my fish don't grow

[candeewolf]

The original question has 2 possible answers: your feeding regimen and/or an overcrowded tank. I assume that because you say you have lost 4-5 fish in the past year, and all the fish have been in there for close to a year, that the tank was even more crowded than it is now. I think it is logical to say that if you have lost that many fish from 1 tank in the past year, there ARE problems with the tank, for any number of reasons. With so many people giving their opinion that your tank is overcrowded, I think it would be a good idea to take heed of their suggestions if you would like to stop losing fish (especially as many as 4-5 in a year).

Additionally it would be helpful to give exact dimensions of the 110 gal tank, along with approximate fish length of every fish and how many lbs of live rock you have. It also would be a good idea to get exact measurements of your water quality (ammonia, nitrates, nitrite, salinity, PH, phosphates, alkalinity...) in order for others to give a better response as to why your fish aren't growing. As most people know, one's LFS doesn't always give the best advice, and they could be fudging numbers a bit and/or have a different opinion on what acceptable/good numbers are for water quality. If you had no problems/deaths in the tank over the past year or so, it wouldn't really be an issue, but blaming fish deaths as inevitable risks hurts your chance of finding out the root cause of problems that you are currently having in your tank.

 

[Cantonesefish]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1650750

I hope JHemdal doesn't mind me quoting him:

"Personally, I feel it is much less of a diet issue and much more of a toxic metabolite issue (phenols, organic acids, hormones, pheromones, whatever). There are cases where trout were kept in tubes filled with flowing pristine water and fed trout chow - they grew to fill the tubes. I've seen discus kept in groups that something builds up in the water that inhibits the growth of some of the fish, change lots of water all the time, and they start growing again"

 

[timdam]

well thanks for the info. my angel is only a small one right now. but okay, if he outgrows his tank requirements, then i'll move him. i know this is still probably not the answer some of you want to hear. right?

 

[Toddrtrex]

well thanks for the info. my angel is only a small one right now. but okay, if he outgrows his tank requirements, then i'll move him. i know this is still probably not the answer some of you want to hear. right?

Which angel? The french or Koran? Both of them better outgrow that tank in about a year, or there is something very wrong.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Are my posts not showing up or something? He won't "outgrow" the tank - he will stop growing. Which from the sounds of it has already happened. Stunted growth is not healthy for the fish.

 

[Cantonesefish]

well thanks for the info. my angel is only a small one right now. but okay, if he outgrows his tank requirements, then i'll move him. i know this is still probably not the answer some of you want to hear. right?

Why the attitude?

If it were me, I would not want to risk stunting a fish's growth. That's just me.

 

[timdam]

no attitude.

i mean, by putting fish in any of our tanks, aren't we stunting their growth from what they would grow in the wild? i don't know, just asking.

 

[ccampbell57]

This thread is going nowhere. I think it is about time to shut it down.

Treating animals in general like they are temporary is wrong and anyway you look at it you are trying to stir up the forum.

If you are looking to help then fine add your comments. If you are looking for a debate then I suggest trolling elsewhwere.