stunded

[Aussie_Star]

hey, im not a beginnerjust dont know some of the keywords but i hav come across people saying that fish can become stunded.
what is meant be this?

 

[a1wonder]

Its when you put a fish in a smaller than needed to grow in aquarium. Have you ever heard of the expression "a fish will only grow as large as the tank it's in" this is true partially. If you put a gold fish in a 1 gal fish bowl it will not grow to it actually ment to be size but stay small. The problem with this is that while the outside of this fish will not grow it's internal organs will continue to grow. It's actually a very painful and IMO cruel process and it will live a short painful life. Many LFS that sell fish are simply out ot make a profit and could care less about the animals that pass through their doors and don't bother to tell their customers about this. The typical rule of thumb is One Inch of Fish Per Gal, and you should take into consideration the adult size of this fish for example a silver dollar when puchased from the LFS may only be .5 inchs but when put in a 55gal aquarium will reach it's full adult size of 8 inchs. Certain fish have specific requirements where the general rule of thumb does not hold true such as the need for a long tank. I hope this helps. Hopefully someone else can fill in my holes.

 

[Da_Oz]

Poor diet can do this also. If you feed a protien eater only veggies, or the other way around. We can get our needs from both but some fish can't. Some fish get noting from a meat but a full tummy. This is why in some tanks you have to feed a wide range of foods.

 

[Aussie_Star]

k, now i fully understand it, thanxs

 

[Logitech]

Oh. Is that why I saw this tetra with a zig-zaggy spine the other day at the fish store? Because it was in a smaller tank than it's supposed to?

 

[clutterydrawer]

I doubt it in teh case of a tetra, unless it was in a tank like...2" x 2". However a bent spine sometimes occurs in fish as a genetic deformity, often because the fish was bred from weak, inbred stock...

sadly people tend not to want to buy deformed fish so i dread to think what happens to them