Fish Keeping Myth Exposed! Fish Only Grow to The Size of Their Tank?

[@MakoyUnggoy]

Pacu, Red tail catfish and common plec's debunk this "fish only grow to the size of their aquariums" instantly!

[@bradleyj.fortner2203]

Common/Comet goldfish release a growth inhibiting hormone into their water. The more water in the tank, the less hormone, the fish get bigger. But, if you keep them in a 20 long they will stay about 5-6".

[@kmingtam]

I think stunted growth or related physical deformities may be related to suboptimal water conditions during the growth phase, e.g. higher nitrate. It would be interesting to do some experiments with juveniles in 20 gallon tanks where one group receives biweekly 20% water change and the other is a flow-through system

[@matthewzito6130]

If you ask most people, they'll tell you that goldfish don't live very long or get very big. That's because most people keep them in small tanks and bowls. Their goldfish die young at a small size due mainly to poor water quality. I think that's a big part of how the myth got started, and how it's perpetuated.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

True - they get huge and live for decades!

[@matthewzito6130]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics Exactly, but only when they're kept properly.

[@tomcervenka7404]

I remember winning them at a carnival when I was a little kid.The poor fish didn't have a chance!

[@TheSalient1]

I just did a video on this subject few weeks ago, i dis agree with you here, the fish you shown as an example that do outgrow their tanks are large in nature, much like the the Oscar or arowana it is in their dna to be large and get large so they need a larger aquarium, however their growth can be stunted as well , (this can happen in nature as well in overstocked ponds etc) other fish like goldfish which can get big too, I have seen get larger when I moved them to bigger aquarium, most fish will never reach their adult size as they would in nature due to the confined spaces in the home aquarium due to hormones released , these hormones is what stunts growth, and while it may seem like they grow larger when moved to a larger aquarium then stop again it’s only due to the fact that they got pulled out of the hormone saturated waters and put in a larger water volume that did not have has much of said hormone until they catch up to it again , (hormones only to be removed via water changes ) you are comparing naturally big fish that grow big and need larger aquariums regardless, this does not justify the actual scientific fact of all fish species ratio of type of fish, size of aquarium, stocking amount etc. Example : silver dollar in a 40 breeder vs tiger barb same aquarium, silver dollar gonna get bigger regardless and out grow the tank, tiger barb may or may not reach 2.5 inches, even though the hormones are present , silver dollar still got big but tiger barb never reached full size. if you want to actually have a fish reach full size and “outgrow the tank” you inevitably need to start with a much larger aquarium than they need ,keep stocking low and keep up on water changes keep high water quality, let me know your thoughts here as I know you are a biologist and can see the truth and facts of what I am saying here. @primetimeaquatics

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

That would be the case (hormone levels) if the tank were stocked with multiple fish. Hormone levels play at best a negligible role if there is only one (or few) fish in the tank.

[@TheSalient1]

@PrimeTimeAquatics appreciate the info, I was referring to multiple fish.

[@TheSalient1]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics so my question is this, how many mbunas in say a 75 gallon can you have until stunting hormones start playing a role in the environment?

[@littlemidwestrebornsdolls]

I had a goldfish that out grew his aquarium. I rehomed him to a neighbor who had a large outdoor pond. Last time I checked he was still happily swimming in the pond. 😊 Gina

[@PlainsPup]

Years ago I did an experiment, where I put half my brood of baby firemouth cichlids in a 29 gallon tank with a hang on back filter, and the other half in a 29 with an under gravel filter. The ones with the HOB grew more in the same period of time. I took that to mean that the HOB was doing a better job of filtration than the UGF.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Interesting!

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Excellent advice to clear up the myth

[@JohnWood-tk1ge]

Reminds me of the line from Pirates of the Caribbean, rules/ we were thinking they were more or less guidelines!

[@phillipbruni2434]

Great video, so true, ps, thanks Joanna for calling me out at the swap. I apologize, I usually make a walk around first and then say hello and we been dealing with family matters so my mind and focus was zoned out, y’all look great ❤

[@zenaaubrey2701]

Yes. I received a Blue Nile tilapia in November 2022. I believe it was about 3 or 4 inches then. Around May or June 2023 it went to 5 inches. It's July and the fish is about 6 to 7 inches long. That fish was given to me in a 10 gallon tank. This August I'm buying a bigger tank. Looking into a 55 or 75 gallon. I had know idea that Blue Nile tilapia would grow so quickly.

[@Michaelwright1976]

Hi what dwarf cichlid could I put together in a community tank and what are the best tank m8s thank you from Cumbria England

[@garg4531]

Just want to say that oscar looks absolutely *massive* in that 125... I dare say that it might actually be too small! And I definitely agree with starting them off in a large tank from the start, especially since a lot of people probably plan to "upgrade" later on but never do

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Yep - even a 125 is borderline.

[@Alex-il6pn]

What affects them more is having the same fish in the same tank. Had a tank of 3 particular fish in one tank and 4 in another of all the same fish, both in 75 gallon tanks. 2 of the 3 died in one tank, and all 4 lived in the other. The 1 that survived was not the smallest, he was around the middle of the pack, but a couple of months later, I put them all in a 300 gallon and the one that was by himself was significantly larger. I even put the 4 in the 300 2 months before I moved the 1 that was by himself. It was a cool experiment i got to do by accident.

