How does your cichlid grow

[mickey]

I purchased 2 red oscars 3 months ago, they measured 2 inches.
Introduced them to a 100 gallon tank where my 3 bala sharks and a 5 inch pleco resided, all the fish seem to get along fine, problem is that the oscars are growing at an alarming rate,they measure 5-6 inches already.
Is this the norm? how fast do these fish grow?are they the fastest growing fish around or is there somthing else out there that grows even faster. Scary thought.
Cheers.

 

[ChilDawg]

With silver bells, and cockle shells...sorry, I guess that I'm being quite contrary...

There are many faster-growing fish: larger knifefish, Dovii cichlids, nurse sharks, panther groupers, et cetera, et cetera, but oscars do grow pretty quickly, too. An inch a month is about the norm for young oscars, from what I can tell.

The growth rate is one reason to never buy a nurse shark. They get to be fourteen feet long and will grow rather quickly--I think they're two or three feet by the end of year one, but somebody should check me on that.

 

[Verse914]

yeah, Oscars grow VERY fast. Mine went from 1 1/2" to 8" in about 6 months time. After he hit 8", his growth has really slowed.

 

[demon_surfer]

i thought nurse sharks capped out at something like 6 feet??

or am i just going daffy

 

[ChilDawg]

That's actually what it said in AFM a few months ago.

 

[predatorcichlid]

I had a atlanic nurse shark (Ginglymostoma Cirratum). They grow pretty fast (about 1.5 feet to 2 feet a yaer) It is uncommon for a nurse shark to exceed 5 feet in standered length. A 8 footer would be huge. The largest I have ever herd of was about 14 feet, but this is very, very rare. Oscars can go from 2 to 12 inches in a year. a healthy male oscar should have no problem reaching a length of 14 inches in as little as 2 years.

 

[GEV83]

Yeah oscars grow fast that is why if you buy one you have to make sure you have the right size tank or have the money for another tank as soon as it needs it since they grow fast cant say youll have it in a 30gal for 6months then get another tank. But yeah your fish will keep growing fast until they hit around 8-9" then they wont grow as fast.