The fish in the store, compared to pictures online and in my tank.

[Knight~Ryder]

When I look at the fish in my tank and some online, I notice that they seem so much smaller then when I go to BIG AL'S here in my city.

I have seen some huge Blackskirts, Rummy nose and Cardinals. They look super healthy, colours are amazing and they look so big compared to many fish I see.

Now it is a community tank that they are in when I see them, but what makes them so big?

-Is it the size of the tank?
-Do they get bigger after a certain amount of years?
-Do real plants help?

I have been doing this 8 months now, but I really want to make my fish shine and be super healthy!

Any tips will do.

[trashion]

Waterchanges are key. If you only do water changes once in a while, your fish will start to stunt, so keep up the weekly schedule!

[BV77]

I agree with Julie. Regular partial water changes is the single most thing you can do for healthy fish. I've been doing 25% changes weekly in all my tanks for 9 years now and can't remember the last time I had a sick fish, or one die prematurely.

[Knight~Ryder]

Well all my fish seem to be doing well except 3 Rummy nose which I purchased a month after I got my original ones. The 3 original ones are holding up much better then the newer ones.

The newer ones are more frail and have turned to be skin and bones. I think it may be because they are the ones not going to the top for food so they are getting skinnier and weaker.

[Blue Cray]

The Big al's in edmonton uses anti-biotics eeven if the fish arent sick they always have them on meds and so they have really crappy imune systems thats why fish from big als in edmonton dont last to long unless you really know what you are doing.

[Knight~Ryder]

Originally Posted by Blue Cray

The Big al's in edmonton uses anti-biotics eeven if the fish arent sick they always have them on meds and so they have really crappy imune systems thats why fish from big als in edmonton dont last to long unless you really know what you are doing.

That is HUGE information! No wonder these fish look like skin and bones...the ones I got from big als anyhow. I really hope they pull through. It's a shame to see them like this.

I should go elsewhere to get my fish I'm assuming.

[COM]

Originally Posted by Blue Cray

The Big al's in edmonton uses anti-biotics eeven if the fish arent sick

How do you know that for certain?

A lot of stores do that, it's true. But most modern stores don't, from what I'm told.

Even so, the types of antibiotics that are available to people in the fish business (consumers, wholesalers, or retailers) are very mild, low-grade, common stuff like erythromycin. Erythromycin has a half life of less than 2 hours. That means that even if the fish from Big Al's were pumped full of medication, in a few days it would have cleared their system. Nothing too serious.

Hey Knight, don't you have some pretty wild pH going on? I seem to remember you posting something about high range pHs, maybe? That could be the issue with your rummynose tetras. They like softer, semi-acidic water and sometimes can be a bit sensitive.

[lohachata]

your fish need some Plecocaine.that will fatten them up..

actually...if you have PH issues and they run on the high side;it could very well be affecting your fish.but it would affect all of them;not just the new ones.except.........it may take a little time for the new ones to get used to your water..
have you tried using a peat filter??that will help to soften and acidify your water.

[Blue Cray]

Originally Posted by COM

How do you know that for certain?

A lot of stores do that, it's true. But most modern stores don't, from what I'm told.

Even so, the types of antibiotics that are available to people in the fish business (consumers, wholesalers, or retailers) are very mild, low-grade, common stuff like erythromycin. Erythromycin has a half life of less than 2 hours. That means that even if the fish from Big Al's were pumped full of medication, in a few days it would have cleared their system. Nothing too serious.

Hey Knight, don't you have some pretty wild pH going on? I seem to remember you posting something about high range pHs, maybe? That could be the issue with your rummynose tetras. They like softer, semi-acidic water and sometimes can be a bit sensitive.

It sponsores the club i was in and I know a few poeple who worked there and still work there.

[emc7]

Hobby breeders vs. commercial (pond) breeder.

Hobby breeders keep parents and sell fry, they hand select the best-looking, biggest fry for their next generation breeders. Repeat.

Commercial breeders throw nice fish in ponds, feed well and wait. Then seine the pond and sell the biggest fish. Repeat.

Over several generations the hobbyist selects for bigger fish while the pond selects for smaller, slower growing fish. (they are the one that stay in the pond because they were too small to sell).

You will almost always find bigger, better colored fish from an aquarium association (esp. a specialty group that has shows) than from a pet store. You might pay twice as much, but the fish will likely be healthier (having not traveled around the world with 10000 other travelers) and already adapted to your local water.

Good commercial breeders know this and refresh their "root" stock periodically with hobby strains. But its an additional cost to them.

[emc7]

As for the pics. Fish look different every hour of every day. Naturally, only the best pics of the best fish on the best hour of the best day go up.

[emc7]

What you want to see is your fish growing and looking better than they did yesterday. Waterchanges, large tanks, appropriate decor,etc. Do what you can to make them happy and if they like what you do they will look better.

[Knight~Ryder]

Originally Posted by lohachata

your fish need some Plecocaine.that will fatten them up..

actually...if you have PH issues and they run on the high side;it could very well be affecting your fish.but it would affect all of them;not just the new ones.except.........it may take a little time for the new ones to get used to your water..
have you tried using a peat filter??that will help to soften and acidify your water.

Yeah COM, my PH is out of this world. It sits between 8.0 and 8.2 most of the time.

No, I have not tried a peat filter yet, is this going to complicate things more?

I read this:
If it is too high, then I would recommend you use different water. Try using RO (reverse osmosis) water. You can buy it by the gallon at any grocery store for under a dollar. RO water uses special filtration to remove hard water elements (calcium, magnesium) from the water to make it very soft. Usually, RO water has a ph around 6.5 and hardness levels near 3 or 4 ppm. You wouldn't need much, just enough to soften the water a little bit. There are other methods too. Using peat moss in the filter also helps make water more acidic. Injecting CO2 in the water will help allot. Adding bog wood as a decoration also makes water more acidic. One thing you should check for is the decoration you are using. It is possible that your gravel has limestone in it. If so, this is probably the source of the hard water. If you are using rocks in the setup, check to make sure they are not limestone, granite or basalt. These rocks usually make water harder.

[lohachata]

a PH of 8.0-8.2 is not too terribly bad..using a peat filter will gently lower the PH and slowly soften the water..although it will not soften it a whole lot..it is certainly far better than trying to use a chemical PH buffer to lower it..it changes the PH too fast for my liking.it is not complicated at all..actually i think it is about the easiest way to do it.go to your garden center and get some "jiffy-7" peat pellets.
remove the plastic netting..place 3 or 4 of them into a piece of old pantyhose and tie each end.then place that in a hob filter and let it run.yes..after awhile it will stain the water to look like weak tea..just do the same thing with some activated carbon and it will remove the stain.
something about RO water..you must mix it with tap water.on it's own,RO water will not sustain aquatic life.i am not interested in paying a buck a gallon for water for my tanks.my name isn't bill gates.RO units are expensive..and on most all of the smaller units you run 3-5 gallons of water down the drain for every gallon of RO water you get.if i were trying to breed some really rare expensive little fish i "might" consider using it..pm me your address and i will send you a couple of samples of Plecocaine..