How long does it take a tropical fish to fully growth in adult size?
by Aquaboy on Sunday, June 6th, 2010 | 4 Comments
I am a beginner. I am wondering how long does it take a topical fish grow to adult size.
I am wondering because some of my fishes are about 1 inch but I found their profile on internet that they can growth to 2 inch. Thus, I am wondering how long will a topical fish reach its adult size.
I work in a PetSmart, though that’s not where I learnt about fish, I knew about them LONG before.
I get this question all the time and I have to say it drives me crazy.
Here are some things you need to know to answer this question….
1) Most fish while growing secrete hormones that suppress the growth of other fish.
2) Ammonia and Nitrate spikes suppress the growth of fish. This is why people think that fish will stop growing in a small tank – they get so poisoned by their own waste that they can no longer grow – gross.
3) Growth will be effected by the resources: heat, food, type of food, water parameters, light, etc.
6 tinfoil barb (Tropical fish, gets about 1 foot long) in a 120 gallon aquarium that is well maintained fed a varied diet might reach full size in about 3 years.
10 guppies (tropical fish, gets about 2 inches) in a 10 gallon aquarium that gets mediocre maintenance fed only flakes may never reach full size.
Also keep in mind that information given on a species will give averages. The average tinfoil barb will be about a 1 foot long, some may be 15 inches, some may be only 8.
The average North American Woman is about 5’3″ or so, I’m only 4’11″.
All this to say that there is no real way to tell how long it will take your fish to grow. If its a 2 inch fish I’d expect a life expectancy around 2-5 years so I’d expect them to be full size by about 18-24 months old.
there are millions of tropical fish in the world and all have varying growth rates
What sort of fish do you have
Depends on the type of fish, and their lifespan.
Something small like a Guppy that only lives for 2 or 3 years, it would be pretty much fully grown in 12 months in good conditions.
A clown loach may take 15 years to reach a foot long, but can live for 50 years.
Also fish never really stop growing, but it slows down a lot when they reach ‘adult’ size. So an Oscar can grow to maybe 10″ in a year, then it’s growth slows down. 12″ next year, 15″ when it dies of old age at 10 years.
I have a local freshwater cray thats about 4″ long, from what I have researched about them they grow about 1/4″ a year. Makes her about 15 years old – might live another 15 if I keep up the care.
Also watch what some sites say about size and lifespan. A well known pet chain has a ‘Care sheet’ for Common Plecos. Says they grow to 6″ and live for 3-5 years. Umm.. mine is 12″ and 6 years old, and still growing. But if you have a small popular fish like a guppy or platy then 2″ is probably a good maximum size.
Ian
It may depend on its breed