Fish that should not be sold.

[Stan510]

I saw a utubee video on 10 fish that should not be sold. He surprised by including Clown Loaches because we now know they can reach 8" or more and he says few people have room for a group that size and even in a 2 meter aquarium he thinks that's too small. The other surprise was Oscars. I think of the many large Cichlids, Oscars are happy aquarium fish IF you are going in the 250 gallon range. Much more is better. He mentioned Kissing Gourami's..and some brackish water fish..Red tail catfish,Arowana's.
What fish do you think should never be sold?
I don't think giant Gourami and Pacu are home aquarium fish even if they live forever..just not right.
When it comes to smaller fish? I think it gets harder to say..they can live long..but are they happy at all?

 

[Sgooosh]

I saw a utubee video on 10 fish that should not be sold. He surprised by including Clown Loaches because we now know they can reach 8" or more and he says few people have room for a group that size and even in a 2 meter aquarium he thinks that's too small. The other surprise was Oscars. I think of the many large Cichlids, Oscars are happy aquarium fish IF you are going in the 250 gallon range. Much more is better. He mentioned Kissing Gourami's..and some brackish water fish..Red tail catfish,Arowana's.
What fish do you think should never be sold?
I don't think giant Gourami and Pacu are home aquarium fish even if they live forever..just not right.
When it comes to smaller fish? I think it gets harder to say..they can live long..but are they happy at all?

common(feeder) goldfish. they should only sell these at pond places. plus they aren't even good feeder fish.
tbh, i'd rather have something like a fishkeeper id to know how big your tank is before you buy anything.
there's a chance that people actually have ponds to put big chiclids in

 

[GaryE]

What's happy?

Still, a Bala Shark is a distance swimmer, and we can't give it that. I think we need fish that can live some semblance of the lives they would have in nature - reasonable swimming room, territorial set ups, companionship for social fish, space for solitary ones. For most fish, the front glass of the tank should be ten times their maximum adult size, minimum.

You can tell I only keep small fish, but I do like to keep them in large tanks.

 

[itiwhetu]

Betta splendens because they live a miserable life alone. Dictated to by humans.

 

[enricosonic]

Betta splendens because they live a miserable life alone. Dictated to by humans.

You never see a pet store that inhabits caged dead birds, dead reptiles, dead amphibians… god forbid a dead cat or dog. Yet every Petco/PetSmart I’ve visited has multiple plastic tubs of dead bettas. In fact, they’re prominently displayed.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

What fish do you think should never be sold?

Blue Tangs. Almost all Blue Tangs you see in pet stores are wild caught, because breeding them in captivity is very difficult.

I also think some other big saltwater fish shouldn't be sold just due to their size, such as Panther Groupers, or some species of Puffer Fish and Morray Eels.

 

[Sgooosh]

Betta splendens because they live a miserable life alone. Dictated to by humans.

true, my betta does seem pretty lonely. when i walk by he just goes over, he's not trying to ward me off, not even flaring.
i also believe that plecos, all sharks, and small fish that will grow big should not be sold at chain stores.
one time i overheard some customer saying he wants a FEW more of those "sucker fish"

 

[OliveFish05]

I am always amazed by the sheer size of red tailed catfish. Koi get massive too. You would never think you needed to tell someone that koi don’t do well in tanks for very long, until you see someone trying to stock a 40 gallon with them.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Fish that should not be sold.....well....reaches for body armour due to the inevitable.....any fish that has been genetically modified, injected or inhumanely crossbred...such as the Parrot Fish in its rainbow of dodgy colours, Betta Splendens et al who have been genetically mutilated to bring about ridiculous finnage and colours...and the worst of them all...GloFish.

 

[GaryE]

A thing that really should not be sold is an idea: the belief that fish are simply ornaments.

If you look at a fish as a living complex creature, a fascinating creation of all the twists and turns of evolution, you are more likely to treat it properly. You'll be able to use your own judgement to say a red tailed catfish, a bala 'shark', a bloody parrot or a common pleco is a poor choice.
Plunk fish into glass boxes and they get boring. Use your ability to dig a little deeper and you can have tank design projects, communities to build and watch interact, breeding dances to watch, fry to raise and watch as they develop their colours and grow.... We often sell a second rate approach to fishkeeping on forums.

In the meantime, we have an industry that would throw Grandma in a tank with a snorkel and sell her. And too many people who would buy her because of the lovely patterning of her varicose veins. We have to get our act together.

 

[Oblio]

Fish that should not be sold.....well....reaches for body armour due to the inevitable.....any fish that has been genetically modified, injected or inhumanely crossbred...such as the Parrot Fish in its rainbow of dodgy colours, Betta Splendens et al who have been genetically mutilated to bring about ridiculous finnage and colours...and the worst of them all...GloFish.

No armor needed, but I enjoy my Glofish (Black Skirts). I have a school of 9 along with 6 Buenos Aries and 10 Corys. No neon gravel, decorations, or UV lights.

 

[Sgooosh]

No armor needed, but I enjoy my Glofish (Black Skirts). I have a school of 9 along with 6 Buenos Aries and 10 Corys. No neon gravel, decorations, or UV lights.

Cool in my opinion white skirts nd other colored skirts look better w/out uv lights

 

[Slaphppy7]

Serpae tetras....and krakens

 

[GaryE]

Serpae tetras....and krakens

I had a lovely shoal of krakens in a 10 gallon, but my serpaes beat them up and stole their lunch money.

 

[1L19]

Fish that should not be sold.....well....reaches for body armour due to the inevitable.....any fish that has been genetically modified, injected or inhumanely crossbred...such as the Parrot Fish in its rainbow of dodgy colours, Betta Splendens et al who have been genetically mutilated to bring about ridiculous finnage and colours...and the worst of them all...GloFish.

Altering fish genetics directly (i.e. gloFish) accomplishes the same thing as crossing and recrossing fish to come up with new varieties except it's faster. That's my same issue with the anti-GMO arguments. There isn't a single crop we mass consume that wasn't engineered by humans. Same can be said for a large portion of the tropical fish people keep in their tanks today.

The gloFish I am getting is a zebra danio with a jellyfish genes. How many different "types" of zebra danios are available now?

Scientists created the GloFish by inserting fluorescent genes from jellyfish and sea anemones into the eggs of a silver and black zebra danio, a tropical fish from India. The fish was designed to help scientists determine when waterways were contaminated.