Is there such a thing as a runt fish?

[lujor]

Up until about 2 weeks ago I had two clown knifes/knives(?). I bought them both about a month before at about 4 inches in length. They were housed in different tanks, but were fed the same diet and had the same general water parameters. One grew about an inch and a half over the month I had him. The other grew MAYBE half an inch in the same amount of time, and if anything he ate more than the other one. The smaller of the two had the nicer pattern, so I returned the larger one to the lfs. The one I kept is now in my largest tank and is eating regularly and is as happy as I've ever seen a clown knife (I've owned a few).
ANYWAY... my questions are: Are there runts in the fish world as there are in many mammalian litters like dogs and cats? Are some individual fish genetically coded to not grow as quickly or not reach mean size for that species as a whole?

 

[Oddball]

Every species has members that surpass and others that never meet the normal "average" full size.

But, also keep in mind that there are species that have dominant genders (usually colonial species) that regulate the adult size of other members within the colony through growth/developmental restrictive hormones.

 

[philhawk]

there is also a sucess to the sucessful situation with groups of fish. the ones that first get food and grow/get stronger are more likly to get food again because of the previous meal thus the fish that failed the first time is likly to fail again because as one gets bigger and stronger the other gets weaker.

 

[Red Devil]

i have "twin Bichirs" not anymore.. one grew about 2 inches longer then the other..both fat and healthy..so not complaining.. and i have some frontosa i bought at the same time that were all the same size.. one surpassed everyone including the one i had for over a year.... They left every one else looking like runts.. or are they just the giants.. haha

 

[rook45]

i think fish are like people some of us are 7' tall some are 4' and others are in between. i believe the same goes for fish they have there average sizes but some will be bigger and some won't ever reach average size

 

[benzjamin13]

There's always going to be runts out there, but that's not always a bad thing.

 

[lujor]

There's always going to be runts out there, but that's not always a bad thing.

I chose him for his pattern anyway. Even a "runt" clown knife will probably reach 20 inches. He is certainly a greedy eater.

 

[mercury904]

I think there is a dominant one