A runt in every litter?
- Thread starter celebrist
- Start date
My school of tiger barbs are like that. Bought 20 at the same size and after a few months everyone's about the same except for 1 albino that's still a little over an inch. Tends to not swim with the rest of the group but still eats fine.
I have a small runt that's almost a year old that's 3-4" max and his sister is 8" lol the 4th batch after him fish were bigger than him. Guess genetics plays a role.
I wouldn't say the genetic is responsible for being runt. Lowest rank of pecking order can cause that as dominant fish can control their other tankmates' growth rate.
I got 6 clown loach all at an inch and a half about 6 months ago. One got to nearly 4" in about 3 months and hasn't grown one bit since. Four others are around two and a half inches and slowly catching up to the big one. And the last of the 6 is still an inch and a half! Watching it swim around with my 4" one just puzzles the hell out of me. People say shoals of clowns are well known for this variation in growth.
This...
I notice it even with goldfish. I usually will buy them in batches. There's always 1 or 2 that is smaller down the road. They usually seemed to be not as outgoing as the bigger ones and seem to hide more.
To be completely honest, all the angels i keep were "runts" . My lfs sells them to me at the equivalent of $1.50 each and they are growing to be beautiful with lots of personality. Given the right care, a runt can give just as much, if not more satisfaction than a perfect specimen. The fish no one ever wanted can grow to become a decent specimen given time and effort. It's more fun to raise a runt.