fish size question....

well,I'm sure everyone has heard the saying " a fish wont grow bigger than
its tank",I have no clue as to the validity of this statement.....but the
other day I overheard an employee at the LFS say it,and then another
corrected him and said that was only for freshwater....ok,that being
said..anyone know if this is even remotely true?if so then wouldn't it
negate tank size requirements for pretty much all fish?and if its NOT true
why is it such a common saying?Just curious

[Richard Reynolds]

> well,I'm sure everyone has heard the saying " a fish wont grow bigger than
> its tank",I have no clue as to the validity of this statement.....but the
> other day I overheard an employee at the LFS say it,and then another
> corrected him and said that was only for freshwater....ok,that being
> said..anyone know if this is even remotely true?if so then wouldn't it
> negate tank size requirements for pretty much all fish?and if its NOT true
> why is it such a common saying?Just curious

this has been brought up before, aparently there are some FW fish that will without harm
stop growing if the environment isnt big enough, and some stop growing but are unhealthy,
then those that continue to grow.

as far as I know SW fish dont face as drastic of space requirements to live, and have not
developed the ability to adapt in size to their environment. all sw fish will outgrow any
tank not large enough to handle them.

as for it being a common saying there are a number of sayings that are incorrect, not
based on fact. consider it really wasnt all that long ago that you would have been hung
for thinking the world was round.

--
Richard Reynolds

[Rich Conley]

Goldfish specifically, release hormones that stunt other goldfish's growth. This was
originally a competitive advantage, as it kept the alpha male in charge. He kept other males
from getting large until he died, in which case they could start to grow again. Discus do the
same thing. The issue is, in a tank, these hormone levels can get extremely high, and can
cause the fish to get sick.

Richard Reynolds wrote:

> > well,I'm sure everyone has heard the saying " a fish wont grow bigger than
> > its tank",I have no clue as to the validity of this statement.....but the
> > other day I overheard an employee at the LFS say it,and then another
> > corrected him and said that was only for freshwater....ok,that being
> > said..anyone know if this is even remotely true?if so then wouldn't it
> > negate tank size requirements for pretty much all fish?and if its NOT true
> > why is it such a common saying?Just curious
>
> this has been brought up before, aparently there are some FW fish that will without harm
> stop growing if the environment isnt big enough, and some stop growing but are unhealthy,
> then those that continue to grow.
>
> as far as I know SW fish dont face as drastic of space requirements to live, and have not
> developed the ability to adapt in size to their environment. all sw fish will outgrow any
> tank not large enough to handle them.
>
> as for it being a common saying there are a number of sayings that are incorrect, not
> based on fact. consider it really wasnt all that long ago that you would have been hung
> for thinking the world was round.
>
> --
> Richard Reynolds
>

[wolfhedd]

also i think it goes along with another point of view from biology. a
system only sustain a species that requires less than that system can give,
and the more species in the system, the more it needs to support, of course
until its diverse enough to support itself, then its only size that is the
factor, get too big, and something will crash, it will kill itself, so just
before it it starts to get unhealthy if its too big for its enviornment or
if its demands are too great, then it will get skinny and stress for a while
before it dies. it may stress for years its immune system acting as kind of
a buffer until it wears itself out. animals in the wild can usualls
subconsciously sense in many ways and come up with their own sort of natural
control.
wolfhedd
..
"Rich Conley" > wrote in message
.. .
> Goldfish specifically, release hormones that stunt other goldfish's
growth. This was
> originally a competitive advantage, as it kept the alpha male in charge.
He kept other males
> from getting large until he died, in which case they could start to grow
again. Discus do the
> same thing. The issue is, in a tank, these hormone levels can get
extremely high, and can
> cause the fish to get sick.
>
> Richard Reynolds wrote:
>
> > > well,I'm sure everyone has heard the saying " a fish wont grow bigger
than
> > > its tank",I have no clue as to the validity of this statement.....but
the
> > > other day I overheard an employee at the LFS say it,and then another
> > > corrected him and said that was only for freshwater....ok,that being
> > > said..anyone know if this is even remotely true?if so then wouldn't it
> > > negate tank size requirements for pretty much all fish?and if its NOT
true
> > > why is it such a common saying?Just curious
> >
> > this has been brought up before, aparently there are some FW fish that
will without harm
> > stop growing if the environment isnt big enough, and some stop growing
but are unhealthy,
> > then those that continue to grow.
> >
> > as far as I know SW fish dont face as drastic of space requirements to
live, and have not
> > developed the ability to adapt in size to their environment. all sw
fish will outgrow any
> > tank not large enough to handle them.
> >
> > as for it being a common saying there are a number of sayings that are
incorrect, not
> > based on fact. consider it really wasnt all that long ago that you would
have been hung
> > for thinking the world was round.
> >
> > --
> > Richard Reynolds
> >
>