Growth rate of individually tagged medium-sized (249 +/- 6.9 g) juvenile ha
libut was 18% lower when medium sized fish were reared alone (treatment Mm)
as compared with rearing with either large/dominant (382 +/- 12.1 g) (Ml)
or small/subordinate (158 +/- 3.1 g) (Ms) conspecifics. The coefficient of
variation of weight of medium-sized fish increased with weight in both the
Mm and the Ml group whereas it was stable in the Ms group. Size rank correl
ation between initial and final weight was highest in the Mm group and lowe
st in Ms. A negative rank correlation was found also between initial weight
and overall growth rate for the Ms treatment groups but not the other grou
ps. It is hypothesized that interactions between similar-sized individuals
in the Mm treatment group had an inhibiting effect on growth as social hier
archies were being resolved. (C) 2000 The Fisheries Society of the British
Isles.