Fish grow according to tank size?

Hi Guys

Me and @Ammar and @quentin at work have been having arguments about this topic for a while now, and whats your opinions on this, do fish grow according to tank size or is it a old lady story?

I belive they dont grow to size....

 

Old wives tale. Some may show signs of stunted growth... but this no longer an accepted norm.

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Fish can actually grow to tank size. And sometimes outgrows tank size. So it actually goes both ways. Many times the fish is "Stunted" by other bigger more dominant fish in the tank and tank size. But If lets say I have a 5 foot tank with a Arowana and it's just him. Soon I'll be forking out money for a bigger tank. Because there's no competition for him with regards to space, food etc.

But if I have lets say Oscar's and Angels. The Angels wouldn't get to full potential because the Oscar's just wouldn't let them feed like they should, and will be dominated perhaps. "Note I said perhaps". Not saying it will happen. If you know Oscars well enough you'll know that they are serious competitors for food.

So actually you are rite and wrong. And you can for instance not say a fish that gets maximum 10cm will grow into a 6 foot tank. It just doesn't work that way. Also a fish that grow's to 2m wouldn't stay 20cm in a 100ltr tank. Most fish especially the tankbusters will not reach full potential in a tank at home. But they still need big homes to be fair to them, and give them a happy life. HTH

 

The growth of the fish is stunted by the fish urine sollution in the water...... in a bigger tank,..... the sollution is less concentrated so they will be less stunted...... If you do daily water changes in a smaller tank, you will continuously dilute the urine concentration and they will get as big as they would in any larger tank, BUT!!! do not use this information to justify keeping an Oscar in an 18"tank....... the fish needs the comfort of free movement as well.....

 

@SloMo.00. - You mean I can't keep my Balala Shark in a goldfish bowl:bigsmile:

The way I understand it, you can keep big fish in small tanks and they will become stunted and die which is why you shouldn't do it. Like keeping an elephant in a rabbit hutch. He may fit initially but he's not going to be very happy and will get stressed out and die.

 

By stunting a fish doesn't mean it will die. It just means you are not considering the needs of the pet you intend to keep. This is cruel and morally wrong in any way of pets. And no.. I will never sugguest keeping a Balala shark in a fish bole. :weird:

I'll never recommend fishboles to anyone in anycase. But you get the picture yes. In this hobby we see this every day. Allmost all the tankbusters are sold small, so initially they fit in our tanks. So what do we do? Get 2 or 3 of them. Once they grow a bit we realize what is happening and try to make a plan or take them back to lfs. And from there the lfs will most probably sit with them because very fiew people actually have the size tank it takes to house them. And lots will most probably be uthenised or taken to Zoo's or aquariums.

 

@SloMo.00. - Hey sorry if you or anyone else misunderstood. It was a joke and I have no intention of keeping anything besides dust in a fish bowl.

FISH BOWLS ARE WRONG!

 

He he. You just misuderstood my post man. Sorry for that. Should have used a smiley or something.:embarrest:

 

Humans can live perfectly well in a 3 x 3 room (look at our prisons). They are also overcrowded, and the guys still grow to their full size regardless of the size room. But is it right? (Ok, bad analogy... prisoners should be in a small room.... let me rethink...)

 

Ha ha ha. Maybe if we kept them in there with their own waste and food scraps they might not get so big.

 

YEah this question arose from a argument about 2 ghost knives in a 3ft tank...

 

i do believe that by stunting a fish's growth you may be significantly shortening its life span, so technicaly, the fish is just dying very slowly.

however some fish will jsut grow and grow no matter how small the tank is (hi-fin pangasius, tinfoil barbs and others) other fish will see significantly slower growth rates and possibly never see their full potential growth in a smaller tank than is ideal for that particular fish (malawis for example).

ultimately you should not keep a fish that you know will reach 35cm long in a 100L tank or 30L tank or whatever.. unless you know you can rehome them at a later stage when they do get too large for the tank

having said all of that, i have made all of these mistakes myself in the past..

 

@mydummyname. +1. We get taught from the beginning what works and what not. Ignorance on our part however costs us in the long run. But I'm still glad that Tankbusters exist at all. Love them. I just need a big tank....