perceived uneven growth spurt???

[Magnum Man]

I don't deal with a lot of baby fish... but the 3 panda loaches (Yaoshania pachychilus )
I've bought ( purchased at 2 different times, as the seller only had one, on my 1st purchase ) came so small, they appeared to have just lost their yolk sacks... these are small fish anyway, so they were really tiny... the 1st one, was here like 2 - 3 weeks, before the 2nd pair arrived.... the 1st appears to be growing much faster now, than when it arrived... when the 2nd pair came, they were all close to the same size...the 1st one was just slightly heavier, so I could tell it apart, from the other two... but in the weeks they have been here, that 1st one has grown much more rapidly, it's now 4-5 times the size of the 2nd pair... is it normal for baby fish to reach a certain point, then start growing much more rapidly???

 

[Magnum Man]

this is the 1st one, and one of the others grazing on the roof... you can't hardly see the smaller one, by comparison

 

[gwand]

I raised fry from four different species thus far. In all cases the siblings grew at different rates. The dominant fish grew the fastest. They were the most aggressive eaters. There seemed to be a runt or two in each brood.

 

[Magnum Man]

the Tilapia I raised from fry, grew pretty consistently male to male, or female to female... the males always grow bigger / faster, and of course there was always a runt or two...