stunting

[Liz]

If I have a fish that is already stunted, would it be unethical to keep it in a tank smaller than the maximum adult size demands....?

[Tihsho]

A stunted fish being put into a larger tank is a good thing. Sometimes fish/puffs are not fully stunted so a larger tank allows them to grow out as much as possible, aswell as add swimming space and less on the bioload.

[RTR]

Unlike most land vertebrates, fish never stop growing, so moving to a larger - just as Tihsho said - is always beneficial

[perek]

Depends on what fish.

If it was a pleco kept in a 20G for 5 years, then you probably arnt going to need a 75G+ tank.

There are certain levels of stunting.

[lisalisa]

If it was a pleco kept in a 20G for 5 years, then you probably arnt going to need a 75G tank.

It may never grow into a tank that large, but with no accurate way of measuring the degree of stunting, moving any fish to adequate housing is the only proper thing to do.

[Pufferpunk]

There are certain levels of stunting.

Have you been in the hobby for that long that you know this for a fact? Have you seen it often? Have you done studies on this?

[Myaj]

I've had fish I kept in too small of tanks (red rainbows and SAE's in a 29), that I thought were full grown. Once I moved them to a 75, they grew like weeds.

My SAP has never grown since I got him, no matter how large the tank. I don't think he'll ever grow much over an inch, honestly. Who knows what he went through before I got him though.

I would say your best bet is to move them, as they can start growing again. I think it takes a heck of a lot to really stunt them for good, but it doesn't take much to stress their systems and cause illness and early death from being stunted. So if there is a chance of him growing and releasing the strain on those organs, I'd get him in a bigger tank ASAP.