Measure my fish?

another dumb question from a newby...apparently I am a bad guesser at how long my fish are...do you stick a ruler in there? wait till they swim by? chase them with it? ha ha (i'm kidding there)...my boyfriend always says my fish are longer than my estimate, so now I want to know - for sure - so I don't overstock. thanks!
Denise

 

When you research your fish, the profiles will usually tell you the adult size of the fish. When you measure, don't include the tail.

 

not even my pleco's tail? it takes up a good bit! thanks Gunnie!
Denise

 

What I do is I look at my ruler and then at a particular fish I want to measure. Then I guess, more or less, what its size is. But a far better way to know your fish sizes is - as Gunnie has said - to simply look up the same species online and see what their adult sizes are.

 

Its not the current size of your fish that should be taken into consideration for stocking limits, its the adult size of the fish.

 

thanks, Boxermom..that was where I was getting confused..I've been online looking up all my fish and now i've got my list of what they'll be as adults, and can plan accordingly. thanks ya'll
Denise

 

On aqAdvisor, when it ask you for the size of the fish, are they asking for the standard, fork, or total length of the fish?

 

Whats the difference LOL!

 

Does it ask for the size of the fish?
Most fish sites I use such as seriously fish give size in standard length so I'd go with that.

SL is the length to the last vertebra of the body, TL is the length to the end of the tail & FL is to the middle of the fork in the tail

 

+1 for Standard Length

 

Whats the difference LOL!

The difference is one is right and the other are wrong lol. It'd drive me crazy not knowing.

Does it ask for the size of the fish?
Most fish sites I use such as seriously fish give size in standard length so I'd go with that.

SL is the length to the last vertebra of the body, TL is the length to the end of the tail & FL is to the middle of the fork in the tail

Thank you. Now to re-arrange the layout for the 12th time in a week.

 

how do you guys measure your fish

 

how do you guys measure your fish

Most of us don't bother? I just kind of eyeball it and take a ballpark guess...

 

Maybe tape a ruler to the back of the aquarium?

 

remember my ozzy. I'm trying to make sure he's not stunted so I want to know the best way to measure him. I know he is supposed to grow 1 inch a month or something like that so I want to keep him in check

Oh yes, your oscar.

You could always net him, lay him on a damp towel, measure him, and return him quickly so he's not too stressed.

 

WHY Does it matter, I'm sorry, I just don't see the problem.

 

WHY Does it matter, I'm sorry, I just don't see the problem.

I just want to make sure he isn't stunted.

 

Oh yes, your oscar.

You could always net him, lay him on a damp towel, measure him, and return him quickly so he's not too stressed.

dont do that...get a ball park figure or hold a ruler to the tsank and persuade him somehow to swim by it

I just want to make sure he isn't stunted.

put him in a 220 he will be fine

 

I just want to make sure he isn't stunted.

If he's in the right tank size he won't be stunted, why are you concerned ?

 

Put a ruler up to the outside of the tank, gently get your Oscar to the front of the tank (keep him in the tank) and then measure with the ruler.

 

If you want an exact measurement you would have to take the fish out and lay it against a measuring tape or ruler.

 

Another way to do things is to measure the width of a decoration, and see how big he is compared to it when he swims by.

 

or just make a ruler a decoration...

 

My idea was stupid...

 

My idea was stupid...

Actually many people do that method especially in competitions ect... I don't personally I just put a ruler to the tank and measure.

 

Actually many people do that method especially in competitions ect... I don't personally I just put a ruler to the tank and measure.

I see marine biologists and anglers do it all the time with catch-and-release specimens so I assumed the same would be fine for a pet fish.

 

If he's in the right tank size he won't be stunted, why are you concerned ?

he was in a 10 gallon at the pet store for a good while. He is in my 70g quarantine for the next few months then its a 180g or more he will be moved to

 

I wanted to ask if there was any good way to measure my fish, as I want to make sure they're growing healthy and big. There's been some people who simply just mark the tank and await for the fish to swim by the markings to see how big they are, or even how a friend of mines just puts something in the tank to compare their size to...

...but those don't work for me as A. I have common goldfish (feeders, to be exact) and they're REALLY athletic and swim super fast, so obviously I can't get a good look from markings on a tank

and B. I'm really bad at telling differences between sizes because of perspective.

I don't want to just DRAG my fish out of their tank and onto a wet cotton ball with a ruler and then plop them back into the tank, that sounds really stressful (despite them starting to warm up to me more and more every single day)!

So yes, I hope you guys can supply me with any answers, any help would be appreciated!

 

Tape a ruler on the glass. When they swim buy you can guesstimate it.

 

Taking the fish out and laying it flat really is the only way, to get a proper measure. But why do it? If the fish appears healthy, don’t bother. I don’t see your reason justifiable enough.

