Stunted or a slow grower

[Owlbehere]

I have the two little fish that I got as babies. A, what I thought red wag platy and a dalmatian molly. The red wag looks like maybe a hybrid (a lady brought in a bag full at Pmart and we put them in a empty tank dubbed the nursery) It is red with black fins but its tail fin is fanned large and almost looks like a mickey mouse but with out the ears.
My question is about the dalmatian molly. She is half the size of the platy. She seems healthy, good appetite and not lethargic. They just got moved to the 46 but were in a 20g long. Could she be stunted/defected or just a slow grower?

Edit: Its as long as the platy but not as fat. About 1 1/2 inch - 2 inch long I got it when it was 1/4 inch

[Oscar_freak12321]

Just sounds like a slow grower. I wouldn't worry bout it too much.

[rich311k]

She would not have stunted in a 20 long. She may be a slow grower or she is just a small fish. It does happen.

[Gayle]

Well my dalmation molly TG is right about 2 to 2 1/2 inches long right now. TG was born on Thanksgiving, so somewhere close to 6 months old. IDK really if that is a normal growth rate or not. This is the only molly fry I have kept so far.

[Owlbehere]

hmm maybe slow. I got her around November. But she was the smallest fry.

She sure is cute though

[Oscar_freak12321]

Yep sounds like you have a runt. Runts just take a little longer to grow than regular fry. I wouldn't worry about it too much, ok? He/she will grow very soon and should get back to the nromal size as he/she should be.

[MCHRKiller]

Some fish are just like that. For example I have a feeder goldfish in my 55G tank the smallest tank this fish has ever been housed in is 40gallons...and I bought it over 2 years ago as a meal for my then piranhas...but it survived. The fish is at most 3" long, it has lived with all sorts of fish and all the other fish grow and reach full size but this feeder never grows. Its healthy active, eats like a pig...just never grows.

[Mvjnz]

What do you feed them? If you feed them nothing but flakes and other dry food, that would cause them to grow quite slowly. If you wanna try to speed up their growth, try supplementing with frozen food a couple times a week..

[Owlbehere]

I used to feed frozen but haven't in a while... they get flakes and freeze dried blood worms

[Goodbye]

I have a Three Spot Gourami and have had it for 4 years. It is only 3" and is suppose to reach 6". Most Gouramis only live for around 4-5 years.

[Wild Turkey]

Agree, runts happen. They are less common to see in pet stores because they are usually less hardy and die off somewhere between birth at the farm and arrival to the petshop. Its one reason why its best to go with the larger fish from a batch when buying at the lfs, assuming they all look healthy.

[MCHRKiller]

Also alot of the mass marketed fish are genetically screwed up...bottom line. They are fed growth hormones as fry, their parents are fed hormones to make them produce more offspring, they are constantly medicated to prevent disease because they are kept in vats thick with fish. Not to mention that there are not that many fish farms in the US geared toward hobby kept species...I read somewhere the number is less than 20. Few wild specimines are imported to have genetic diversity...we're exhausting bloodlines plus all of our scientific BS added to these animals to keep them alive and grow them faster for a sell.

I will always keep my feeder goldfish as a testimate as to just how bad we humans can screw up an animal for profit. That fish should be 3X bigger even in p*ss poor conditions...this thing practically gets fed filet mignoin(j/k).

[Owlbehere]

This little fish was a freebie born at the store and the only one that survived. (Petsmart) We were not supposed to but we would keep the babies born in an empty tank and employees would take them home.

I guess she is just petite :)

[Northernguy]

Have you got any pics?:22:
Show us your fish!:hmm3grin2orange: lol
I think there is runts in every batch of fry.Thats life,it happens with animals and people too.I'm sure that the meds,foods,water conditions all play a role in it as well.

[Owlbehere]

UGH I can't yet LOL, I have to rip my room apart to look for the charger.... Then I can post photos of all the new things!