stunt growth?

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Breid22

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 16, 2012
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Atlanta
if a fish stunts his growth is he going to be a runt forever??? anyway possible he can catch up to where he should be?
 
Genetic variation will mean that some fish never get as big as the claimed max size, and others get bigger. Just like some people are only 5' tall and others are 7'. I'm not sure if there has been any proper scientific study done on the effects of small tanks/poor water and stunting, and what the long-term outcome is, but my gut feeling would be that once stunted the chances of a fis reaching the full potential of the species would be greatly reduced.
 
I picked up half dozen Paraneetroplus bifasciatum a few years back, there was 1 that the others would not let eat much, and it stayed 1/3 the size of the others. After a month or 2, I gave it its own tank, after another 2 months of sequester, it had surpassed the growth of the others and became the dominant male when it was put back in the group, it grew to more than 12".
 
I got a couple of "midas" from the same batch when they were 4-5cms (~2"). Fed basically the same and kept in the same tank from some months (now are separated)
Almost a year later, one is around 20-22cms (8-9") and the other (the runt) is around 10cms (4"). Go figure...
 
I dont think stunting is permanent. Ive had fish stay small in my tanks out of lack of dominance and when given their own tank they go POOF!


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I agree that a stunted fish can bounce back when given all the right elements to grow. I have seen it happen a few times. My friend wanted flowerhorns real bad and Petco had two of the ugliest looking fh fry availabe and they said they wouldn't order anymore until they sold the 2 they have. Well the 2 sat in the store for at least 6 months and stayed at about 1.5 inches. He went ahead and bought them. To make a long story short he put both of them in seperate 20 gallon tanks. They both sprouted like weeds and reached about 9 inches in less than a year in their 20 gallons. Now he has them in a 75 divided, but yeah his story is amazing if you knew what his fish looked like when he first got them less than a year ago. It was also amazing how they grew so fast in just 20 gallons of water.
 
defo agree space and water changes along with good controlled diet can bring a stunted fish back to original size , not sure about the growth rate being the same though once settled
 
duanes said:
I picked up half dozen Paraneetroplus bifasciatum a few years back, there was 1 that the others would not let eat much, and it stayed 1/3 the size of the others. After a month or 2, I gave it its own tank, after another 2 months of sequester, it had surpassed the growth of the others and became the dominant male when it was put back in the group, it grew to more than 12".
Click to expand...

I love this story. Completely awesome


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I'm hoping this is the case as im hoping putting my dovii alone for a while will get him to his right size.


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