# Food for Growth



## ralphinnj (Mar 2, 2003)

I have 12 rbp's that are about 3 months old. They are between 4 and 5 inches (maybe a couple are close to 6"). They have grown well so far (in a 75 gallon tank). I have live medium goldfish (about 2-2.5 inches each) available all the time, and I feed them tetracichlid sticks or cichcli bio-gold ("balls") every day. I'm very experienced with how much to feed (have had fish for over 30 years), and I know that variety is important. I have a 420 gallon tank coming in a couple of weeks. The rbp's are going in there and I want to make them HUGE. Why? That doesn't matter....I just want to do it. What is the best thing to feed them for size? Is there a secret? I have heard that under the right conditions, they can easily reach 10 inches, and in some cases 12 or even more. The 420 will be big enough for them, but I have to provide the right nutrients. Any experienced mega-rbp growers out there?

RL


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

i have noticed one thing that mine love and they have grow considerbly thicker and larger since i started feeding it to them catfish filets








they can never eat enough of it

just my 2 cents


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## ralphinnj (Mar 2, 2003)

You mean the farm-raised catfish I can get at the super market? Do you cut it up and freeze it in daily servings?


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

ralphinnj said:


> You mean the farm-raised catfish I can get at the super market? Do you cut it up and freeze it in daily servings?


 yes and yes just thaw and feed


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## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

Best rout to go on to make your P's become monsters are giving them their daily food routine with different varieties, water change, excercise, space, and love. Other than the known rule about Ps growing at a rapid rate from babies to 5-6" within 5-7 months, all mentioned above would and will help definately.


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## ralphinnj (Mar 2, 2003)

Thanks guys. I fed them some Tilapia (spelling?) since there was no catfish (it is similar to catfish). They went bonkers and ate about a quarter of their weight in it. It is relatively cheap compared to the same weight of goldfish, and I think it is less fattening. I do fairly frequent water changes (once every 2 weeks, about 20%), and feed them other things. I plan to expand their variety.

Have any of you guys heard of oxygen boosters? I read an article years ago that did an experiemtn in which they measured the growth of fish (not p's, but it probably applies) in different oxygen environments. The normal tank was their base case. This had standard filtration (which back in those days was an out of tank cannister). I can't remember the oxygen levels, but let's call it x. Then they set up a super-saturator, which basically ensured that all of the water had as much oxygen as possible (completely saturated). This resulted, for the same type of fish, in a much improved growth rate (something like 20-50% larger just making sure the water was saturated). Then they went to the next level. They pressurized the tank to double (something like 30psi) ambient and increased the oxygen content (instead of 20% as we have it, they went for a higher level). The fish became very large, more than double their normal size. That would mean rbp's that could become 24" or more. Anyone know of any easier way to improve oxygen content withour pressure?

RL


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## Red Bellied Bad Ass (May 25, 2003)

4-5 inches in 3 months is incredible so keep doing what your doing. I don't think food is as important as water quality and comfort level. My largest red only eats a bite every other time I feed them and the smallest one eats like a hog at every opportunity so food does not always = growth.

Be careful with the live food, I use as little as possible and always quarantine, ich on piranhas is easy to treat with salt when you get an outbreak, but it is still a lot of work doing large water changes and puts stress on your fish.

As far as adding Oxygen you can take your water level down a little so there is a little more waterfall effect from the filter output. You can also add a powerhead with the air hose intake. Those fill the whole tank with bubbles and make the fish exercise also. Both of those ideas add alot of noise however.


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## tinyteeth (Mar 12, 2003)

this old guy experimented with foods and Ps

he didnt say much about growth, but to get excellent flourescent reddish coloring, feed them what they would eat in the wild. not meat, but fruits, seeds, and nuts.

my opinion, beefheart made my reds explode, but probally obese.


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Everything...i mean, a varied diet...







!


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