pictus catfish

[Paul_MTS]

your like a kid asking why all the bloody time.

quite frankly I don't really give a toss about you but was trying to help your poor fish. although i could I can't be assed to explain stunted growth to you seeing as your just going to ignore it and carry on with your plan of torturing your fish.

there are plenty of reports out there to prove you wrong, i don't have any personal experience but I don't really plan to stunt any of my fish for my own "enjoyment" I'm sure in a years time you'll beable to write a very detailed report on stunted growth though.

 

[ger87410]

your like a kid asking why all the bloody time.

quite frankly I don't really give a toss about you but was trying to help your poor fish. although i could I can't be assed to explain stunted growth to you seeing as your just going to ignore it and carry on with your plan of torturing your fish.

there are plenty of reports out there to prove you wrong, i don't have any personal experience but I don't really plan to stunt any of my fish for my own "enjoyment" I'm sure in a years time you'll beable to write a very detailed report on stunted growth though.

Thank you for your reply, even if it didn't say anything. I wasn't "asking why all the time" I was asking why does having a 1" fish in a 10g (or a 3" in a 20g, or a 5" in a 55g), for example end up in stunted growth and you dodged the question. Your lack of a response is a response that you can't back up what you say. You say that what you believe happens from putting a 1" fish in a 10g ends up with stunted growth. Fine, I respect your beliefs but regard them as just that: beliefs. I've tested and found out that a 5" oscar in a 55g does not end up in stunted growth. Just sold mine when it got to 8". No stunted growth there. Great color. Got a pretty penny out of her, but that doesn't matter. What matters is I raised the fish in a 10g until he was 2~3". Then it was in a 20g until 4~5" and finally to a 55g until 8". All of this without stunting growth. All of this within the space of about a year and a half.

So go ahead and throw a 1" fish in a 10g until it gets to around 3". It will not stunt the growth. I've got experiments that show it.

I didn't see any studies about stunted growth let alone the specifics of the causes.

 

[ger87410]

Tortuc in his discussion with Ben Ravencraft and SofD sum up everything I've been saying:
Tortuc
oscars growth depend on what you feed them and the size of the aquarium. the larger the aquarium the faster they'll grow also the more you feed them the faster they'll grow. don't starve them trying to slow their growth because they will get large anyway the rate a which they get large is all that can be control. by them medium sized not babies alaos be careful because they always act like they're hungry they won't stop eatting so control how much you feed them
they are very intelligent fish
Torry

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SystemOfADown
I was thinking about just getting 3 babby Oscars that are only about 2-3 inches long for my 20 gal. long Cichlid tank. How long would it be before I would have to get them to a larger tank. I would feed them twice a day, once with Cichlid Pellets, then second with freeze dried blood worms until they got a little older.

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SystemOfADown
Any Help?
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Ben Ravencraft:
"3 baby Oscars will need more room really soon. The size of the surroudings will not affect the growth rate of any animal, even fish, thats all a myth. Growth rate is an inherent genetic code that wont be changed by anything. If anything a tank too small will be bad for a fish in the long run even if you think you're able to "get away with it for the time being". Think of a 55 gallon tank as the smallest size for a single oscar to be happy. Alot of people may try to argue with this, but if you plan on keeping three oscars get them young, and keep them in a really big tank. If I were you, Id try a single oscar to get some more experience. Buy it small with an equally small plex. You can start them off in a 20 gal for the time being, but expect to house them in a 55 gal in a year or so. Also make sure your filtration is good, because oscars are messy eaters. Ive successfully kept them, and they are a joy to have, just try making your first experience with them simple, dont jump into trying three because just one alone is challenging enough. But keep this in mind, each individual finds their own method is successful, try it for yourself (stick to the basics), and go from there. Let us know how it goes, they're one of my favorite fish, and unfortunatley they're also some of the most misunderstood fish."
Found here: http/forums.fishindex.com/archive/index.php/t-479.html

 

[Paul_MTS]

you never actually said you have done it before, i had you under the title of buys a big fish say they will get a big tank later and don't.

i never said you would stunt it in a 10g, i implied it wasn't suitable for a small fish with big waste.

if you are selling at 8inch then thats great.

there are plenty of studies out there about stunting etc alot came up in a topic a while back in chit chat, and i really can't be arsed to dig them up again, i know my "beliefs" are facts.

 

[Paul_MTS]

I agree with Ben's statement there apart from being able to leave in a 20gal for about a year, thats stupid they would start to feel the affect of that size tank within about 4 months easily.

If anything a tank too small will be bad for a fish in the long run even if you think you're able to "get away with it for the time being"

and there we have it he even mentions stunting growth.

alot of posts are complete rubbish, 3" a year......they must of been doing something very wrong for it to only grow that much, mainly being in a 20g i think they said. it might of still been growing but very slowly.

 

[digital_run]

I'd have to agree with pual on this one...I dont profess to be an expert on stunting...mainly because i researched all of my fish before hand and know tha i'll never have to worry about....But i dont see the point on buting a fish simply to sell it down the road...To me there pets and i'd never sell my cat because it wasnt a kitten anymore...Just my opinion but this thread was to do with Pims and really we should move it to the New World section if its going to continue on Oscars...this way it'll get some hits from current owners.

 

[Fishy411]

i've had fish get stunbed in a 10 gallon and because of my stupidity i am on my way to stunting some more. I have had Swordtails get stunted. In a biggish tank they can get to 4". I have angels in my 10 until someone responds to my other thread and they arent doing well.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Look, IMO.... If you KNOW your oscar/whatever is going to get big, fair enough. And if someone tells you you will need a bigger tank, it doesn't matter because you will be getting one anyway. And if you didn't know your tank was going to be too small, well, then you will know, won't you.