dwarf yellow tang?

i have had my yellow tang for about 2 years, he was in a 40 gallon for quite some time until i upgraded to my 90. the thing is after all this time hes only about 3 inches long, i went to the lfs and asked them about this and they said that some fish if in limited space will just stop growing. has anyone else had this problem?

 

It's speculated it's an issue of not having an optimal diet. A a lot of fish never reach their full potential when bought as a juvie or sub adult... even when placed in an appropriately sized tank.

Stress also causes a release of a hormone that interferes with the growth hormone. The stress of an inappropriately small tank can indeed stunt their growth.

But the size limitation does not come about the way it does for freshwater fish.

 

well see the tang i got from a friend a while back who thought he would try saltwater although knowing nothing about it. he tried to put the tang in a ten gallon tank and it was in there for like 5 months. then he read up and decided to give it to me so it didnt die. then i had it in the forty like i said and now it is in a ninety. i feed him a variety of food. i dont know how he could be malnourished

 

It's not malnourished... It's just not getting all the amino acids and nutrients that it would be getting in the wild.
Therefore growth is stunted

 

is this a problem? because it seems very healthy and active its just small. is htere any way i can supply it with the needed amino acids?

 

No, it's not malnourishment, per sa. We just can't provide fish with the diet they receive in the wild. It's impossible. The variety and amounts of foods available to them there is mind boggling.

 

do they also have a shortened life span because of this? can it also happen with other fish such as clowns and angels?

 

LOL... didn't see this.

I had an adult volitans grow at age 3 when I started giving him a fresh super varied diet with added vitamins and Beta Glucan. I never expected that to happen. I thought they would be stunted for life.

I actually don't like talking about this topic. I'm always afraid peeps will purposely stunt their fish to fit in a tank. But there are indeed several ways accomplish this.

 

Feed him like a king now, and you will get many years from him. Yes, it can happen to all fish when they are bought small.

 

i dont think he even eats the same thing more than once a week his diet is greatly varied