[@Lizardlafemme]

I have a 75 gal with 1 green severum, I gold red spotted secerum, 2 lavender gourmet, 3 clown loaches, a golden nugget pleco, a female bristlenose and a marble angel. Do I have room for 1 more fish.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I would probably hold off. The severums will get pretty large.

[@Lizardlafemme]

@PrimeTimeAquatics they're pretty big. The green male is big enough to eat. Large as your hand probably. He's like 4 years old. Ive been having issues with him. He's had external parasites on and off . I finally just dosed the heck out of the whole tank. Hard for 2 weeks.

[@v-man372]

Interesting video mate. 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@floodcityfishkeeper8365]

Just watch Ohio Fish Rescues Big Betty episode from a while back. It was a 3 foot long Pacu in a 125. Couldn't even turn without coming out of the water and doing a pivot kind of thing.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Yep

[@joakimhjelm-svennesen8984]

I wonder if that’s the case with my heterandria formosa? I keep them in a 54 L/14 G tank. Some of my female heterandria formosa seems to have a shorter tail part of their body. Not the caudal fin, just tail from the abdomen to the caudal fin itself. Otherwise they swim and breed fine and behavior seems normal and doesn’t seem to suffer from it. I just wonder if it lack of space that keep them from growing normal so they adapt to their surroundings or if it’s some inbreeding problem. Males seems to grow normal in size and behave normal. I also keep chili rasbora in the tank. They seem normal in size and behavior and keeps spawning and laying eggs, but I don’t think they will turn out to have fry. I guess my heterandria eat the eggs

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

For those fish 14 gallons is huge! We have kept them full grown in a 5 gallon.

[@joakimhjelm-svennesen8984]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics thanks for the answer. And I never really heard of inbreeding problems with heterandria formosa. So I take it some just are shorter than others

[@carolebraswell982]

Thank you for this interesting analysis and letting us know the truth about this myth.

[@chadb6925]

this is kind of up there with the 1" of fish per gallon idea. that may work ok with nano fish but keeping an 12" oscar in a 12 gallon tank simply wont work. best to just research the fish you want to keep and house accordingly.

[@audrameyer9558]

That was very interesting!

[@iainaquariumagic]

Great information 🐠🐟💦

[@juliaheinritz3264]

Interesting. Good to know

[@KS-ok9lq]

Jason, I've watched your videos for years now. I have an issue I can't find on the internet. I have a juvenile Cuban cichlid about 3 inches. He lives by himself in a 40 breeder for the time being, and he went from happy and healthy 1 day to not able to move his back half. Have you ever seen this. I thought with the number of cichlids you have kept over the years you may have an answer. Parameters are good and he is not a glass banger so I dont know what is up. Any help would make me and Castro very happy. I know this doesn't relate to this video.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I have seen this before, but in our case the fish eventually died a short time later because it got bullied (obviously yours is by itself), but my fish never recovered.

[@KS-ok9lq]

Thank you. Sucks to lose one like this.

[@johncameron4194]

Very interesting

[@MegaKemper]

In my stupid younger days I kept way too big of fish in way too small of aquariums, feel a lot of shame about it today.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I’ve done it before too!

[@macc224]

bit like the 6 month old common plec i have in my 65 that the lfc told me was a bristle nose lol yep im one of them....... i will rehome when to big or maybe use it as an excuse to get a bigger tank🤣

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Why is this thing still growing?! Haha

[@macc224]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics think its at about 6 to 7 inches atm never see it hides at the back of the tank it is scared of the super red plec thats 4inches lol

[@kivancic4051]

Ah man put my neon tetra in a 240 gallon. Now it’s as big as my dog :(

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Now that would be cool if it could happen!

[@Fish-Addict]

Love/hate this topic. My general argument, if that myth was true, people living in a one bedroom apartment will only grow to 4 feet, and....maybe if a midget had a 3 bedroom apartment he'd grow taller?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Look what happened to the hobbits in Lord of The Rings?!? 😀

[@Fish-Addict]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics 🙊🤣

[@PaulZyCZ]

Then there are fish like pangacius (shark catfish): When it cannot grow it dies.

[@lizdyson3627]

Love Tilapia

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I miss mine so much!

[@lizdyson3627]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics Timmy was adorable.

[@carlosvillanueva8530]

I find it interesting that people are talking opinion when they can go to Google Scholar and get actual scientific data, and accumulated human knowledge instead of well jeff said, so it must be right. People should really learn to read and comprehend for themselves. Thousands of fish farms have already done the work on whether container size or water quality is more important in fish growth. But we have people who have "theories" that have been disproven for decades if not centuries still making claims. I'm not talking about the video maker he in fact seems to be very educated as to his topic. Do you believe that they never tried raising sardines already in the can, by just running saltwater through it?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

No doubt. Unfortunately, the overwhelmingly majority of people will never read a scientific review article on the topic much less a full scholarly research report. My job is to make It simple with easy to understand results.

[@kennysullivan7665]

Water change outs ... More new water bigger fish.

[@Cichlid_4_ever]

I couldn’t keep a single red devil in a 75 ? Inhabitants are zero but the personality he’s had in the 40 and now the 75 is the same

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Ya, that could probably work for a while. I've seen them over 12" though so a larger tank may be necessary after a few years.

[@hulloitsbunawhale9329]

This video is much better in 2x playback speed

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

You can get this bad boy knocked out in two minutes!