# My krib won't grow!



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

I bought a 1.5" female krib in November. It's March now, and she's only 1.75"!! Why isn't she growing?? It's been 4 months. Is this a normal growth rate? Nitrates are always under 20ppm. Oh, she HATES flake food. I fed her tetramin pro crisps for 3 weeks without giving her anything else, and she never gave into them. She gets blood worms every other day, and grazes on algae and who knows what else in between.

What else can I feed her that's good for her, and how do I get her to GROW!?

Thanks!


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

idk much about cribs but some fish do grow slower than others so it might not be your fault...i do know that the more water changes the quicker fish tend to grow...in my experiences n e wayz


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## aquaticclarity (Nov 8, 2006)

Warer changes will help. Small amounts often make the biggest difference-20% weekly would be a good start.

Also, she needs more "roughage" in her diet. Bloodworms as the main diet for a krib is just to much of a high protein diet. Kribs are more of a detritus eater, the stuff that muck and mulm are made of, which has a lot of vegtable matter in it. You need to ween her off the all steak diet and get some salad into her as often as possible.

Fish being fed the wrong foods for their body will not grow very fast.

Jeff


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

You know, I was just wondering that same thing.
Can they eat straight veggies? If so, what type?


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Oh, I forgot... I do feed her zucchini, and she LOVES it! Can you be more specific about "salad"? What exactly can I feed her?

I do 30% water changes twice per week.


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## aquaticclarity (Nov 8, 2006)

I feed my Pelvicachromis (wild and tank raised and all the species) O.S.I. tropical flake and baby brine shrimp. Even the adults go after the bbs. I do feed live black worms a few times a week to any of the adult fish I hope will spawn, but this is a VERY small part of their diet. If you need to feed a heavy dose of plant matter to help balance the diet out try a spirulina flake food.

Jeff


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Great, thanks  I'll pick up some spirulina flakes next week. I'll feed her extra veggies in the meantime. How much should she be growing per month, and what is her full size supposed to be?


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## aquaticclarity (Nov 8, 2006)

Hard to say for a growth rate per month-probably small enough that you would,'t really notice unless she is a young fish.

Depending on the genetics behind the fish top size should be somewhere between 2 1/2" and 4" total length.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Aren't there any veggies out there that they can eat? (e.g. lettuce)  
If not, I'll get the spurilina flakes too.


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## aquaticclarity (Nov 8, 2006)

Pevicachromis really don't have the mouth or tooth structure to eat higher plant forms (aquatic or veggie garden). In the wild they munch on the debre that covers the rocks, wood, and the like so what ever you feed them needs to be on the softer side.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

How about boiled lettuce? That's REALLY soft!


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## aquaticclarity (Nov 8, 2006)

Manoah Marton said:


> How about boiled lettuce? That's REALLY soft!


And about a zero on the nutrition scale.

If you are looking for an "on hand" food try green peas. Just mash up canned or better yet frozen ones and try that. Most of the "fresh" veggie foods will end up making a mess in the tank though and require a lot of upkeep on your part to keep the tank clean and healthy.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

I'll try that.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

out goes the zucchini then.... and the peas, too. My Red Severum beats her to them! Definitely the spirulina flakes then. Though, I'm still skeptical. She spits out regular Tetra flakes, so I don't know why the spirulina would be any different. I'll find out soon!

Thanks for taking the time to answer


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## aquaticclarity (Nov 8, 2006)

Try different brands of food if she is a picky eater. You may have to starve her out for a few days though-just feeding her the flake food until she eats it. Also, stick with one type of food for at least a week before you give up on it.

I've found my fish, newly imported wild Pelvicachomis incluided, readily eat the O.S.I. foods. Even some of my "non picky" eaters have certain foods like New Life Spectrum Pelllets that have taken them a while to accept.

Jeff


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Should the peas and other veggies be fed raw or cooked?


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## aquaticclarity (Nov 8, 2006)

Go with raw and just rinsed. Cooking veggies destroys much of the nutritional value.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

I'm going to give thawed frozen spinch a go.


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