Larz_1
New member
O.k. ... assuming that tank size does limit growth for whatever reason.
If you were to remove the fish from the small tank and put it in a proper sized tank, would there be a growth spurt?
is it a myth about growth in bigger tanks?
- Thread starter timdam
- Start date
O.k. ... assuming that tank size does limit growth for whatever reason.
If you were to remove the fish from the small tank and put it in a proper sized tank, would there be a growth spurt?
TampaReefer79
Premium Member
Hey man, thanks! I use the avatar as a joke, and I think it's funny...but I do get your point about some folks hating the tang police. I have a feeling though, that the ones that hate the tang police are the ones that are ok with the practices that I'm against. Just an idea. lol
With no PROOF, I'd say yes. I 'rescued' a unicorn tang from a 4' tank awhile back and put it in my 180...while it didn't grow much if at all in the 75, it started groing immediately in my 180.
The story I told yesterday with the vlamingii in the 92 bow, (me and a friend put the same size vlamingii's in 2 different tanks - a 92 and a 180 - and mine outgrew his x2 in the same amount of time) once the owner of the 92 bow upgraded the tank to a 210, the fish exploded in growth. Maybe it was coincedence? I'm not a scientist other than what I do in my home, but again my guess is yes.
LobsterOfJustice
Recovering Detritophobe
I dont have any examples of a particular fish resuming growth once being put in a larger tank, but I have seen 4" tangs reach 10" or more within 2 years in 6', 7' and 8' tanks, but most 4" tangs seems to stay around 4" in 4' tanks.
LukFox
Active member
On resuming growth, back when I had a 40g I bought a little foxface. Over a year's time he grew to 4" and stopped. The tank was only 30" long, and the fox was looking too big so I upgraded to a 155g. Within 3 months the foxface was 7", whereas before, growth was halted in the smaller tank. It is just one example, but in this case growth resumed.
I currently have a 115 gallon that is about 4 1/2 feet long. I bought my foxface at approximately 4"; it grew about two inches relatively quickly and stopped growing, and has not grown (or grown imperceptibly) for about a year. I will be upgrading soon to a 200 gallon (48" x 36"), so it will be interesting to see if its growth resumes. I suspect that it will, but who knows.
TampaReefer79
Premium Member
I hope you've told your friend that what he's doing is cruel.
He needs to do some more :reading: and should start here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=739380
Maybe you can print it out and give it to him and hope you can rescue the fish.
TampaReefer79
Premium Member
They don't reach full size in captivity anyway...so just the fact that it would reusme growth is a good thing! :fish1:
scrapz
Saturation+100
we're all cruel for taking them from their original environment and shoving them into glass boxes but that is not the topic on hand.
Myself, I choose and select my fish according to my tank size.
TampaReefer79
Premium Member
The argument that we are all cruel for taking them from the wild doesn't apply. We can take them from the wild and house them comfortably, or we can take them from the wild and be irresponsible. This IS about the topic on hand, since the tang your 'friend' has in a 29 gallon tank or whatever it was will not grow properly. Plus when someone mentions a tang in a 29, it needs to be addressed. It's not like I went off topic...I've given my thoughts on the OP's question.
Your friend 'shoving' a tang into his tiny tank and me properly QT'ing one and housing it properly in a 375 gallon 8' tank are 2 TOTALLY DIFFERENT things in my opinion.
Cantonesefish
with active cooling
This is the kind of **** that gets threads closed all the time.
timdam, why don't you give us some information on the two Systems? How often does your dad do water changes? What kind of livestock are in both systems?
scrapz
Saturation+100
the subject at hand was "is it a myth that tanks stunt growth?". I gave an answer based on my personal experience. I didn't see any question about it being cruel based on his OP.
Do I condone him shoving a tang in a 30g? No.
Did I let my friend know that it was cruel to house it in a 30G? Yes
Will he change his mind? No, because people do what they want.
How do you know his fish are unhappy? To me, its a perfectly healthy specimen who is actively swimming around and does not seemed stressed at all. It is your opinion that the fish is housed uncomfortably, as the same could be said about taking you anything from the ocean and housing in the 375g. The thing is there will always be someone telling you it's unethical to do what we do and how we do it.
I have introduced a couple of my friends into the hobby and I always preach adequate housing conditions. Ask any of my friends, my motto is "if you take anything into your hands, whether it be a fish or dog, you have taken it's life in your hands and you are responsible for making it's life as easy/pleasant as you can. How would you feel if I shoved you into a closet your whole life?.
I am not here to attack anybody. We need to start looking at the big picture, the bottom line is we took these animals from their natural habitat for OUR ENJOYMENT.
just to clarify, the fish in the smaller tank is the one growing faster?
I think there is research out there that demonstrates that tank size does affect growth, with all other parameters being equal. so seems odd your case is the opposite.
So my question is... if a fish remains smaller in size due to a small tank and doesn't reach mature size is that essentially a "bad" thing. If the fish is healthy, eats well, good water quality, and is not stressed I'm not sure this has negative impact on the fishes overall health.
Many species will grow in varying size in relation to their environment and do quite well.
I did several years back raise a yellow tang in a 30g tank, he grew to about 5" appeared health and lived for 5 years (until tank exploded).
I'm not advocating this nor would do it again(was a noob) but is an interesting topic.
Jeff
TampaReefer79
Premium Member
On the first bolded section, I'd have to say that it makes sense. I really think that the tank size relates to a fishes growth.
To your second point, I'd say it IS a bad thing. I'd say just the stunted growth alone is a negative impact on it's overall health. Just because it eats and doesn't have ich doesn't mean it's not stressed, unhealthy, or unhappy. We can't really tell when a fish is 'happy'.
Agree, with you that these fish should be in as large a tank as possible (I'd be happier with more room to swim as well) but... in your last statement you really didn't give any evidence that smaller size results in poor health. overall health can be difficult to measure I realize, but if the fish is active, good color, appearance and normal weight for size, live a full lifespan but remains "small " in size how is this considered an unhealthy fish?
the point is... can smaller size just be a normal adaptation to environmental triggers as opposed to "poor health"
this occurs normally in the natural world all the time.
Ziggy32
New member
I'm interested to read more about this. What is the growth rate of a fish?
I bought a 4" yellow tang from a guy that had it in a 75 gallon(4') for 4 years. I have it in a 120gallon 4*2*2 for almost a year and have not seen it grow. I also have a 5" Purple tang that I have not seen grow as well. Both these fish are said to grow to about of 8".
I do weekly water changes of about 25 gallons. All my fish eat well and I vary there diet with pellet food, nori, etc...
I bought a 4" yellow tang from a guy that had it in a 75 gallon(4') for 4 years. I have it in a 120gallon 4*2*2 for almost a year and have not seen it grow. I also have a 5" Purple tang that I have not seen grow as well. Both these fish are said to grow to about of 8".
I do weekly water changes of about 25 gallons. All my fish eat well and I vary there diet with pellet food, nori, etc...
LobsterOfJustice
Recovering Detritophobe
Fish grow FAST in the wild. They get as big as possible as fast as possible.
Untamed12
New member
Do you think there may be an age factor in play as well? I'm thinking that a young fish is likely "programmed" to grow and will do so provided conditions are good enough to allow it.
...but if a fish is malnurished or confined during this youthful growing phase, moving the fish to better conditions later in it's life might not change anything. It's an adult and has reached its adult size.
Just a thought...no personal experience either way.
...but if a fish is malnurished or confined during this youthful growing phase, moving the fish to better conditions later in it's life might not change anything. It's an adult and has reached its adult size.
Just a thought...no personal experience either way.
