Measuring your fish

[jclyde13]

Depends on the fish, I usually measure from tip of head to tip of tail, but with long-finned fish like bettas, long-finned BN's, etc., I only measure the body, b/c to me it really doesn't make since to say that one fish is smaller than the long-finned variant of the same species just because the caudal fin adds a couple inches of length (which could turn a 2" fish into a 4"+ fish. I also don't count the full tail length for fish like tigs that have "streamers" that string off of the caudal fin, for fish with those, I only measure to the end of the actual fin.

 

[Westie]

I actually put a yard stick in front of the tank vvvv

 

[Industrial]

Tail is not always measured because ichthyologists sometimes get old somewhat decayed specimens or the caudal fins will be damaged making TL not the most accurate. In aquariums though, all your fish should have their full tailfin so TL is much more appropriate.

 

[moo.]

Depends on the fish, I usually measure from tip of head to tip of tail, but with long-finned fish like bettas, long-finned BN's, etc., I only measure the body, b/c to me it really doesn't make since to say that one fish is smaller than the long-finned variant of the same species just because the caudal fin adds a couple inches of length (which could turn a 2" fish into a 4"+ fish. I also don't count the full tail length for fish like tigs that have "streamers" that string off of the caudal fin, for fish with those, I only measure to the end of the actual fin.

This^

 

[bubbles123]

I'm glad someone asked this question, as I was planning to ask it too.
I must be an old-timer then, because I assumed the fish was measured from the nose to the base of the tail. To me, this seemed more practical because some fish have long flowing tails that may be hard to measure.

I'll include the tail in my measurements now, if this is what is usually done.
That makes my Flagtail Prochilodus 15 inches now...cool!

We must have read the same book at some time. One of the first fishkeeping books I read said that fish are measured from tip of head to base of tail. I've never included the tail because like Sab_Fan said I always thought it to be like hair. I'll look through my books to find where I got that from. I never thought to ask, because I guess I assumed we all read the same book. Or I just trusted the author and never read any others about this.

All of a sudden all my fish experienced a growth spurt! I must be feeding them well!

 

[groovylime]

All of a sudden all my fish experienced a growth spurt! I must be feeding them well!

haha
I think there will be a few of us on here that experience a sudden growth spurt in their fish! Feels pretty good.