Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species growth rate for GRBT slower than RBT?

I've been told that rainbow trout are the fastest growers among the trout family but I was wondering if their golden morph grows any slower or faster? It's still a rainbow trout only with golden skin right? I'd like to know since that's what I'll be stocking my pond with this fall. Thanks!

Different strains of RBT will have different growth rates. There may be a slight difference but I doubt much.

Like Travis says different strains may have different growth rates and sterile triploids may even have better performance but triploids actually fare less optimally in marginal water condtions due to their larger red blood cells. Sterile triploids are very common now with hactheries as it precludes the use of brood fish as the operator just orders fertilized eggs that are pressure treated.

That said I don't believe the WVGR is actually a different strain but more of a color morph that breeds true.

Maximum growth for domestic rainbows is about 1.5 inches per month due to selective breeding for over a century. That's plenty of growth if you consider the weight gain that goes along with it.

I can grow brown trout as fast as bows in my flow through pond as temps in the summer are at the top end of their metabolism in the mid to upper sixties F.