Quote:
|
I have no scientific/factual evidence other than my wn experience's with the saying "fish will grow to fit their aquariums."
|
Not to single you out CMG, but you are exactly right, fish will stop growing before they cannot fit in our tank, but that is because when they die, they stop growing. Simply put, when a fish becomes 'stunted', it stops growing on the outside, so to speak, but its organs continue to grow which usually leads to death and while I don't know of any empirical evidence to suggest it, probably an increasingly painful death. That is, if the fish doesn't die from another illness/disease because it was too stressed to fight it off.
In my very strong opinion, our ultimate goal should be to keep our fish alive for the entirety of its natural lifespan and allow it to grow to its full potential; doing otherwise is unethical in many ways IMHO. In fact, I would all but guarantee that someday, if it hasnt already happened, you will bump into someone who seemingly 'brags' about his or her skill because they kept the goldfish they one at the fair for an entire two years in which time it almost grew to be a full three inches long...only to be shocked/embarrassed when he or she finds out that two years is less than 10% of its potential lifespan and is no where near the size it could/should have grown to be. This could also be the case for a red tail or columbian shark just as easily.
That being said, I am also willing to bet that a normally peaceful fish might become aggressive if it is in discomfort from being stunted, or from being in a small tank in which it cannot enjoy a territory the size it would otherwise be. Lastly, even if the proposed Columbian shark stays at a small size, that doesn't really negate its propensity towards eating other tankmates which I might also feel as though it fits into the definition of aggressive.
Again, not picking on anyone, just wanted to bring these points up.
, 4 Flying Fox, 4 Marble Hatchet, 2 Koolie Loaches,4 Congo Tetra, 1 Red eye Tetra
