Okay, then my questions now is, Why is it stunted? It's been in this tank since I've had it. Over 8 years. It was a baby Comet Fish when bought.
Goldfish Concern
- Thread starter mcdanielnc89
- Start date
Has the tank been maintained by water changes back from the beginning? If not, that could be why the fish never reached its potential. Build up of nitrate can stunt the fish aside from making them vulnerable to old tank syndrome where fish are shocked from the sudden changes in environment when you suddenly change a large portion of their dirty water.
The causes of stunting are quite diverse... ranging from poor water quality (inadequate filtration likely, possibly too infrequent water changes, or overfeeding), too small a space, overcrowding, inadequate diet, stress factors which may reduce the benefit it should be getting from rest periods, hyperactivity (improper temperature raising the fish's metabolism), the presence of disease or pathogens, and even aggression from tank mates. It's hard for us to pinpoint the actual cause for you in this case without knowing a lot more about the fish's history, your tank maintenance habits, what food it's been given, and more specific information about this tank setup.
Somewhere around 60-80% of a goldfish's body development is formed during it's first year of life, while fin development is more pronounced during the second year. Adult size should be attained by it's third year and then the longer it lives (figure a 20-30+ year potential lifespan)... the longer/larger it will grow at a much slower rate. Since your fish stopped growing in length by around the 6 to 8 inch point, odds are quite good that stunting began early within the first year and whatever condition that caused this problem had not been corrected during it's second year or third year.
A fish that becomes stunted produces natural enzymes that retard normal body growth and development. The body stops growing in overall size, but the internal organs and some outward features (such as the size of it's eyes) continue to grow as they otherwise would, despite the lack of growth of its body.
You can expect a stunted fish to have a much lower immunity to disease and lower resistance to parasites, as well digestive problems and a much shorter lifespan. Goldfish also expell a certain amount of respiratory waste through their gills that is quite high in ammonia... thus contributing even more dissolved waste to the tank's bioload. As the internal organs become cramped due to stunting, a comet is more likely to experience organ failure and will process the food ingested less effectively. A pond variety goldfish (such as a comet) would then share the same kind of digestive vulnerabilities as fancy varieties, due to it's smaller internal cavity in relation to the size of it's internal organs. Feeding a diet that's too high in protein will also add to the fish's waste production, as the excessive protein content passes through undigested.
Somewhere around 60-80% of a goldfish's body development is formed during it's first year of life, while fin development is more pronounced during the second year. Adult size should be attained by it's third year and then the longer it lives (figure a 20-30+ year potential lifespan)... the longer/larger it will grow at a much slower rate. Since your fish stopped growing in length by around the 6 to 8 inch point, odds are quite good that stunting began early within the first year and whatever condition that caused this problem had not been corrected during it's second year or third year.
A fish that becomes stunted produces natural enzymes that retard normal body growth and development. The body stops growing in overall size, but the internal organs and some outward features (such as the size of it's eyes) continue to grow as they otherwise would, despite the lack of growth of its body.
You can expect a stunted fish to have a much lower immunity to disease and lower resistance to parasites, as well digestive problems and a much shorter lifespan. Goldfish also expell a certain amount of respiratory waste through their gills that is quite high in ammonia... thus contributing even more dissolved waste to the tank's bioload. As the internal organs become cramped due to stunting, a comet is more likely to experience organ failure and will process the food ingested less effectively. A pond variety goldfish (such as a comet) would then share the same kind of digestive vulnerabilities as fancy varieties, due to it's smaller internal cavity in relation to the size of it's internal organs. Feeding a diet that's too high in protein will also add to the fish's waste production, as the excessive protein content passes through undigested.
The tank has been maintained by water changes. I can only think of one thing that could have possibly caused it. About 5 years ago, I had to put in a tropical fish into the goldfish's tank as I had no where else to put it at the time until I called the LFS to see if they would take the rainbow shark. It's a big no no to put tropical fish with goldfish, but I had no other way to do it. This goldfish has not really gotten any bigger since I put the shark in there with it. Regardless, the shark is no longer alive, but That's the only thing I can think of that made the goldfish stunted.
Yes, that's enough for 1 comet... but goldfish are very sociable and wouldn't be happy (possibly wouldn't thrive) as a solitary fish. So it's really tough to set this up for long-term if the fish will be isolated from others all the time.
Okay, It wouldn't stunt the fish though right? I just measured the aquarium its in and it comes up as a 30 gallon, not a 55.
Unfortunately, you will be unable to enjoy the goldfish around which is the point of having the hobby as solitary ones will never be able to interact with anyone and enable them to remain physically and mentally active. At this point, their immune system drops and they eventually become vulnerable to health issues. Why not build a pond for them or sell the current one and upgrade?
NO... lol. I'm getting a 120 Gallon ASAP for them. I'm just trying to figure out why it's stunted. It's ina big enough tnak.
Tank size is only one of the causes that can make fish stunted. The other possibilities that I know of, I've already posted here.
The larger tank you're considering now sounds wonderful.. and that will enable to keep more than one solitary goldfish. So it sounds like you're on the right track.
The larger tank you're considering now sounds wonderful.. and that will enable to keep more than one solitary goldfish. So it sounds like you're on the right track.
