BN Pleco Fry Growth Rate

[abcdefghi]

Is there any way I can increase the growth rate of my BN pleco fry? they are probably getting on for a month old now, and still barely half an inch. I could probably feed them more often, but am already feeding zuccini, algae wafers and they have plenty of algae in the tank to eat.

Do they typically grow this slowly? I have a survivor from the first batch of fry, who is at least 3 months old and is only about 1.5". I am not sure if it makes a difference, but these are possibly L279. Unfortunately I have no verification though, and can find very little info online (even at planetcatfish).

Thanks.

 

[stephcps]

They grow incredibly slow in my experience.

 

[BettaFishMommy]

plecos are slow growers. sounds like you are feeding as much as possible already.

 

[GEV83]

Yeah BN's grow slow. Dont worry though at some point they will have a short growth spurt. Mine are still tiny and there well over a month old. Patience is required when dealing with pleco's when it comes to them growing. Only the big "common" pleco's grow at a fast rate which is like 1" max per month.

 

[ESOXLUCIOUSS]

lots of fresh greens daily
some quality flake and then onto some crushed pellet... but still feed greens and some bogwood in there too

 

[Rjb3]

I feed my BN fry Captain Bob's fish food and a carrot now and then. They grow like crazy.

 

[SubRosa]

I'm surprised nobody told you the best way to make any fish grow faster. Change more water more often. Waste buildup is normally the limiting factor on growth as most people feed their fish more than they really need.

 

[GEV83]

Oh I never stopped to think about that SubRosa. Very good point though bro. The larger the WC's the faster and larger they can grow. =-)

 

[jetajockey]

i have 4 bn's in my planted tank and they are growing pretty slowly as well.

 

[nc0gnet0]

I'm surprised nobody told you the best way to make any fish grow faster. Change more water more often. Waste buildup is normally the limiting factor on growth as most people feed their fish more than they really need.

Don't underestate or dismis this either. I had awhile back a spawn of about 60 Albino longfin BN's. I placed several of them in a couple of my discus tanks, which recieve daily 50% water changes. The rest I left in my 75 gallon which reiceves a 50% water change once a week. Needless to say, the pleco's in the discus tank are growing at a rate twice that of there not so fortunate brethen.