What Is The Expected Growth Rate?

[newtothegame]

I've had my cichlids for 2 months and havn't noticed any growth on them, there only about 1" at the moment, but considering they live for up to 15 years im thinking that is normal, is it?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I've had my cichlids for 2 months and havn't noticed any growth on them, there only about 1" at the moment, but considering they live for up to 15 years im thinking that is normal, is it?

Mmmm... not so much....


What kind of Cichlids are they? What size is that tank? What are you feeding them? How often are you doing water changes?


Normally, fish will do all of their growing in the first year or two of their life. If kept right, a lot of Cichlids grow about .5"-1" a month!

 

[cheesy feet]

Of course a fishes growth rate will slow down over time though, as the bigger they are the more energy is used to grow.
As discuslova said what size tank (just type in L" x W" x H" in google and it will come up with the volume) do you have?How often do you carry out water changes, and what do you feed them?
The more water changes you do the better the water qaulity (nitrates and other elements are removed) and so most fish grow quicker.
As you say your fish (what cichlid are they?) is only 1" and hasn't grown in two months ( ) I would suggest taking out daily 10-20% DAILY water changes sucking up any uneaten food/waste in the process.Feed high quality flake/small pellets and make sure it has a descent amount (50-60% I think is a good amount) of protein in for growth.

 

[newtothegame]

Its a 22 gallon, i have a few cichlids in there to try to keep the aggression down, 1xelectric yellow
1xgreen terror 1xconvict 2xjack dempseys and 2 others im trying to id at the moment, i feed them cichlid gold pellets 3x daily and also blood worms once daily, i vacuum and replace 50% of water once weekly. Chemicals are kept up, 4 live plants, ph is at 7.4 ammonia is at 0 and i also feed them either ghost shrimp or minnows twice a week, lighting on the tank is inadequate . Could it be over population? I figured they would still grow but just get more aggresive,

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Its a 22 gallon, i have a few cichlids in there to try to keep the aggression down, 1xelectric yellow
1xgreen terror 1xconvict 2xjack dempseys and 2 others im trying to id at the moment, i feed them cichlid gold pellets 3x daily and also blood worms once daily, i vacuum and replace 50% of water once weekly. Chemicals are kept up, 4 live plants, ph is at 7.4 ammonia is at 0 and i also feed them either ghost shrimp or minnows twice a week, lighting on the tank is inadequate . Could it be over population? I figured they would still grow but just get more aggresive,

First off, you have way too many fish, and almost all of those (excluding the electric yellow) are going to out grow the tank! If you want to keep what you have, you are going to need a tank at least 5 times that size!

http/www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...lectric-Yellow/
http/www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...2/Green-Terror/
http/www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...onvict-Cichlid/
http/www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...4/Jack-Dempsey/

 

[newtothegame]

Well, will they still grow in the tank they are in? Im saving for a few different tanks and then hope to divide the fish, they all get along great at the moment, if not will it stunt them permanetly?

 

[shroob]

They will most likely be stunted if kept in a tank too small for too long.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Well, will they still grow in the tank they are in? Im saving for a few different tanks and then hope to divide the fish, they all get along great at the moment, if not will it stunt them permanetly?

Probably not. Although hard, reversing stunting has been done. The damage you are doing will get harder to treat, the longer you keep them in this environment. You are looking at daily water changes, and tones of feeding (4+ times a day) for a while (at least half a year) before they get back to normal.

 

[newtothegame]

come to think of it, my wife bought me this tank on valentines day, and i have slowly encumbered the fish since then, so its been a little less then a month, if i get a 55gal tank tommorow and put the south americans in there, but also get rid of one of the dempseys, and then leave the africans in the 22, should that be sufficient? or should i get rid of one of the africans also? sorry for all the questions, just trying to learn

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

come to think of it, my wife bought me this tank on valentines day, and i have slowly encumbered the fish since then, so its been a little less then a month, if i get a 55gal tank tommorow and put the south americans in there, but also get rid of one of the dempseys, and then leave the africans in the 22, should that be sufficient? or should i get rid of one of the africans also? sorry for all the questions, just trying to learn

From the list, the only African you have is the electric yellow, which should be okay for now in the 22. The 55 gallon will be better, but I would keep anymore then 2 of those fish, even then you would have to watch out for aggression once they get big.

Personally, I would either keep one of the following options:
2 convicts
1 dempsey
1 terror

 

[Tobigara]

I agree with DiscusLova. 1 gt, 1jd or 2 convicts