But if you’re adamant in doing so, don’t use cotton balls, please. I can imagine it’ll just absorb the slime coat. If you really want to pamper them, then I suppose you could try something like this:

However, I’d use less water to where the fish can only swim flat on one side, and measure it that way. I’m sure you can jiggy something similar without too much difficulty.

 

Train the fish to swim into a clear cup, scratch the cup with inch measurements along the side where you can see the fish. Once you have as close a measurement (from the mouth to the base of the tail, the tail is not counted) pour out the fish back into the tank gently.

 

Leave your fish in the tank and don’t try and measure them. Taking them out and back will result in a dead fish for sure

 

Leave your fish in the tank and don’t try and measure them. Taking them out and back will result in a dead fish for sure

I have moved fish, checked out fish for injury (without them being in water at that point) and those fish are just fine.
There are safe ways to measure your fish - making sure all of your equipment is prewet (meaning hands, containers, and nets) that way it doesn't snag on the slime coat of the fish.
Have a tub or other container ready to hold the fish from the tank with fresh water (primed preferably) before measuring the fish (if you know the length/width of this you can measure your fish - for example the larger "specimen container" is around 7 inches in length, marking inch increments on the side and having the fish line up as it is moving in it would produce measurement of fish without highly stressing the fish -it is still in water that is of similar temp and parameters to the tank it lives in- if fish died every time you moved them a lot of us wouldn't even be in the hobby).

 

Why would you want to torture your fish and subject them to the stress just to measure them? Sorry IMO I see no need to do this.
Also I only move my fish when, there is a need. I don’t randomly move them from tank to tank for no reason. Yes your right you can move them but to take a chance, based on your experience level, the chance is either minimal or could be great.
@ OP. I will say it again. Don’t stress your fish ! just to satisfy your Curiosity as to if they are growing or not. Enough from me.

 

tjander woah dude I'm just trying to abide by the "one inch one gallon" rule-

Can't have my fish all cooped up in a tank if they're growing larger, y'know?

Kinda sucky to assume I'm taking them out and measuring them for 'my own curiosity',,,,,,,,,I even said I wouldn't want to do that because I don't want to stress them out. Yeesh?

 

tjander woah dude I'm just trying to abide by the "one inch one gallon" rule-

Can't have my fish all cooped up in a tank if they're growing larger, y'know?

The inch per gallon isn't very accurate in terms of moving them to a larger tank as some fish just will not grow in a smaller tank (and some fish are just giggling as they bump into yet another wall trying to turn around).
Measuring is fairly easy and if you can keep the fish in water while you do it even better.

 

Mcasella what really?!?!? I thought it applied more to smaller/juvenile fish though...and I have feeders and they're fairly small (like 2 inches each). Honestly what I've been doing so far was just put a ruler on the tank and just watch and wait until they swim by.

 

I stuck a measuring tape the while length of the tank then sat there with the video camera. After a minute or two I had a decent still shot that I could compare to the tape. But agree with above, the inch per gallon rule is horribly inaccurate for the majority of fish. Feeder goldfish are usually comet goldfish and get 8 inches plus long.

 

2211Nighthawk oh no,,,,,I've been lied to,,,,,,well I guess that's just the cycle of a newbie fish keeper: learning from your mistakes. Well with my method atm I think my fish are growing bit by bit so I'm happy about that

 

Mcasella what really?!?!? I thought it applied more to smaller/juvenile fish though...and I have feeders and they're fairly small (like 2 inches each). Honestly what I've been doing so far was just put a ruler on the tank and just watch and wait until they swim by.

Goldfish will actually grow pretty quickly with food and pristine water. The ones I had (before winter, cats, and birds killed all the two year old goldies I had) went from 2 inches to four within a few months in a smaller tub tank. They were all the little "feeder" goldfish from petsmart and petco.
Within their first year they should be about 5-6 inches long if not bigger (for comets), in store they are around 2-3 months old at most - some are a little older depending on if they escaped from being caught and sent out by the suppliers.
For keeping fish you need to account for their adult size, bioload, and activity level to try and stock appropriately (so the fish aren't crowded - while some prefer larger numbers like tetras, crowding them can cause aggression in the fish and stress long term).
Common/comet goldfish need to really be in a pond once they are a few inches (3-4) long as it helps them grow better and gives them the swimming space they really will use. You can teach them to come to you while they are in the tank and they will remember it when they go into the pond - as they get larger they become a little fearless.
Goldfish have pretty good memory (around 6 months time where they can be taught something and retain it without having to school them in the trick again). Goldfish have a large adult size (10-12 inches, not including tail - they live for a number of years beyond what a fancy goldfish will as well), heavy bioload (they are swimming stomachs and constantly eat, so they constantly are pooping), and they are fairly active (down to around 50 degrees F, as it gets colder they become sluggish as their metabolism slows down and they aren't as energetic, a deep pond will be fine for overwintering as long as you aren't living in canada or similar places with thicker icing).