Tropical Fish Forums

KODIAKBEAR · Members Joined: 20 May 2006 Location: ELIZABETH CITY NC.

I have three convicts a JD and a GT all under two years old. They all appear to be growing with the exception of the GT who appears to be growing very slowly. My Convicts are the biggest followed closely by my JD. My GT is growing very slowly, but oddly enough he discharges excess waste it seems more than any of the other fish. It appears now that my GT is way smaller than the rest and they are starting to bully him a little bit. I do a 25 percent water change every one to two weeks. Can someone tell me if they are just slow growers or what. Also how can you tell if you have a male of female GT. Your advice and input in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Kodiakbear.

PocketBoy · Regulars Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Location: Arizona

Hmm. It is really hard to help without knowing the size of the tank and such. Also, what are you feeding them?

However, I've noticed, while raising convicts, that the runts of a set of babies always seems to grow much slower than the others. I have 4 cons. all from the same batch and the runt is about 1/3 the size of his sister and its been a WHILE since they were born. lol

Maybe you grabbed a runt? I'm sure that's not the case but its all I can think of. Sad

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bored2.0 · Members Joined: 08 Jan 2007

green terrors do grow slower than some cichlids but I am not exactly sure about growth rate

KODIAKBEAR · Members Joined: 20 May 2006 Location: ELIZABETH CITY NC.

They are in a 48 gal tank, and I was questioning the growth rate of a GT. Thanks for responding.

Kodiakbear

CichlidKid

I have a GT that's in a similar condition. Eats well but grows slower than everyone else. He/she's a picky eater too. At only 3 1/2-4" its hard to tell if its M or F but from what I've read, their dorsal fins are longer (as with a lot of male cichlids). I've read that the male's dorsal should be long and "flowing." It will grow very long, and could reach a length almost even with the tail fin. But, like you, I'm not sure and am waiting to see myself. M or F, GT's are very colorful fish. I've noticed that if you do a larger water change say 50% per week, they seem to grow a little better too. What do you feed him/her? I bulked up a JD with red worms (earthworms) in a couple of months

Also I would recommend a bigger tank for all those fish to live together
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KODIAKBEAR · Members Joined: 20 May 2006 Location: ELIZABETH CITY NC.

CichlidKid

150 ? Awesome. Wish I had the ambition to care for a tank that size. I'm going 75-90 gallon next month. I have a GT 3 1/2-4", JD almost 6", salvini, and a firemouth that will go in there. Was thinking about asking if thats overstocked but I think I'll be OK

Good luck with that big ol tank!

MY GT was a very picky eater for months until I found a cichlid pellet he likes, now he eats OK. I keep a close eye on the water chem too cause I think that may have messed with him a little. He ate his first worm yesterday morning WOO HOOO!!! should start growing faster now I hope
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"id rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal labotamy"

KODIAKBEAR · Members Joined: 20 May 2006 Location: ELIZABETH CITY NC.

My GT will eat ghost shrimps, and he will stalk a gupy, but the pellets he often spits out. What kind of pellets do you feed yours. Also what halse/worries to you forsee in me getting a 150 gal tank. I feel that if I over filtrate it ie, one Unger Gravel reverse flow filter, two HOB biowheels and One or two canister filters it should not be much of a problem etc. I just want my fish (3 Cons, 1 GT, 1 JD)to have all the room they need. Also what do you think of a Jaguar going in with them it would probably be a disaster?

CichlidKid

I'll get back to you on the name of the pellets, but they're the smallest "granules" out there I think. Produce good color too. Thats why I'm leaning toward "Reggie" being a male but can't tell yet. Also, regarding guppies, my GT will eat them and then spit out any other type of food he's given for days. He gets really hooked on live so I am trying to feed him worms instead now. besides I've read they're better for them and higher in protein.

So you're going to have 4 filters on that 150?! 2 HOB's and 2 Cannisters? Sounds like a lot. I've never used cannister filters so I shouldn't comment there, but I'll be getting 2 HOB Aquaclear 110's for my new 90 and they should do the trick. Extra filtration does not mean fewer or less frequent water changes tho...remember that. You might want to check the forum for filtration articles as you might find some good stuff around here. or if all else fails try a new post for it. I went with Aquaclear because they have significantly more media than the Tetra/Whisper 60 I run on my 30 gallon. I think the 110's are around $50-60 too which I think is really cheap for a good filter. A lot of people on here recommend or use the Aquaclear filters

As for the Jag - Doubt it. Those fish get very large and would probably need most of that tank space for himself. It might be OK when small but I don't think it would mix well with the medium sized cichlids you have. At least not when he/she is full grown IMO. Jaguars are very cool but I wouldn't try it if I were you--Just my opinion. I looked into them once but decided against it. I would get more opinions from people who have them tho

WOW sorry for the long post--Good Luck!
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"id rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal labotamy"

KODIAKBEAR · Members Joined: 20 May 2006 Location: ELIZABETH CITY NC.

Thanks for the advice, and I most likely will not get the Jag, and I have never owned a canister filter either, but I have been trying to learn all I can about them. Do you know anything about the reverse under gravel filtration filters, the idea of it sounds good to me. I will look into those little pellets, I think I remember seeing them at the LFS.

Kodiakbear