Stunted Growth

[Rufio808]

Will fish tend to slow down growing if a tank is not sufficient enough? The reason I'm asking is because I have read a lot about people buying these tangs, triggers, ect. And they just don't have the tank for them. I even saw a yellow tang in a 20 gal at Petco. Poor guy.

 

[Bifferwine]

A smaller tank will not stunt their growth. They will continue to grow, and will stress in a small tank.

The reason they are in smaller tanks in stores is because those are temporary homes. The fish at Petco will be sold, and are only kept in 20 gallons for a short period of time. If you are going to keep one of those fish for months or years, you need to make sure the home you are providing them is suitable for their long-term needs.

 

[Smitty]

+1 Biff, that only applies to freshwater fish...saltwater fish will continue to grow.

 

[yote]

+1 Biff and Smitty.
Fresh water fish will grow to their environment.A saltwater fish will grow until it dies.

 

[ErinCahir]

Not all freshwater fish... Cichilds will outgrow a tank.

 

[dcantucson]

So do Plecostomus! They great huge and quickly outgrow a tank.

 

[ErinCahir]

Ugh. I hate plecos with the fire of a thousand suns. I wish stores wouldn't even sell them...

 

[dcantucson]

Ugh. I hate plecos with the fire of a thousand suns.

Don't hold back! Tell us how you really feel. :lol: :mrgreen: :D

 

[OhNoNemo]

i never understood this .....because i have read and seen instances where the same types of fish in different sized systems are nowhere near the same size....

 

[ErinCahir]

Just because a fish has a max size of say 12" doesn't mean they will grow that big. Not every man is 6'. Not every dog is 100 pounds.

 

[Rufio808]

True. I guess LA gives the rough estimate of adult size.

Random thought - there needs to be dwarf triggers

 

[OhNoNemo]

Erin,
I understand that,but have there been actual studies done to prove this??I'm not deny that its fact,i just wonder if you took 3 tangs and kept one in a 100 gallon, one in a public aquarium and one in the ocean, would they all grow to similar sizes ?I am always hearing stories about yellow/purple tangs(or any for that matter) growing to the size of small dinner plates(11 inches or so) and i have never seen one that size in captivity ...i have a fairly large purple, 6 inches or so(which is about as big as i have seen),which is about 5 yrs old,who has lived in my old LFS DT (500+gallons),before i got him....i just wonder if he would have reached that size in my 125...
On a side note about FW: i had a black piranha reach about 11 inches in a 75 gallon before he died at around 13 yrs old..He was the only fish in the tank...So who knows how/what really affects how fish grow

 

[ErinCahir]

Aw. Black Piranhas are awesome...
And I don't know anything about studies done about max size in captivity vs in the ocean... it would be interesting to read about that. Where's Biff and her links? :)

 

[OhNoNemo]

https://www.livingreefs.com/just-buried-my-black-piranha-t27077.html
here he was:(
I'm thinking of getting a gold one,but IDK yet

 

[BL1]

Get a red bellied!!

 

[ErinCahir]

We had a big display tank at petco with two HUGE (15 inches or so) Pacus in it. I loved those stupid fish. We would feed them crickets (the cricket cage was right next to the tank). Anytime anyone with a blue shirt walked by they would beg for food. Fattehs.

 

[OhNoNemo]

Get a red bellied!!

way to skittish ..had a school of them before...
we always called pacus wannabe piranhas ....they are related though
heres a very bad pic of my old reds

 

[BL1]

I thought the red bellies were supposed to be the most ferocious?

 

[OhNoNemo]

Not even close,well maybe in huge schools in the wild,but a black/gold typically known as Rhoms, MUST live solitary ,because it will kill anything in its tank,including it own,just to kill.....Elongs are pretty BA too..Reds are softies when compared to Rhoms

 

[BL1]

Or you could get a snakehead fish :shock: