Quick growing fry.

[GaryE]

I have a three way race going on in three side by side tanks. I have 3 month old Angola barbs, which are going to lose but are growing fast.

In the lead, I have black neon tetras, packing on size now that they've taken on a proper fish shape, at exactly one month old. They're moving fast, visibly and daily.

Catching up and a hair younger are Nothobranchius palmqvisti, an annual killifish that will only get to live about a year (so I plan to keep breeding them to keep being able to enjoy their colourful weirdness).

Since I started playing around with tetra breeding, I've been shocked at how fast they grow. Some of the fish we buy in stores are really young, in the 3 month range.

My non annual killies, which live to about 3, are a bit slower growing, but they all leave the Cichlids I breed in their wakes.

At the risk of looking like one of those AI Facebook posts that always end with a question, what has grown really fast for you?

 

[gwand]

These annual fish are intriguing. Longevity scientists would have a field day with such species.

 

[Back in the fold]

Well , I’ve seen a few different types of fry in my time but Nothobranchius completely surprised me with how fast they grow . I would never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it my own self .

 

[GaryE]

These annual fish are intriguing. Longevity scientists would have a field day with such species.

They are having a field day. Nothobranchius have become major research subjects.

 

[Colin_T]

At the risk of looking like one of those AI Facebook posts that always end with a question, what has grown really fast for you?

Rainbowfish, 2-3 inches long and sexually mature in 2-3 months depending on species.

Feed them really well 3-5 times a day (they should look like pregnant guppies).
Do massive (75-90%) water changes each day once they are a few weeks old.
Keep the temperature around 28C.

 

[GaryE]

Rainbowfish, 2-3 inches long and sexually mature in 2-3 months depending on species.

Feed them really well 3-5 times a day (they should look like pregnant guppies).
Do massive (75-90%) water changes each day once they are a few weeks old.
Keep the temperature around 28C.

That's really remarkable. Mine would grow slowly then explode in size for bursts. It took a long time to bring them to sale size. But then again, I changed water every few days only, and only did under 50%. I fed heavily, but not THAT heavily. That's really useful information to anyone who wants to keep those fish.
I put my last boesemani in an auction last week, as I am only keeping my seemingly infertile wanamensis now. I've had the latter for several generations and distributed them, but they look like a dead end now - a loss considering how endangered they are.

 

[Colin_T]

Gary, you could do what they did in Australia. Cross G. incisus with G. wanamensis and destroy anything that didn't look like a wanamensis. It helped add new bloodlines to the ones we had here, which originated from a couple of fish. I know it's not normally recommended and even I don't like doing it but if it's a choice of losing a species or hybridising with something and line breeding it back, I would rather keep the species as long as it looks like the real thing.