyond that point we cut back to 2x week and as they get closer to adult size they go on the weekly wednesday cleaning. You have to keep in mind that if you change the h20 too much you are getting rid of the food for your beneficial bacteria so again try and balance water changes with waste produced and filtration.

Hope this helps and P.S. are you a member of the London Aquaria Society?

 

[Wolf3101]

Massive and frequant water changes are NOT the only way to keep your water quality in top form. The general thaught about the growth/water change issue is that fish exude hormones in the water and that these act as a growth inhibitor to the fish unless removed with large frequant water changes. The problem with this is that it breaks down in light of reality.

I have friends of mine who belive this and do a minimum of two water changes a week. They also picked up a RTC and some baby Bpass at around the same time that I did. I only do water changes when the test reading call for it...this usually comes down to 30% once a month on most tanks. My RTC and my wifes Pbass are ALL substantually larger than either of my friends. The diets are more or less the same although I refrain from "power feeding" any of our fish and only feed the larger ones every other day.

Now large frequant water changes CAN and do stimulate spawning in a number of species but IMO wassive water changes are a waste of time...effort and money.

 

[BushFishRox]

Massive and frequant water changes are NOT the only way to keep your water quality in top form. The general thaught about the growth/water change issue is that fish exude hormones in the water and that these act as a growth inhibitor to the fish unless removed with large frequant water changes. The problem with this is that it breaks down in light of reality.

I have friends of mine who belive this and do a minimum of two water changes a week. They also picked up a RTC and some baby Bpass at around the same time that I did. I only do water changes when the test reading call for it...this usually comes down to 30% once a month on most tanks. My RTC and my wifes Pbass are ALL substantually larger than either of my friends. The diets are more or less the same although I refrain from "power feeding" any of our fish and only feed the larger ones every other day.

Now large frequant water changes CAN and do stimulate spawning in a number of species but IMO wassive water changes are a waste of time...effort and money.

Hey wolf at what level of nitrates do you do a water change?

 

[pacu mom]

i dont know if it is true myself, but i have read on numerous occasions THAT doing lots of water changes as well as good diet (obviously) increases fish growth rates....

is this really true and why? can anyone explain what it does?
and when you say lots of water changes, how often is this?

i try to do ateast a 50% water change once a week...

Nitrates are the end product in the nitrogen cycle. (The beneficial bacteria in your filtration system convert the ammonia generated by your fish and decomposing food waste into nitrite which in turn is converted to nitrates.) Unless you have a heavily planted tank or a denitrator unit, water changes are needed to bring the nitrate levels down. High nitrates have been implicated in a myriad of fish problems including HITH, failure to thrive, stunting, and premature death of fish. Keeping the nitrate level below 20 ppm would provide optimum conditions for your fish. You need to test your water on a routine basis to know how much and how frequently you need to change your water to keep the nitrates low. We change out at least 400 gallons a week on our 300 gallon tank to keep the nitrates below 20 ppm. You should use a freshwater master test kit. Many people use the Aquarium Pharmiceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit
http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...rmaceuticals&fbc=1&parentPage=family&keepsr=1
Because stocking levels are different with every tank, testing the water the water is the easiest way to know how much water needs to be changed.

Water quality can definitely affect the growth of your fish.