Myth About Fish

[aglayo2006]

hello again:

thanks for your help in the last topic. Now i have a question about a myth when i went today to buy supplies in my pet store. the sale associate say to a costumer that how the fish grow depends in how large is the tank. this myth is true for all fish or not. thanks for you help again.

 

[Griz]

Half truth.

A fish may eventually be stunted by living in a tank that is too small but there will be consequences for it's health.

 

[MasterP]

they will be stunted and their scales and outside skin will stop growing while their organs will continue to grow and then the fish will die.

 

[redi]

they will be stunted and their scales and outside skin will stop growing while their organs will continue to grow and then the fish will die.

r u serious?? i hav a fish with clamped fins check out my post about it

 

[Teelie]

For most fish, it's true. A few fish, most notably some catfish species, can temporarily stunt their growth with no ill-effects but they eventually will die as well. Basically no matter what, a tank too small for the fish will cause stunting and death. If you plan to get large fish, plan ahead and be ready to house them in larger tanks as they grow or else just buy the larger tank now and save yourself the time of constant tank upgrades. Or just don't buy the larger fish.

 

[dwarfgourami]

There is no clear evidence that the organs will actually continue growing in a stunted fish. But the things that have been proved to happen are quite bad enough:

stunted growth (think children in Roumanian orphanages)

shortened lifespan

aggression
or
excessive timidity

susceptibility to infections

general stress behaviour (like moving incessantly up and down one corner- or refusing to budge at all, lack of interest in feeding)

inability to display normal reproduction behaviour

It seems to vary from species to species, even from individual to individual, which of these effects are going to dominate- some fish end up stunted in growth, others just die.

 

[Parin]

There is no clear evidence that the organs will actually continue growing in a stunted fish. But the things that have been proved to happen are quite bad enough:

stunted growth (think children in Roumanian orphanages)

shortened lifespan

aggression
or
excessive timidity

susceptibility to infections

general stress behaviour (like moving incessantly up and down one corner- or refusing to budge at all, lack of interest in feeding)

inability to display normal reproduction behaviour

It seems to vary from species to species, even from individual to individual, which of these effects are going to dominate- some fish end up stunted in growth, others just die.

Nothing more to add to that.


That salesman should be fired. Giving such advise is terrible and not at all fish-friendly.

 

[jarmado]

the lfs guy might be partly correct.
the growth of the fish depends on the size of the tank.
if the tank is too small, the fish will no longer grow at certain point in its life because it will simply die.

 

[Irf]

I was worried about this at the weekend when I bought my 3 clown loaches. However the LFS guy said not to worry, and that as soon as they got big he would take them back and sort out some sort of deal for me. I'd guess he will sell them on to someone with a bigger tank.

Irf.

 

[Teelie]

A 50 gallon will hold Clowns for a few years but they will eventually out grow that. Faster with more fish in there besides them. I've seen people sticking Oscars in 10 and 15 gallon tanks before. Now that is tragic.