HELP!! Fish won't grow!!

AC from TO · Member Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 57

I'm new to cichlids and 7 or so months ago I got a 30gal tank, 2 green terror cichlids and a clown pleco. The people at the store where I got them said that these fish would be fine in my 30gal tank and I trusted them. Having done more reading I've found out that the cichlids should be in a 55gal at least.

This problem aside, one of my GTC is growing like a weed (has doubled in size at least) while the other is exactly the same size as when I got it.... 1.5in long. They both seem to eat quite well, I feed a varied diet of flake, pellets, and freeze dried worms and still this poor little s**k won't grow!

My aunt has a 75gal tank and keeps south american cichlids so my plan when I discovered my tank was too small was to let them grow a bit (so they didn't get picked on in her tank) and transfer them to her tank and turn mine into a mixed tropical tank instead. I don't want to send this poor little guy to his death in a tank full of bigger fish and the best solution I can come up with is to send the bigger one on his own and hold the little guy back and see what happens with him on his own.

Any suggestions on why he won't grow? Am I doing something wrong? I'm going to take a sample of my water to my local fish store and have it tested but if there were something wrong with the water wouldn't all the fish show something and not just this one??

Any advice would be appreciated!

Aqueous · Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 8:19 pm Post subject:

I've heard (haven't actually experienced it myself) that males generally tend to grow much faster than females. Not sure how true that is though.

You may want to rethink your decision about moving your fish to your aunt's aquarium if she already had fish in it. Green Terrors are a highly aggressive species of cichlid and can grow up to 12", so they would generally do better with about 50 gallons each based on their size and aggression.

AC from TO · Member Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 57

Forgive me if this is a stupid question....but if she has a 75gal that is far below capacity and already has similar fish (ie green terrors, convicts, and other types of SA Cichlids) then in theory wouldn't they do ok?

If not then any suggestions?....I don't want them to be in too small a tank and I don't have the space for anything bigger. The store I got them at does not take fish back and the only store I know of that does is a terrible place for fish...(many sick and dead fish in tanks).

Again...any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!!