Goldfish Tank Upgrade?

Hi, I have a 12-year-old comet goldfish who has been having some issues with his swim bladder, to the point that his spine is somewhat curved. He has lived in a 5-gallon tank for most of his life, and I would really like to buy a much larger tank for him. At this age, if he were to live in a larger tank, would he grow more? He is about 4 inches long now. And if he were to grow, would that make his spine worse? I know that in humans with scoliosis, growth can make the condition worse. Is the same true for goldfish? Also, what size tank do you recommend? Thank you for all of your help in advance.

 

He may grow, but it won’t fix itself if he is stunted from the size of the tank. He will continue to have a curved spine. I would recommend 10-20 gallons at least to give him more space.

 

Thank you for your response. Would growing make the curvature worse?

 

hard to say if he'll grow. he's already severely stunted. my comets are almost a year old and already 6" long.

a 20 gallon Long or 29 gallon would be bettter for him.

petsuppliesplus, if you have one in your area is currently having the $1 per gallon sale, so a 20Long is $20 and the 29 gallon is $29, great deals. or if you have the room a 40breeder is $50 or the 55 gallon is $65.

 

without knowing history- Malnutrition- lack of vitamin c from too old food -fish TB and nitrites are common causes of curved spines too. 4 inch fish will be so much happier in a bigger tank and won’t make spine worse

 

Another thought is there is no evidence that natural stunting causes deformed spines in pond fish in the scientific literature- and anecdotally my 4inch goldfish lived 21 yrs and was shaped normally till the end...but muscle atrophy from being in a too small tank relative to body size could cause instability of the spine. an upgrade will certainly help.