Growing Fish...

[Becca]

Ok. Final answers, people! I'm getting confused and side-tracked!

I've seen it in writing (other forums, communities, etc) and heard it verbally (friends who have had fish their entire lives, stores, etc) that your fish will ONLY grow as big as their tank is. I've also heard from other sources that this is untrue, that fish will grow to their full size and you must ensure that you have a suitable home for them when they reach their maximum size.

My question is this:

1) If fish do grow to their estimated adult length, at what point do you know it's time to move the fish from their current home to a bigger one, if necessary?

2) Again, if fish do grow to their adult length - if I keep a fish that will get to be, say, 12" in a 30 gallon aquarium, will his growth be stunted? For example, will he not be able to reach adult size because of his surroundings?

Sorry for the silly questions... I'm getting conflicting information and it would really help if someone could explain to me how fish grow.

 

[Teelie]

It's complete bull they grow to the size of their tank. Yes they appear to but that's called stunting and shortens the lifespan of the fish greatly and opens it to disease. It's always best to get an aquarium large enough to support the average adult size of the fish. Some fish can shorten their growth rate but these are mostly coldwater fish and only a temporary measure at best.

This is up there with the urban myth a gold fish can live in a bowl. Goldfish need a 20 gallon minimum tank.

 

[Becca]

LOL - My husband and I are house shopping and we saw a gorgeous house that we fell in love with. Anyway, that's besides the point. In the back yard, the lady of the house put in a beautiful Goldfish pond. It's awesome. Looking at how big those suckers got makes me really question those goldfish bowls I see at the FS and PS.

As for the growth rate - thanks for clearing that up. (Of course, if anyone else wants to add to this post - go for it. More info the better!) I was always curious why I'd get two stories - 1 being "Your fish will grow to the size of your tank" and 2 being "You must buy the proper size tank for your fish."

If I read your post right, then I'm assuming what happens if if you have a tank smaller than what is needed for the adult size of your fish, he/she won't grow to be their full size, which leaves them open to sickness, and possibly losing them prematurely.

Obviously my little Knife will still need a good home...I'm finding it hard to part with the little guy. But yeah...I can get some more mollies and bottom pieces to add to the tank!

 

[vantgE]

I didn't feel you said it harsh enough so i'll say this do not buy a fish in which you are incapable of houseing, your fish will die if the tank is not large enough and live a very uncomfortable and short life only buy fish that will fit in your tank at their adult life, if someone stuck you in a glass box you'd eventually stop growing too

 

[Teelie]

What happens is their extrenal body stops growing while the internal organs keep growing, making for a fish whose literally got a skin too small for it's body.

I understand how it is to part with a fish. I've had to part with 2 Comet Goldfish, a Fantail and the worst of all, my Albino Channel Cat named Banana when he began outgrowing his 30 gallon. He went into a pond at my LFS but some added Goldfish killed him and the other Albino that was in there.

 

[Opcn]

Goldfish can be mean but more importantly they can live to be 30 years old and in a bowl they only live to be two.


Opcn

 

[wrs]

a girl at one of my lfs said that there are certain small speicies ofd a bigger one, they have the potential 2 get the size, but thats only if u feed them alot. i dont know if thats true though.

 

[luxum]

Goldfish have got to be the most consistently abused animal in the freshwater fish trade. The myth about fish only growing to the size of the container is just that, a myth. As others said, stunting does occur, and the fish can live this way for a while, but the lifespan is greatly reduced. Don't buy a fish if you can't accomodate it's maximum adult size in your tank. Don't tell yourself that you'll get a bigger tank for it when it outgrows yours, because all too often when that time rolls around you may not be able to afford a new tank, or have room for one, or the fish may already be stunted (deformed, especially internally) and may never recover.

 

[Becca]

I agree with you, luxum. Unfortunately, I seriously did *not* know any better when I bought the fish. Newbie mistakes...everyone makes them, it's just how you deal with them that define how well you'll do with your tank. I like to think I'm doing well. I'm learnign from my mistakes, not making them again and trying to fix what has gone wrong in the past.

I've already done quite a bit to fix my community tank! I've bought additional fish to create schools of the shoaling fish I had. (Before, I had pretty much just a single of every kind of fish - I'm working to have between 5-6 of each fish.) Still have a ways to go, but I'm making progress.

As for the misplaced fish, well, I've found a store that will take my knife - and give me credit for more fish. The Fantails I'll be removing in a few weeks. I'll either donate them to a friend who has a goldfish only tank for her daughter or setup a small tank for my sister.

 

[ddm18]

I understand what people are saying about stunting, but what about when you have, say, three fish, but one is dominant and so grows much bigger than the others (as I've had happen with 2 different species of fish, at least). Is that a more natural process or is it the same thing?

For example, I have 3 bronze cories 2 of which are about 1" in length and the other is about 1 3/4" and really fat. Does this mean that the smaller 2 are stunted, or that the bigger one is just a pig?

Dave

 

[smithrc]

For example, I have 3 bronze cories 2 of which are about 1" in length and the other is about 1 3/4" and really fat. Does this mean that the smaller 2 are stunted, or that the bigger one is just a pig?

no - it probubly means you've got a female and 2 males

 

[luxum]

For example, I have 3 bronze cories 2 of which are about 1" in length and the other is about 1 3/4" and really fat. Does this mean that the smaller 2 are stunted, or that the bigger one is just a pig?

Probably the bigger one is a female if i'm remembering right.

Becca, you're right that everyone makes mistakes at first, i hope it didn't sound like i was berating you. Keep in mind that regarding the goldfish, they are ~extremely~ messy fish, and they need a lot of water volume per fish to dilute their waste. Some people recommend at least 10 gallons per fish, but in my experience that won't work once the fish get any size on them, i had 2 fancy goldfish in 20 long and despite daily waterchanges, the nitrate was completely out of control. After reading up on them and eventually losing mine to dropsy (which i am convinced was a direct result of the high nitrates) i decided that goldfish were out of the question for me unless i could provide 30 gallons per fish. Some people will consider that overkill, but that's my opinion neverthless. So when considering finding a home for your fantails, really consider the stocking levels in the tank. Goldfish have a very long natural life span, in crowded conditions they will only live to a fraction of it.

 

[ddm18]

no - it probubly means you've got a female and 2 males

D'oh! Of course that's the reason. Some time ago I decided in my own little mind that all three were male, but I've just had a look at thetropicaltank.co.uk who seem to have pretty good advice and they agree with you!

Don't know what I was thinking!

Thanks
Dave

 

[Becca]

luxum - don't worry. I didn't take offense. You know, what I need to do is just take all the fish out of my tank, save for the mollies, pleco, tetras and danios and just run them up to a LFS and say "Ok, here's some fish!"

Serioiusly, I know all of those are good for what I'm trying to do. I almost wish I could just start over with an empty tank and pick and choose what I want from the beginning. Oh well, I'll fix what Ihave and know better for my next tank!

 

[Teelie]

Eventually that Common Pleco will need a 50ish gallon aquarium. They grow to 14" or so.