Goldfish questions! Please help!?

Question

I have a couple of hypothetical questions about Goldfish:
1) If a fish has been suffering from ammonia toxicity for awhile (at least a few days) and is generally in poor health, but is moved to optimal conditions, about how long should recovery take? I understand that "optimal" is hard to achieve, but I'm looking for a range here... I put the question in this format because it would take way too long to try to explain the situation.
2) I understand that most goldfish in aquariums are stunted. Will the goldfish always grow if given a larger tank? At what point in the lifespan is thee fish "permanently stunted" no matter how large the aquarium and how good the care? Once again, this isn't directly applicable to my fish (I think s/he's pretty young), but I've been trying to figure this out for awhile.

If you're curious about the particulars of my fish that prompted me to ask these "hypothetical" questions, please look at my other question, "Shoaling Fish"

Thanks!

Thank you for the great answers! Now, is there a rule of thumb that should be used when considering how much "growing room" a goldfish needs at different stages of development to prevent stunting?

For example, I've heard that you can begin by raising your "baby" goldfish in a ten or twenty gallon aquarium, but when does he need a new home? I know the "inch per gallon" rule, but thats obviously ridiculous if you have a three inch fish! If you have four 3/4 in. fish, it makes more sense... Obviously, such a simple formula can't work.

Thanks guys!

Answer 1

I would suggest that full recovery from ammonia toxicity will take from 10-14 days. We are talking about a substance that binds to blood cells quite strongly and can take some time to be replaced in the blood stream. After the first 48 hours the fish should be acting fairly normally though.

Stunting is a curious thing. Some fishes are far more damaged by it than others. Goldfish seem able to deal with stunting fairly well, but that doesn't make it any less harmful in the long run. From your details in your previous question I would say you have 6 months or so before it starts to damage the fish.

MM

Answer 2

The inch per gallon rule is one gallon per ADULT inch, but it's just a general rule and it doesn't apply to all fish... Goldfish need much more than that. They grow up to a foot long and one goldfish really needs 20 gallons min.
The problem is poor water conditions created by too small a tank/bowl will slow their growth, it will not stop it... the fish will continue to slowly grow until the bowl/tank cannot support it, then it will get sick and die.

Answer 3

1)Metabolism recovers in 24 hours in optimum conditions. The physical appearance may not fully recover for a few days.
2)It is extrememly important that the fish is not kept in a very small aquarium during the first three years of life. If the fish is kept under these very tight conditions, the growth becomes permanently stunted.