Fish Size

[joshua]

I often hear those LFS people telling me that the fish wouldn't grow too big if my tank wasn't too big... as in... if i put them in a small tank, they don't grow so fast or reach their max length easily. just wondering if this was true. doesn't sound too logical to me tho

 

[platypus]

Yes it is true that if you put a fish in a cramped environment it is likely to stunt its growth. However it will still be too big for the tank! So if they are saying it to try to persuade you to buy a certain type of fish then treat with caution!

I think on a general note a lot of tropical fish never reach the sizes that they do in their own habitat when they are kept in tanks. Clown loaches for example can get well over a foot in length in their natural environment, but in tanks they rarely exceed 8".

 

[CFC]

By keeping fish in tanks that are too small you will stunt the fishes growth so to a extent it is true, however stunted fish never live to their full potential lifespan and are usually plagued with diseases and sometimes deformities like clamped fins and bent tails which hamper the fish in its day to day life.

 

[guppymonkey]

By keeping fish in tanks that are too small you will stunt the fishes growth so to a extent it is true, however stunted fish never live to their full potential lifespan and are usually plagued with diseases and sometimes deformities like clamped fins and bent tails which hamper the fish in its day to day life.

I was going to say that! Anyways, its very cruel to put a large fish in a small tank and stunt its growth.

 

[Geordie]

i think most fish give off growth suppressant hormones into the tank, which stunts their growth

 

[Alien Anna]

i think most fish give off growth suppressant hormones into the tank, which stunts their growth

That's a total myth. Or at least I've studied biochemistry and I never heard about a growth suppressant hormone (in any creature, let alone fish). Could be wrong but the guy I met recently with two 14" oscars in a 3 ft tank would suggest that that theory is wrong.

Mind you, if you cram a human being into a small space and give them a poor diet and poor air quality, the human tends not to grow either. So maybe we have that hormone too

Good food and good water allow a fish to grow, so if you want a fish to stay stunted just give it poor food and poor water quality - but I'm sure you wouldn't want to do that.

P.S. My sister's just realised, with horror, that her shabukin's have grown approximately 1/2 inch per month in the last few months and she doesn't want to buy a large tank. She had believed the LFS guy who told her they grow according to the size of the tank (she has an 11 gallon). She plans to keep them a while and then trade them in for some minnows or platties when they out-grow their current home.

 

[cheirodon]

25 years ago, I caught a strange looking cyclid, that lived in my 20 gal tank for over a year. It was about an inch long, and very aggresive. Finally I decided to "outcast" him in a small pond nearby, where other fish where, because it kept on harrassing my guppys.
A year later, it came my turn to clean the pond, and when I took the fish, plants, and water out, I found my friend, grown to about 10 inches, more beautiful than ever, but still very aggresive. It was a really intimidating fish
Needless to say, I had to bucket him, and take it back to it's home river, 3 hours away, because it was probably happily feeding on the rest of the pond population
I guess the better food (or the space) did the trick!

 

[Squimps]

25 years ago, I caught a strange looking cyclid, that lived in my 20 gal tank for over a year.

Did you ever find out what this guy was? I'm really curious.

 

[cheirodon]

Locally, and in spanish, I think it's called "guabina", but that doesn't help much.
Tell you what though, I'm planning my first tank-fish fishing trip with my kids for mid october, when i get my bigger tank, and I'm going back to the same river where I caught that guy, so I'll try to catch one and take some pics. Then we can figure out just what it was/is

 

[Gill]

Hi there

Just on the same note - I was in my local garden centre the other day and walked past one of the fishy guys giving a mother advise on getting a new tank - she liked one gold fish that should have gone into a pond rather than the tank she was buying

but the guy reasurred her by saying "it will be fine - you find that if a fish is too big for its surroundings it will shrink to fit" LOL

just goes to show you should not trust everything the so called experts say!

(and yes i did collar her later before she bought everything to point out that fish don't shrink - unless they are dead and decomposing - which is what might have happended to that fish in her case)

incidentilly - if anyone out there find i am wrong about the shrinking fish think - please do not hesitate to correct me

 

[cheirodon]

The only fish that shrink are the ones that jump out of the tank!
And puffers, when they de-puff

It's really sad to see what these guys will do for a sale.

 

[Fishy Jon]

It's all about the environment. If you have a 55 gallon tank with 1 oscar fish the oscar fish will be huge. If you have a 29 gallon tank with 3 oscars they won't grow as fast or as big.

 

[Alien Anna]

It's all about the environment. If you have a 55 gallon tank with 1 oscar fish the oscar fish will be huge. If you have a 29 gallon tank with 3 oscars they won't grow as fast or as big.

3 oscars in a 29 gallon? That would be OK for about 10 minutes in my estimation. Are they supposed to swim in an orderly queue or something?

 

[Lithril]

3 oscars in a 29 gallon? That would be OK for about 10 minutes in my estimation. Are they supposed to swim in an orderly queue or something?

LOL, if they queue anything like a lot of people over here its no wonder they don't get on well with others.

Years ago we had 6 Tiger Oscars in a 6' foot tank with 2 plecs (ok ok I know the mistake now) we ended up with 2 Oscars at 12" long and 1 pleco that was 15" long.