Put My Mind At Rest .....

[Alverez]

ok so heres my question, will a fish , any fish grow to its maximum size, regardless of the size of the tank it lives in ?

or , as i have been led to believe , will it grow up to a size that suits the tank ?

the reason i am asking is because i would like to stock shark catfish , and i have been told that my tank WILL NOT be big enough


my tank is 39 inches long 18 deep and 15 wide , pls put my mind at rest pls


and finally, thanks, great forum !!

 

[ox5477]

Its a yes and no answer. The fish's genes will naturally tell it too keep growing until a set point. But outside influences will try to tell these genes to adjust themselves. In short... it's bad news when you "stunt" a fish like this. The fsh not keep growing in a tank it cannot move in but by tdoing this, serious physiological, not to mention, mental problems can occur, possibly shortening the fishs life quite a bit.

 

[Ripley]

So your tank is around 45 gallons. Shark catfish or Colombian shark get anywhere from 10" to 14" and prefer brackish water as they grow. Fish will usually only grow to the size of thier tank, and become stunted. So, yes the shark will only grow to 7-8" max but being stunted comes unhealthy fish. What do you have in the tank at the moment?

 

[Alverez]

in my tank right now i have 10 neons , seeing as its only been standing for 6 weeks , anything is an option right now, but , preferably would like a small selection of larger fish and NOT Cichlids , lol

 

[Scotty001]

when a fish gets "stunted" it does slow and stop the fish from growing but the organs of the fish don't stop growing !!!! (just like a humans ears or nose) this is what caused the premature death, as instead of the ears and nose of a fish still growing it is its internal organs, effectively think of cramming your / matured adults heart, lungs, stomach, etc etc etc in the body of a 7yr old and see how long that person will last, it will be a very slow and painful death, this is what you will b doing to the fish when "stunting" it. to quote a thread i read not to long ago (cant remember the poster) but would your body stop growing just because you were locked in a small room that you could just about stand in and turn around in ???

You can and some people do keep fish in tanks that are too small and the fish will soon out grow also in the hope to more the fish to a larger tank at a later date but things can and do come up and the larger tank to all best intents could get put off and off, by this time the fish could already be stunted and suffering the effects, it is best to get the tank large enough for the fish rather than the fish first, (in my opinion)

 

[Alverez]

well ok, forget the shark cats then.... ill do some more research and come back, thanks for the tips guys , has answered my question perfectly

 

[andywg]

when a fish gets "stunted" it does slow and stop the fish from growing but the organs of the fish don't stop growing !!!!

This is absolutely incorrect. The organs do stop growing. In a dissection of a stunted fish it was found that the organs were perfectly normal and healthy. What possible advantage would be gained by a fish havingits organs expanding in its body after the skeleton has ceased growing?

If you think I am wrong, please feel free to provide some evidence.

As to stunting fish, the longterm effects are not really known. The growth rate of fish is affected by a number of variables such as water quality; food availability, type and content; and potentially hormones released by the fish into the water which cause a slowing of growth.

If a fish has its growth stunted by any of the above it will always be smaller than its peers which are not stunted, but the true long term effects are not entirely known. Unlike mammals, fish are continuously growing throughout their life. Quite a lot of research has been done on growth rates due to fish farms, but this mostly focuses on how to get the largest growth rate in the least time.

While few fish hit the maximum size, and some may stunt, many will still keep growing regardless of the tank size but just stop a bit smaller (or once true physical deformities such as a bent spine are suffered).

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i agree with you andy, i'd like to add though that just because a fish may stop growing at a smaller size than normal that doesn't mean it's therefore ok to keep it in an inappropriatley sized tank.

like if you imagine keeping a great dane in a small flat with no garden. no it might not die directly from it, but it will probably be very distressed and anxious and anything else living in the flat with it would suffer as a result of the behavioural problems. Any animal when stressed out will also be prone to disease so you increase the chances of that.

when you're told your tank's not big enough it's not just referring to the adult size of the fish, but the overall quality of life that the fish would have in the environment you give it. got to look at the bigger picture.