Re: Re:Slow growers (was: Aggie "Alenquer")

[BigJohnW@webtv.net (John Wubbolt)]

My experience has been about the same as Bob's.    My Cacatuoides color
up at 3 months such that I can easily tell males from females with a 90%
accuracy.   But they won't spawn until about 6 to 7 months.   This holds
pretty much for all of the others I keep.   If I take a pair of
Cacatuoides out of the grow out tank and put just a young male and
female into a 10 gallon by themselves, yes they grow quicker than the
rest in the grow out tank.   I do 30 % water changes every 2 weeks.
Any more then that and I upset the fish.   If you ( Dave) have fish
maturing at 4 months, God bless.   You must do massive water changes and
feed real heavy.  I use black worms, tetra bits, frozen and live brine
shrimp and flake foods as my apistos diet.  I feed once in the morning
and once in the early afternoon before I head to work.   
My fish also live to the 3 to 4 year age but reallly stop being good
spawners after 2 years.   They still spawn after that but its only every
3 or 4 months then.   By then the males are big lunkers at about 4
inches and just want to eat.  
John Wubbolt


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