Goldfish

[Birchy]

Is there any trutch in the rumour that goldfish grow to their environment's size. i.e. if you keep a goldfish in a small bowl it will stay the same size, but if you increase the space, it will grow bigger? Why on earth am I asking this?

[treaclefight]

it is true and i don't know why you're asking either, but i'm sure someone will :-D

[gilf]

Yes its true but its not on the size but in terms of area but in terms of depth. For example my dad has koi carp and they were in a small pond, but one grew really big. He then built a special Koi pond which is about 6 foot deep and they all have grown really really big. I think there is a maximum size for a fish but yes they do grow in relation to the depth of their pond/tank.

[treaclefight]

in french lakes there are many carp that weigh over40lbs, we get a few over 30s here. it seems that the carp family (goldfish being members of that) just keep growing to the limits of their environments and about 50lbs in weight seems to be their weight limit, it is conceivable that in specially managed conditions they would grow bigger. land animals face a definite environmental limitation in terms of gravity, if we get oversized then our bodies find it hard to cope ( getting fat is one way of becoming oversized, but people who have unusually large skeletons also face many health problems) fish dont have to deal with gravity in the same way and are able to grow very large as a result.