Apparently Biggest GT on youtube

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tiger15 said:
Still not convinced the Hawaii GT is 14" without a scale to compare with. 14" is Oscar and RD size fish. GT just don't get that big based on GTs I kept and saw in public aquariums.
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Fish often get much bigger in the wild than they ever would in captivity. With adequate space, food and water temp, I fully believe that that is a 14" GT. If it was born in the wild, it will almost certainly get bigger than a captive bred specimen. I know that here in Australia, feral cats get much, much bigger than tame, pet cats. Like 3-4 times the size, on a regular basis. There was one big, black cat shot here in Victoria, Australia, and it was DNA tested and confirmed as felis catus, the domestic cat species. The cat (including tail) was nearly 2m long. The tail alone was 70-75cm long. Animals escaped into the wild get BIG.
 
Bigcatfishrule said:
Fish often get much bigger in the wild than they ever would in captivity. With adequate space, food and water temp, I fully believe that that is a 14" GT. If it was born in the wild, it will almost certainly get bigger than a captive bred specimen. I know that here in Australia, feral cats get much, much bigger than tame, pet cats. Like 3-4 times the size, on a regular basis. There was one big, black cat shot here in Victoria, Australia, and it was DNA tested and confirmed as felis catus, the domestic cat species. The cat (including tail) was nearly 2m long. The tail alone was 70-75cm long. Animals escaped into the wild get BIG.
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Wrong! Many captive raised fish grow faster and bigger than wild fish. It has been well known among and reported by African importers that captive raised Mbuna and peacocks reached gigantic size relative to wild fish due to stable supply of high nutrition food, specially those raised in ponds and giant public aquariums. Home aquarium raised fish rarely reach the potential due to crowded conditions and aggression that shorten their life.

I don't doubt that they found an extraordinary huge feral cat in Australia, but that's an exception than rule. Feral cats typically get leaner and more athletic than common domesticated cats, not bigger or heavier. 3-4 times the size of domesticated cats would turn them into Lynx or Bobcat.

Your belief that GT can reach 14" is just a faith, not proven with a scale. I have raised many generations of GT as well as saw many GTs in public aquarium. I have yet seen one that exceeded 12". One reason GTs can't reach giant size is their life span is limited to 7-10 year, about half that of giant Oscar, Dovii and Frontosa.
 
you get an Oscar to live 17 to 20 years. I will fall on my knees and worship you. 7 to 10 years a good life span for an Oscar.
 
and to add, water quality is where its at for keeping fish long term, diet? yes. low stress factors? yes. but the number one thing is water quality.
 
pops said:
you get an Oscar to live 17 to 20 years. I will fall on my knees and worship you. 7 to 10 years a good life span for an Oscar.
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It's common for Oscar, Dovii and Frontosa to live beyond 15 year in pond or public aquarium. Most Oscars were donated to LFS with HITH or died in cramped home space long before reaching their size potential. The life span and size of cichlids are correlated. Dwarf cichlids live around 3-5 year, medium cichlids around 7-10 and big cichlid 10-20. Most small and medium cichlids can reach full size potential in home aquariums, but rare for giant cichlids. The long life span of big cichlids also limits their potential to hit old age and size in home aquariums.

The following pics of an Oscar and Dovii I took at the National Zoo Amazon exhibit, both are over 20" as you can scale from accompanying fish and a hand.

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