He dosent seem to be growing

[Kat-Fresh]

are yall serious???
the tank is too small???
hes like 2in

ive never seen his crap before, (most likely the filter)

ill do the 20% water change


could the size be cuz of were i got him??

the creek isn't that polluted, (but theres never a completely clean creek in any neighborhood (its cleaned occasionally though)

[MatsP]

Unfortunately, it's not always easy to say in these situations - I'm asking some more questions, because I think it MAY help in the analyzis.

Which species of Bullhead is it?
What size is the fish?

What size tank is it in?
What else is in the tank?
What temperature is the tank?


What are the water conditions, particularly, what is the Nitrate (NO3), Nitrite(NO2) and Ammonia (NH3/NH4) levels of the tank? If you don't have your own tests, take a sample of tank-water to a local fish-shop and ask them to test the above three chemicals. Make sure you get "numbers", not just "good/bad" answers, as we can use those numbers to understand things about your setup.
How often do you change the water?

What are you feeding it, how often?
Is it eating the food?

--
Mats

[Kat-Fresh]

Which species of Bullhead is it?-------- Yellow
What size is the fish?------------- about 2in
What size tank is it in?--------- about a 4gal plastic container
What else is in the tank?----------- nothing
What temperature is the tank?----------- probably in the 70s
How often do you change the water?-------- ive never actually changed it, its been clear since it got it (with
filter)
What are you feeding it, how often?------------ fish flakes, every night (kind of a lot)
Is it eating the food? -------------- hes been alive since i got him on thanksgiving, and the
food is always about 90% gone

[racoll]

Hi Kat-Fresh.

Unfortunately a 4g container is no home for a fish of any kind, let alone a big one like a yellow bullhead (

Ameiurus natalis

).

If you want to keep him, you will need a proper aquarium, at first about 30g, and eventually about 60g as a minimum.

He isn't growing because the "tank" is way too small, unfiltered (?) and probably very polluted (as he is not eating all his food, and the water is not being changed).

I'm afraid your fish will die if kept in these conditions much longer. If you keep him properly, he will live over 10 years and be a great pet.

In the short term you should change half his water every day and remove any poo/uneaten food. You should try and get hold of a bigger tank with a filter very soon, and then he should start growing. Ebay is a good place to look, as people often give tanks away that are cluttering up the garage etc.

Also, don't feed as much food. It will kill him! He only needs a little snack twice a day.

If you are new to keeping fish, check out this article here.

Hope this helps

[MatsP]

Which species of Bullhead is it?-------- Yellow
What size is the fish?------------- about 2in
What size tank is it in?--------- about a 4gal plastic container
What else is in the tank?----------- nothing
What temperature is the tank?----------- probably in the 70s
How often do you change the water?-------- ive never actually changed it, its been clear since it got it (with
filter)
What are you feeding it, how often?------------ fish flakes, every night (kind of a lot)
Is it eating the food? -------------- hes been alive since i got him on thanksgiving, and the
food is always about 90% gone

You need something much bigger (at least 10g for now, but you will eventually need a much bigger tank, 100g+, assuming you want it to grow to full potential), and you need to do water-changes, about 30% of the volume of the tank each week.

The "dirt" you want to get rid of is not necessarily visible, as the biggest preventer of growth in fish is nitrate, which is formed from the ammonia that the fish releases (part of the fish version of urine). This will essentially reduce the fish's apetite, and you are lucky that the fish is still alive if you have had it for 6 weeks or so without any water changes in such a small tub.

--
Mats

[Bas Pels]

Agreeing with the above, I would like to point out that your fish will most likely have gotten used to his water. The obvious thing to do - gife it 100 % clean water, will most likely kill it.

As suggested, 50 % a day, for the next 2 weeks, will gife you fish the opportunity to adapt to good water again.

I do not think it will need food the first week

[Richard B]

all good information above.

people often say things like "the water is ok because it is clear", but then again so is bleach or hydrochloric acid & no-one would keep fish in that. remember that water is all around your fish like air is to us - if things smell bad we can move away but the fish is in a small container relying on the keeper to look after it as best he/she can

[Kat-Fresh]

i just decided, the best thing to do, was to put him in my backyard pond

where i already have 2 other bullheads (which i never see, but know they're there)