goldfish size

so a quick question i have five "feeder" goldfish i got from the same batch. ive had them for a year or so. why is it 2 of them are about 5ish inches and the other three are threeish inches?they are in the same tank and get fed the same nothing diffrent... im just curious.

Don't know. Might be that they just aren't getting to the food or maybe they are just runts of the batch.

Could be a bunch of things. Genes for 1 thing. Poss. Overcrowding? Dominant fish get larger and more food. They could be a different strain. For example, comets have longer tails and some people think they look larger.

its wierd.... i always sit and watch them eat and i know they are getting pleanty, their body types are the same, so it would have to be genetics right? they came from the smae batch but that doesnt mean same parents. another thing wondering if maybe the bigger ones are female and the smaller ones male? i was reading online that the bigger ones are usually female, but i didnt think it would be this big of a diffrence till they were MUCH bigger like in the 10 inch rance lol

what size is your tank?

You can tell males from females by the breeding stars male will get on the gill plates. They look like little white pimples.

I have shubunkins males and females that are the same size. Goldfish swim all the time and use a lot of energy, could be that you're not feeding them enough to grow larger. Just a thought

right now they are in a 30 gallon i believe... not too sure. a friend gave it to me. i feed them three times a day and continue feeding till they consume everything and no longer go after the pinches that i put in there. i also supplement with blood worms. i went up and really looked at them the larger ones are extremely fat and two of the three smaller ones look like they have a little bit of acne but its just one or two spots on each and so small i could barely see them. i thought they wouldn't breed without ideal water conditions and being much older than they are.

another question can i keep them in the tank with the rock bass i have without them being bullied?

I read somewhere that goldfish can breed as soon as they look like goldfish. Don't know if that is accurate or not.

well i guess we shall see what happans. lol

I don't think I'd put your rock bass in there with them, I'd be afraid they might become a meal.

It sounds like you're doing everything right, maybe something just stopped their growth I'm not really sure why they aren't growing larger for you.

ok I've been thinking about this all day!

I wonder if the fact that they haven't grown much because the fish were
"feeder fish" Typically feeder fish aren't very health and are kept in unhealthly conditions until they are sold for food. Maybe their growth was stunted

this is true that they arnt bred for their genetics... i guess alot of it that i have to remember is that they are all beautiful fish and i need to be thankful for that. i just hope they dont die too too early, though im sure they arnt going to live too long

katroberts wrote:

so a quick question i have five "feeder" goldfish i got from the same batch. ive had them for a year or so. why is it 2 of them are about 5ish inches and the other three are threeish inches?they are in the same tank and get fed the same nothing diffrent... im just curious.

Gold fish that are a year old should be at least 10 - 12 inches. What is the size of your tank? I'm going to jump the gun on this one you could have two female and three males