rollergirl Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 I picked up the 40L hexagonal tank that I got for my mum a few months ago yesterday, wanting it for a grow out tank for ram fry. Mum has complained about not having enough time to look after the fish properly and kept managing to kill them off somehow (despite my clear instructions on water changes, cycling, feeding etc...I guess some of us aren't meant to keep fish!!) so I offered to take it off her hands. 8) It came with 2 current inhabitants, a pearl gourami and an albino cory. This is where it gets worrying-I was with mum when she bought these fish, maybe 4-5 months ago, and they don't seem to have grown at ALL! She has admitted to me that she was slack with W/C's and only fed them flake, nothing else, so I'm guessing a combination of poor water quality and a boooooring diet have stunted their growth somewhat. :-? They are both extremely skinny and looked pretty unhappy yesterday. My plan is to start feeding them up on nice rich frozen foods (I usually mix up seriously green tucker, bloodworms, and a bit of discus tucker together to make it more of a gourmet experience :lol: ), plus tubifex, colour bits, etc, 3x daily if possible, and do small regular water changes, say 10% twice a week. I'm just worried that with a start in life like this they will always be runty and not grow properly, is it possible to get them healthy and growing again once they have been neglected for months like this? My eventual plan is to put them into my planted community tank but I want to fatten then up and get healthy first. What do you guys reckon? Will they grow or be forever destined to a life of being the little guys? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 They will always be stunted. Feeding when young is vital to good growth. Feed them up though and they will look very healthy - albeit smaller than they should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Yes they should still grow again unless they have reached adult age under poor conditions. At a certain age most animal's growth slows down ( a genetic thing). If they are still young they should resume growing, but they will probably end up a bit smaller than they should have been. Think of it as only having grown for 10 out of their first 12 months, they might end up 10cm instead of 12. If a fish is still stunted when it reaches adult age however, then it will pretty much stay that way. Cheers Ian P.S. Fish make a lousy gift unless you KNOW the recipient wants them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollergirl Posted September 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Thanks guys, Just noticed the cory hasn't made it (obviously the trip stressed him out too much, he was pretty tiny though maybe starved ) But the gourami certainly looks happier in a clean and now PLANTED tank with places to hide! The funny part is Mum DID want the fish-just obviously not the work that went along with them (although honestly it wouldn't have taken more than an hour a fortnight to look after that tank! grrr :evil: ) That's the last time I ever give pets as a gift, no matter how much the recipient says they want them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Sorry about the cory Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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