cherrybarbboi

hi, lately i am learing more and more about the effects of the nitrogen cycle on fish. my LFS(petco) told me nothing about a fishless cycle when i first started fish keeping and this caused me to put 2 cherry barbs through the cycle one of which died from a parasite and the other is still alive today. my question is that would it be possible for the nitrogen cycle to stunt a cherry barbs growth because he grew for a while but then in the past 4 months he just hasnt grown anymore while my cherry barb that dieds replacment who didnt go through the cycle is getting bigger. any replys would be great with me. : )

capekate

Its very possible that subjecting your fish to a cycle can stunt its growth. It is using all its energy to combat the conditions of an uncyled tank and stress can affect its immune system as well. Its also possible that your second cherry barb was from a different batch that had good nutrition before coming to you, plus it stayed healthy due to being in a cycled tank.
Have you noticed any problems with the smaller barb getting its food? Is the bigger one getting it all and keeping the other one from getting enough?
This can be a problem as well.
But to answer the question, yes... it is very possible that the conditions caused it to be stunted in its growth.

jclee

How drastic is the size difference? Females, especially when gravid, can look a little bit bigger (and a lot plumper) than males. If the big one is more of a tannish color, and the little one has the trademark, deep red coloration, then that might be all that it is. Of course, this is not a very marked size difference, so if we're talking one fish that's twice as long as the other, then that doesn't explain it.

cherrybarbboi

hey again, to answer that last question i have 2 males (both the deep red color) and the bigger one is about 2 inches and younger than the smaller one who id say is maybe a little less than 1 and a half inches

Jaysee

There is also the stress of keeping schooling fish in insufficient numbers. 6 fish are a minimum for just about any schooling fish.

cherrybarbboi

i feel like i should disagree here. they are much better in bigger schools but i know that they enjoy one anothers company as i see them together a lot but also keep in mind cherry barbs do not keep tight schools so they will go off alone sometimes into there "territorys". i do not think it is stress that is causing this stunt in growth. also, i see no signs of stress in him which makes me ppositive it is not this

Lucy

I'm going to agree with Kate. Unfortunatly if fish survive the cycle it can leave lasting effects. They can be more prone to illness for the rest of their lives and may not thrive as well as fish that weren't put through that stress.
As Kate said, if they were from different batches you never know how they were captured, handled and treated before you got him.

What counts now is that you've learned about the effects of cycling with fish and are doing the best you can for them.

cherrybarbboi

thanks for the help with the thread lucy : ) im gonna go to bed because i have a day of fun (vacation) tomorrow bye

gmen4life

hmm well i learned the hard way also with daily pwc through the cycle

Lucy

Have a wonderful time, I hope you're taking pics to share with us when you get home.

Jaysee

Regardless of how tightly a fish schools, a school is 6+ and they need those numbers to be comfortable. No doubt they like each others company, and it's better than keeping just one.

Stunted growth = stress

You're probably right; it's more likely that cycling did it.