[Harbrook]

About 3 months ago, i bought a group of 5 yellow labs... they all looked good, and i did my best to buy 4 females and 1 male.
4 of them are doing really well, eating, growing, active fish. But one of them hasn't grown a bit... it looks really small and thin, where as the others have nearly doubled in size... The small one never shows and enthusiasm to eat, and i never see her go for the food i put in, and i have tried a lot of different approaches..
There is no obvious signs of agression to the fish and it is left to its own devices most of the time.
about 1 and a half months ago, i treated it for internal bacteria infections etc. but this hasn't
seem to help.

please can you help more then the medicine did?

thanks

Darren,

 

[MalawiLover]

It may be that this little one is just not going to thrive. If the roll of the genetic dice left this one short, there is nothing really that can be done.

I have a young male jalo reef that was the same way. He always lagged behind his siblings and at about 1.5 inches seemed to stop growing. I ended up moving him to his own little tank and with increased water changes, more frequent feedings and a bit more protien in the diet. He eventually overcame his genetic shortcommings and finally caught up to the rest. However is was added to my all male tank as I don't consider his genes fit for breeding purposes (for the fry that leave my house)

 

[Laurel]

I had an acei that did that. 1 out of 4 just didn't grow and seemed to get bullied a lot. When he started doing poorly and developed a bulge on one of his sides, I pulled him out and put him in my hospital tank. He lasted 3 more days and then died.

I also have a maingano that's in a similar boat. I think she's the target of aggression from the 2 boys fighting it out for top spot, and hasn't grown much. Hopefully she makes it, as I'm pretty sure it's a girl, and I need all the females I need.

 

[Tula]

I would suggest what MalawiLover said. How big is the fish now? If you have some way to isolate him where you can specifically feed that fish and also do frequent smaller water changes, that's what I would do, like a 10gal tank (if he's small enough). You may see a change and you may not. Also, make sure to use a good quality food like NLS or Danichi, both make smaller sizes so your little guy should be able to eat it. Good Luck.

 

[Harbrook]

the yellow lab in question is just over an inch.....
i have a 14 gallon tank with 8 half inch demasoni in at the moment.. would it be better if the lab was in there?

 

[Tula]

Hmmm....In my fry tank i have a mix of Labs and Demasoni that size and they do okay-BUT I have more than one Lab and they probably helps them to feel comfortable. I think if you put your one lab in there, even though the Dems are small he may still be skittish.

When do you plan on moving the Dems? Maybe after you move them you could use the tank for the Labs.

Or maybe you could even try putting the Lab in a breeding net for a short while, just to see if he eats if he's the only one around. If a regular breeding net is too small, I've heard of people making their own out of legos and stockings.