Growth Inhibitor?

[Sorrell]

I have two cichlid tanks, one NW and one mbuna. I have had these fish from 6 months to a year depending on the individual. All of them are growing about 1/4 of an inch in a 6 month period, some aren't growing at all.

My 150 has:
2 firemouth
1 jewel
2 Salvini
1 Terror
1 Texas
1 plec
2 stunted pacus at 6 inches ( aquired this way from seperate town)
Weekly water change of 25-40% 845gph

My 100 has:
2 yellow labs
2 tilapia buttiferkori
2 kenyis
1 auratus
3 Clown loaches
1 clown plec
Weekly water change of 30% two filters running at 500gph

Both tanks are fed Hikari pellets in the morning and either formula I,frozen brine,algae wafers, shrimp pellets in the evening. All the fish are active and appear healthy aside from their size.

Is it possible that there could be something in my water that is causing fish to stunt? I can't think what else it could be...If I have a person come and test my water, what would I need to be looking for? Thanks for all your help, I'm stumped

 

[CFC]

I'd be more inclined to look at the feeding, there doesnt seem to be much in the way of natural food there. To achieve good growth most fish need to be fed large quantities of live/frozen foods (not including frozen brine which is has roughly the same nutritional value as cardboard), particually the new world cichlids which require a lot of protein in their diets. I would advise changing the evening feed for the new worlds to a more protein rich diet with frozen krill, mussels, cockles, market shrimp or small fish such as whitebait/silver sides making up this feeding.

With the Africans you have a problem in that the buttikofferi are predators which need a high protein diet and the other cichlids are omnivors that need more vegetable matter in their diets, to be honest the butti's would be better off in the new world tank, again i would still recomend increasing the protein intake of the fish in the African tank by feeding krill or small market shrimp every other day in the evening. The clowns IMO should be removed completely as theyre favourite food of bloodworms is deadly to African rift valley cichlids.

Pellets are ok as a supplement to make sure that your fish are getting the nessesary vitamins etc but you cant completely replace natural foods.

 

[astroboy]

(not including frozen brine which is has roughly the same nutritional value as cardboard)

curious as to why that is.

 

[Sorrell]

I'd be more inclined to look at the feeding, there doesnt seem to be much in the way of natural food there. To achieve good growth most fish need to be fed large quantities of live/frozen foods (not including frozen brine which is has roughly the same nutritional value as cardboard), particually the new world cichlids which require a lot of protein in their diets. I would advise changing the evening feed for the new worlds to a more protein rich diet with frozen krill, mussels, cockles, market shrimp or small fish such as whitebait/silver sides making up this feeding.

With the Africans you have a problem in that the buttikofferi are predators which need a high protein diet and the other cichlids are omnivors that need more vegetable matter in their diets, to be honest the butti's would be better off in the new world tank, again i would still recomend increasing the protein intake of the fish in the African tank by feeding krill or small market shrimp every other day in the evening. The clowns IMO should be removed completely as theyre favourite food of bloodworms is deadly to African rift valley cichlids.

Pellets are ok as a supplement to make sure that your fish are getting the nessesary vitamins etc but you cant completely replace natural foods.

Thanks for your reply CFC, but I am confused on some areas I was under the impression that live adult brine shrimp had no nutritional value, but that frozen was packed full. Many of us use it for conditioning bettas, so I had assumed it was high in nutrients.

With the bloodworms, I was not aware they were harmful to african cichlids. They have been fed bloodworms on many occasions. Also, why are mbuna and loaches such common tankmates if they are so incompatible?

Does formula I have high nutrients (frozen)? That's mainly what I feed in the African tank.

The reason that I was questioning something other then food is because I see huge cichlids all the time that have been dumped at fish stores or in people's houses. Fish that I know were fed strictly Wal-Mart pellets or some other junk. I just can't see how the list of foods that I use could be that bad as to completely stop the growth of all my fish

 

[Sorrell]

I apologize...bump

 

[CFC]

I was under the impression that live adult brine shrimp had no nutritional value, but that frozen was packed full. Many of us use it for conditioning bettas, so I had assumed it was high in nutrients.

If adult live brineshrimp has little nutritional value then why would freezing it increase it? Brine shrimp is not worth using unless it says on the packet that it is vitamin enriched artemia. Enriched brine shrimp is fine for feeding small community style fish like tetras etc but isnt really suitable for the larger species which require more protein in their diets to acheive proper growth.

With the bloodworms, I was not aware they were harmful to african cichlids. They have been fed bloodworms on many occasions. Also, why are mbuna and loaches such common tankmates if they are so incompatible?

They are not harmful to all African cichlids but can be potentially deadly to mbuna cichlids (Lake Malaiwi rock dwelling species), these fish have developed over thousands of years to live on a almost entirely vegatable based diet and excess protein from bloodworms can cause them to suffer from a condition known as Malaiwi bloat which is often fatal. I have no idea why people choose to keep loaches and mbuna together, im sorry to be blunt but IMO it is very irresponsible as the two types of fish couldnt be much more incompatable, they differ in their aggression levels, water needs, feeding prefferences and even in the way they like the tank to be laid out.

Does formula I have high nutrients (frozen)? That's mainly what I feed in the African tank.

I have no idea what formula one is but malaiwi's are best fed on a vegetable based diet. Lettuce, algea wafers, peas and pellets specificly designed for mbuna cichlids are all good foods.

The reason that I was questioning something other then food is because I see huge cichlids all the time that have been dumped at fish stores or in people's houses. Fish that I know were fed strictly Wal-Mart pellets or some other junk. I just can't see how the list of foods that I use could be that bad as to completely stop the growth of all my fish

I cant really answer this question, all fish are different and some will grow faster than others, a friend of mine had the largest oscar i've ever seen but it was never fed anything but cheap pellets and he only did water changes twice a year!!!
It is my experience that to get the best from your fish in terms of size and appearence then feeding them the closest thing to their natural diet that you can is the best way to go, pellets and flakes are great for convinience but are no substitute for natural foods.