I have experienced with platies (and some other livebearers as well, but I see it the worst with platies) that they seem to give off some sort of growth-inhibiting substance that will build up in the water if there are not enough water changes being done. We got lazy with our tanks for a while and we started noticing that our baby platies had not changed size in months. They seemed healthy enough and even sexually mature, but stuck at half (or less) the size of an average adult.
That's probably why your platies tend not to grow very big. The idea of a self-sustainable aquarium is great in theory, but the fact is that the smaller a tank is, the harder it is to "maintain without maintenance", if you will. We hardly ever have to do water changes/gravel vacuuming in our 40 gallon (in relation to actual water quality) because its bigger size, live plants, and large number of bottom-feeding fish keep the tank cleaner than your average aquarium. We do have to prune down the plants quite often, though - especially the darn duckweed. ;-)
http://www.fishforums.com | Answer (Explanation) | 04-17-2012, 08:18 PM:
I am completely in agreement with all the points you have mentioned here. In fact, I have mentioned about the growth-inhibiting substance here (the very last paragraph).
The important focus of this method is "how to make smaller aquariums self-sustainable (to a great extent), in practice". I really appreciate your valuable feedback. You have a good day.
Regards,
AquariumsFishes
Additional Notes form the Author: It is absolutely possible to compose an aquarium that is self-sustainable to a great extent, even if the size of the Fishbowl | Fish Tank in question is not really big! I have successfully converted a 15-Liter Fishbowl into a DPM Type Natural Fishbowl and been enjoying the benefits of the transformation. I never realized that maintaining an aquarium could be this easy before I moved to this natural method! I have given it a try and life is good. Next >> << Previous
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