# Is it possible to "un-stunt" a stunted fish?



## MBen89 (Jul 24, 2015)

So I have a bunch of African peacocks that I got when they were still fry. Some got very big and colourful, and some others barely grew a quarter of an inch and stopped. 

It can't be due to not getting enough food because I am overly generous with the portions that I feed them at each feeding, and I do that 3 times a day. The tank is big enough (100 gallons) and has lots of caves and hiding spots, so it can't be due to lack of space either.

The only reason I can think of is genetics? but then again that's not concrete because they all came from the same tank and the same parents. Even if the fry are bound to have dominant ones and runt ones, I did separate one of the smaller ones and put it in a community tank (as an experiment, which I mentioned in a previous post), but it's still not growing even though it's eating well there.

Any ideas of what to do? and have you had a stunted fish where you helped "un-stunt" it per se? I don't know what to do and it's bugging me that some of my fry aren't growing because now they can't keep up with the larger ones in terms of aggression and food. 

Let me know of your experiences regarding this issue.


----------



## tomsfish (Jan 8, 2010)

This is where culling comes in. Its a task many struggle with. Most likely genetics but even with good genetics there are runts with each litter. Give it another few weeks then either euthanize or feed it to bigger fish.
Another option is to get a separate tank and grow the other fry but just means more space for something that may or may not have potential.


----------



## MBen89 (Jul 24, 2015)

I got to say, I LOVE you style lol many would frown upon feeding them to bigger fish, but certainly not me. Thank you for the response, I'll definitely keep that in mind. I would much rather give the bigger ones more space and more food.


----------

