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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #903
Hello all,
Ross wrote about stunting plant and animal (fish) growth with the
purpose of keeping them small enough to fit in a small tank. I am not sure
about the affects of purposely stunting plant growth. However, I thought
that the old wive's tale about "Fish only grow as big as their tanks" had
been debunked years ago. To keep a fish in a tank that is too small is
nothing but cruelty. The fish's body will attempt to continue growing no
matter what size the tank is. The result is severe bone deformation and a
host of other health problems. This topic is discussed in any fish health
manual.
Ross' Neolamprologus leleupi is surely the product of countless
generations of less than ideal captive breeding. The fish is most likely
stunted because it did not receive enough food during its important growth
phases as a fry. The fact that the fish is living in water that would be
inhospitable to wild Tanganyikans is further proof that the parents (and
their parents etc.) were breed in less than ideal (i.e. a replication of
their natural waters) water conditions.
Buy fish that compliment your tank. Do not try to dwarf larger
species by starving them or placing them in tanks so polluted that they
can not grow. Do not try to play mother nature by "forcing" a species to
adapt or die to your water conditions. Do a little research before hand
and your fish (and plants) will reward you.
-Shane
I decided to stop drinking with creeps.
I decided to drink only with friends.
I've lost 30 pounds.
- Ernest Hemingway