alot of people on here say that goldfish grow accroding to the size of the tank, but when i went to a little pet store i asked the owner of the store about fish growth. he sed that he had never heard of any kind of fish that grew according to the tank. i dont no who to belive??????
2007-06-17 13:04:04 · 18 answers · asked by Hick Chick<3! 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
if you put a goldfish in a small tank, it will die prematurely because it wont have the room to grow.
2007-06-17 13:09:55 · answer #1 · answered by tyra s 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
OK this is the way goldfish as well as many other fish grow:
Goldfish do have the potential to grow quite large. Straight-tailed varieties have been recorded to around 40 cm, and other varieties have been reported at over 35 cm. However, most specimens will not reach these sizes! The growth rate of goldfish is variable, and their final size dependent on the conditions in which they are kept.
That said, it is a myth that a goldfish will grow only to the size of their tank. If a goldfish is kept in a small tank, fed only a small amount once daily, and the water changed regularly, it will grow only very slowly and may live for several years, reaching a maximum size of maybe eight to ten centimetres. It is true that the growth of a goldfish may be somewhat stunted in a small tank - a high nitrate level is known to stunt growth - but growth is slowed, not stopped altogether. However, if fed too much, or if kept in a tank that is not sufficiently filtered or maintained, a goldfish will simply grow to the point where its tank will not support its wastes and will succumb either to poisoning as a result of waste build-up or to disease caused by poor water quality.
2007-06-19 23:38:11 · answer #2 · answered by danielle Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a goldfish that grew 6 inches in a 16 gallon tank. We actually got it as a feeder fish and it was about an inch long. It grew for about a year or so but then it was attacked by the other fish and died. I think it does matter the size of the tank though.
2007-06-17 20:11:44 · answer #3 · answered by khman9870065 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
fish do NOT grow to the size of the tank. a fish that gets 8-12 inches will get 8-12 inches NO MATTER WHAT SIZED TANK YOU HAVE THEM IN. If the fish does not reach that size, it is only because they end up dying from unhealthy conditions.I would NOT recomend a goldfish for anything less then a 20 gallon tank.
2007-06-17 20:09:16 · answer #4 · answered by waitingtoexist 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the whole when does a fish stop growing thing is kind of a weird science and not really understood. most evidence points to excessive nitrates stunt a fish's growth. so in effect your fish's waste is stunting its own growth -- so if you look at it kind of sideways your fish will grow to the amount of nitrates he can take and stop growing. of course the fish's thought processes probably have nothing to do with this so hes not adjusting his own growth.
all we can really obseve is you can't grow a 8" goldfish in a 12" tank. the bigger the tank the more the nitrates are dispursed and the bigger the fish can grow. does that make more sense?
2007-06-17 20:50:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes and no, it depends on the fish. If the fish should grow to 12 inches (just say its 3 inches at the time) and you put him in a small tank he will probably only grow to 6 or 7 inches.
So small tanks will stunt the growth of big fish, But naturally small fish will not grow any bigger than they should in a big tank.
2007-06-17 20:51:58 · answer #6 · answered by alan_co9 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Fish dont grow according to tank size. Goldfish within normal size. Some lizards grow according to tank size but never heard of fish doing that.
2007-06-17 20:12:44 · answer #7 · answered by chriswh90 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
the size the fish grows to all depends on the type of the fish, it's nothing to do with the size of the tank. BELIEVE ME!!
2007-06-18 12:02:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They kind of do grow to the size of the tank... but not in the way you are thinking.
If you put a little gold fish in a little tank, he will always be little. Why? Because he will die! Death has a remarkable way of stunting growth!
Small, young gold fish need about 10 gallons each. Once/if they mature, the will need 20+ gallons each.
Gold fish can and do regularly live to 15-20 years old and get 8-12" or more. The key to success is PROPER CARE.
2007-06-17 21:37:22 · answer #9 · answered by something_fishy 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Believe the store owner and the well informed answerers here that tell you no fish will only grow to the size of it's container. That's a myth that ends up in the fish dieing from a condition known as stunting.
MM
2007-06-17 21:15:56 · answer #10 · answered by magicman116 7 · 4⤊ 2⤋
i have a 55 gallon tank with goldfish, they are all about six inches from tip of nose to beginning of tails. most petstores will have a little sign saying what is the average size when fully grown, or you can get a book that shows optimum adult size of various fishes
2007-06-17 20:07:31 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