 Re: Can a discus become "un-stunted"?
I think once all development has stopped, there is no way to un-stunt a fish.
Case in point. My university has been home to a gar (don't remember the species) that is the longest living gar in captivity. The thing is about 30+ years old. It has lived those entire 30+ years in a 30 long tank, being fed feeder goldfish once to twice a week. Now for anybody who knows gars, these fish are known to grow upwards of 6ft. This gar is no more than 2ft if its an inch. I don't think placing him in a larger tank is going to make him grow anymore.
There has been scientific talk about fish releasing a horemone into the water that "stunts" their growth, which is why we commonly hear the myth "fish only grow to the size of their tank." Depending upon the species of fish, yes indeed, they do only grow to the size of their environment, which is why in captivity we never see 24" clown loaches or 3ft irradescent sharks even though these fish may live with their aquarst 10 to 20 years.
The down side to this is that large growing fish, if not properly stunted by the reduction of their food intake and decrease to their water temps to slow down growth, they do end up obeast, and just like in humans, obeastity in fish will shorten their life span.
~~Colesea
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The above, of course, is strictly opinion. If you don't have your own, I'll gladly give you mine. | 
08-27-2002, 09:37 AM
