Dose tank size stunt a fishes growth?

indica · Member Joined: 02 Apr 2004 Posts: 20 Location: B.C.

Hello
I just recently purchased a tanks that holds about 8 gallons of water. I have two columbian sharks, a black and white tiger oscar, a bala shark, a rainbow shark, and a cory. They are all under and inch and a half right now and i am planning on getting a bigger tank when i can afford it. I was just wondering if them being in this small tank will cause them to stop growing. I was told by my sisters boyfriend that it will, but has bin wrong about most of the things he has said so far, so i was wondering if this was wrong too.
indica

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Yes, a tank that is too small will definitely stunt a fish's growth and it is a very bad thing for the fish. They will end up with weakened immune systems, internal damage, external deformities, and will eventually die.

Not only is that tank already way to small for all those fish, most of them are not even compatible.

Columbian sharks start out as freshwater fish but as they get older they need more & more salt. By the time they mature, they need a full salt water environment.

An oscar will grow 1" per month. Even if it were by itself in that 8 gallon tank, it would only be able to stay in there 2 more months tops (and by that time you would have to do water changes at least twice a week so it wouldn't be poisoned by it's own waste). Oscars can get 14" - 16" not including their tails. The bare minimum for one is 55 gallons (but due to the dimensions of a standard 55 gallon tank, a 75 would be much better).

Bala sharks also get around 14". They are als incredibly active and prefer to be in groups so for that one to be happy, you would need to get at least 2 other bala sharks and at least a 100 gallon tank.

Rainbow sharks get about 6". But iteself it could probably stay in an 8 gallon tank. And cories get around 4" but they also like to be in groups so you would need at least 3 of them which will not fit in an 8 gallon tank.

Honestly, if you can't get more & bigger tanks (2 55's, a 100, and a 10) within the next few weeks, I suggest returning all of your fish and finding soemthing more suitable for your tank. Otherwise, the fish are going to start getting sick and dying.

-Chelle

needlefish · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 11:56 am Post subject:

i agree with Chelle. Taking care of an oscar is a lot of money. for that tank you maybe could try zebra danios. they are peaceful fish and live in groups. you could also get 3 pea puffers or 4 dwarf puffers for a 8 gallon tank. Hope this helps.

Dillon

Aznfryboi · Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 12:03 am Post subject:

yeh me too.. if i were u i get a 100gallon if i were u cause yur fish gonna need alot of space to grow...but there gonna be some hard working there...