"Jon Pike" wrote in message
. 159...
I'm sure you've all heard this idea before, that fish of various kinds
will
grow to fit their environment, and then stop growing.

Does anyone have good -reliable- information on the matter? I'm sure
everyone has opinions, and links to opinions, but I'd like to get a
handle
on some facts if it were at all possible.
TIA

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There has been much discussion and research on the rate of fish growth.
There are several factors, which if I recall correctly, are in the
following priority : water quality, diet (total quantity, number of meals
and quality), temperature and genetics. The leading constraint is water
quality (the other factors will differ in priority based on types of fish
and opinions, but the number #1 is easily water quality). The next topic
is exactly what water parameters act to constrain growth. Here there is
still much discussion, from high nitrate levels and/or DOCs to growth
hormones released and read back by the fish. Regardless of the exact
cause, small tanks are all prone to all the suspected growth constraints,
so it does not really matter. The bottom line is that small tanks will
more obviously constrain fish growth, and the solution is to keep their
water fresh and upgrade their housing as required by their growth, imho
of course ;~).

If you have more interest in the topic, mine the newsgroup archives for
discussions. There was one in particular about 2 years ago in r.a.f.m.
which included biologists, scientists and a couple of fish-farm employees
which was quite instructive.
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