Why are my fish so small???

[invid]

I have a custom made 17 Gallon tank and a 10 gallon tank that confuse me to no end. I inherited the 10 gallon from a friend and it is doing fantastic, but the 17 Gallon is confusing me. The fish in the 10 Gallon seem to be growing at a break-neck pace, while the growth in my 17 Gallon is stunted for some reason.

The two fish that are common between both tanks are one feather finned catfish in each and one pleco in each. The pleco in my 17 gallon was about 7 inches when I put him in five months ago, and he still is. The feather finned cat was about 1 inch when I put him in 5 months ago, and is about 2 inches long now. On the other hand, the pleco in the 10 gallon was about 3 inches when he was put in 5 months ago and is now 7 inches long. The feather finned cat in the 10 gallon was about 1 inch when he went in 4 months ago, and is now close to 4 inches long.

Both tanks are healthy and I give the same diet to each set of fish, so why are the fish in the 10 gallon growing so much faster than the fish in the 17 gallon? The only difference between the two is that the 17 gallon has better filtration and the fish in it are all nocturnal (mostly catfish), so It's in a less well lit area. The fish in the 10 gallon are mostly diurnal, like guppies and tetras, so they go closer to the window. The friend who gave me the 10 gallon tank, had the same thing happen to him... Any fish he put in there grew like crazy, while his other tank (a 15-H) had fish that just stagnated. What could cause this?

My other question is on the cleanliness between the two tanks. The 10 gallon seems to have crystal clear water no-matter what, while the 17 gallon seems to be more murky. I have enough filtration on the 17 gallon for 30 gallons and the 10 gallon is slightly under-filtered. Is this because I have mostly cats in the 17 gallon? I know that they are messier eaters than top-feeders like guppies and tetras.

 

[clunkster]

it would help if you listed how many fish in each tank as you could be overstocked which will impead groth. as for the 17 gal being murky it could be down to your catfish if they are rooting around & disturbing your substrate

 

[invid]

OK... In the 10 gallon:
1 Feather Finned cat (4 in.)
1 Pleco (7 in.)
2 guppies
1 Hockey-stick Tetra
1 Red-Eye Tetra
1 Painted Glass-fish
1 Neon Tetra
1 Betta
1 Glass Catfish (2.5 in.)
11 Ghost Shrimp
(Enough fish for 30 gallons)


In the 17 gallon:
1 Feather-Finned cat (2 in.)
1 Pleco (7 in.)
1 Iridescent Shark (3 in.)
1 Silver-Tip shark (3 in.)
1 Bala Shark (2.5 in.)
1 Moonlight Gourami (2 in.)
1 Scissor-Tail Rhasbora (1.5 in.)
6 Ghost Shrimp
(Enough fish for 30 gallons)

As you can see... Both tanks are slightly over-stocked... I'm working on having my 60 gallon set up soon to ease the pressure. It does look like the 17 gallon is less overstocked than the 10 gallon though. Any other ideas?

 

[OohFeeshy]

Slightly overstocked? I think thats a bit of an understatement. First of all, you have one of each tetra. They are schooling fish so need about 5 more companions of the same species. The betta isn't a good community fish at all. The bala shark is schooling. A lot of the fish are going to exceed 12 inches, including the pleco (if its common or likewise) and the bala shark. The 60 gallon won't be enough, especially for the larger fish.

 

[WILDER]

I agree massively overstocked.

 

[gadazobe]

I don't quite know where to start here. Your fish aren't growing because they haven't got the room to grow. You seem to know that you're overstocked by your remarks. For the sake of your fish's health, prune down the stocking level of your tanks. For starters, plecs, featherfins and sharks are not suitable for the size tank you have (either of them) and need to be rehoused. Get your 60 gallon up and running asap and sort out the stock.

 

[invid]

My 60 Gallon will be up and running this weekend... It's just finishing cycling. The large fish are going in there. The two feather fins will go in the 17 gallon with a couple of other small (3") fish. I'm getting another bala. And as for the tetras... Those are in my brother's care, and he doesn't let me do anything but maintain them... He'll be gone in October, so I get to take over then and do it right... I'm also building a stand for a 150 gallon I was given, So I'll have plenty of room by the end of August. My main problem is that I have inherited these tanks (all but the 17 gallon) from friends who didn't know crap... Now I have to spend all this money and time to fix the problems. If you think I don't know fish too well, you should see my friends.