Question??

Question

is it true that the tank size effects how big a fish will grow?

Answer 1

How about a nice big maybe for an answer LOL

If you put a neon in a 10 gallon and another in a 100 gallon, they will get to the same size. That's because they both had adequate space.

If however you try that with say an Oranda or other fancy goldfish, the one in the 10 gallon will appear to stop growing while the one in the 100 will continue to get larger.

The problem is the one in the 10 gallon simply stopped growing longer. His organs are still growing inside and getting deformed and pressed into weird shapes and spaces. This is called stunting and leads to deformed fish and early death of the fish.

MM

Answer 2

All of these answers are wrong. The size of the tank does not necessarily inhibit the growth of the fish that are put into it.

Fish naturally emit growth inhibiting hormones into their tank water; they do this constantly. As these hormones become more concentrated, the growth rate of the fish declines appreciably. So, generally, when a larger fish is put into a smaller tank, it is stunted, but not because the tank is making it stay small, the hormones in the water are. If you change the water in a small tank often enough, the fish will continue to grow.

Actually, many professional breeders like to keep their babies in the smallest tanks possible to achieve the fastest possible growth rates. Many times they will change almost 100% of the water daily even several times a day sometimes in order to maximize growth. In the smaller tanks, the fish don't need to expend as much energy chasing after food, so more of their calorie intake goes toward growth as long as the water is changed often enough.

Answer 3

No. (in most cases) This is actually a common misconception. Many fish have life spans up to 10 or 20+ years, so when people have them for only 6 months or a year, they think that their fish has only grown to the size of it's tank, when really they have just run out of room. This is true for many fish.
An exception to this rule is koi.

Answer 4

Not really.

Smaller tanks mean slower growth, HOWEVER if the fish is more than slightly to large for the tank at some point you'll experience deformation which if left unchecked will result in death.

For example an Oscar won't stay 4inches because he's in a 10 gallon tank! He'll slowly become deformed until he dies or is put in a proper size tank.

Answer 5

Some really great answers, but the truth is that the bigger tanks allows the fish to develope muscles and use parts of their bodies that smaller tanks would not allow. Fish also grow better in bigger tanks because they tend to have fresher water in a sense that their is more water so better growth. In smaller tanks even with water changes the build up of nitrates and other chemical does affect growth in some fish.

Answer 6

Yes, if the tank is too small for the type of fish. No, if it's adequate or larger.
Unfortunately, stunting a fish shortens its life through a multitude of problems: the internal organs become misshapen, swim muscles atrophy, water quality is jeopardized. Sometimes, it means the death of a fish due to territorial aggression.
There are many reasons why recommended tank sizes are necessary: water conditions for heavy bioloads (ie oscars, goldfish), size requirements for length (for swimming) and width (for turning around), size requirements for overall size for territory establishment.

Answer 7

depending on the fish yes, a danio or a guppy will never get really big but a goldfish, a betta, or most larger breeds of algea eaters can be effected by the size of the tank they inhabit over a long period of time (a few weeks or months is considered "long" depending on the breed of fish)

Answer 8

yes, the bigger the tank the more room their is for the fish to grow.

Answer 9

From what I have heard yes it will. I'm sure MM could provide you with some info.

Answer 10

yes