Lots of points are made in this that are hard to disagree.
MM: At that point imo it does come down to how individually active the fish is.. I found more active fish in generally tend to get larger in smaller tanks where "lazy fish" given the same opportunities ect won't grow as big/fast.. Big fish don't seem to just be products of great water quality but actual room to move and stretch their fins.
TBTB: And Wednesday13 confirms the space factor too (@Wednesday13: thanks much for the nice description). And so do the facts in my reply to Chub_by. Sadly, I cannot lend personal experience, pro or con, as my fish march through the tanks and ponds as they grow.
MM: I imagine this has something to do with how their metabolic rates and coldblooded systems work... if you look as reptiles they have similar growth developments in the larger species. "Stunting" "growth suppression" can be done a few ways... but I don't think anyone has it down to a science yet which is why you get those random fish that make you scratch your head why they are stunted despite your best efforts.
TBTB: 1. Chub_by was the one to call out our attention to a study where insufficient water changes led to the accumulation of the growth-inhibiting hormone in the water and, in turn, led to a far slower growth and maturity at a smaller size. They studied carp, one fish per tank. 2. Purposeful stunting by the means of a small tank, my impression is, is done by placing a fish into such a tank where it cannot swim. Period. 3. As for the randomness... it is normal for the size of any species to have a distribution with giants and dwarfs at the extremes of this bell-shaped curve. Surely, genes play a huge role in this.
MM: I do think depression and other things we simply can't understand yet in our fish play roles in this as much as genetics and "science". Catfish can be amazingly smart fish.. showing such inclinations that would only add more variables to "giving them the best to reach their optimum size"
Big captive raised cats seem to be a product of big tanks, good food, and structure... they don't just live alone in a big round empty pool ect... they are usually in thousands of gallon ponds w/ tank-mates and different stimuli. You see Obsessive behaviors in other intelligent species... some cats will rub their noses raw on the glass going up and down all day ( very sad) Usually a product of being in small tanks w/ nothing to do day after day... this can mentally stunt other creatures imo its not to far fetched to think it can do the same to our fish which transitions to physical stunting... we worry about exercise both mental and physical in most our other pet species... but rarely our fish.
TBTB: Interesting thought. I wonder what science has to say on the topic of fish mentality/emotion. Since I don't know, I tend to think fish are driven by instincts. They do have a range of adaptability but it is very limited, far smaller than that in mammals and birds for instance. It appears to be something one could experiment with at home and produce interesting things. If the experiments are set up scientifically rigorously, it can even lead to publishable results.
...i placed him in a standard 300gal for a week and his attitude was immense almost immediatly, he tore up 2 14" peacock bass within a few days. This situation may also prove ur hypothesis about "active fish". Neway, since he tore up my bass i figured what the hell ill throw him in with my boys in the 1700 pool if he wants to be a d*** lol...to my own amazement/astonishment he did not get eatin by the 8 24-30" tsn and has been thriving ever since. Its been around 2-3 months tops and this channel cat is no joke every bit of 20" pushin 24". Totally blows my mind a fish that was stunted for so long could make such a turnaround so quick. This personal experience is why i emphasize the fact of "large bodies of water" not just 400-500gals for growing "monsters" as the results literally can be seen almost daily. It may also have to do with larger bodies of water being more "stable"and easier to maintain but the proof is in the punch lol...its well known fish never stop growing as long as they are alive so i think the ability to reverse stunting is very plausible. I am not a scientist but ive been experimenting for a good 15yrs now lmao...
