Have You Ever Bought A Tankbuster Fish

[CFC]

We all know that tankbusting fish are an ever going problem in this hobby but what happens to all these fish when they no longer fit into their tanks, and how many of us deliberately buy a fish we know will get too large with the plan to buy a large enough tank before it grows ?

 

[shroob]

I've never bought a fish that would get too big for my tank (but it wouldn't let me complete the poll if I didn't choose a second answer so I put return to LFS), if I ever wanted a big fish I would get a big tank first, its just something everyone should do I think, its called being responsible. All well and good thinking you will get a bigger tank, and many people do this successfully - get a fish small then get a bigger tank later, but I always think what if something comes up, what if I need that money for something else? Then you are left with a huge fish, though no fault of its own thats going to be in a tank too small and is probably going to be hard to even give away.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i have, my oscar (OK not a ridiculous tankbuster, but still a big fish)

typical story, misadvised by the lfs before i knew better, didn't do my own research

as soon as i realised it was gonna be a problem I saved up some money and got him a bigger tank, luckily i was able to save up fairly quickly and get a new tank before he outgrew the one he was in.

in the future if i want big fish i will buy the tank first

 

[CFC]

I've never bought a fish that would get too big for my tank (but it wouldn't let me complete the poll if I didn't choose a second answer so I put return to LFS), if I ever wanted a big fish I would get a big tank first, its just something everyone should do I think, its called being responsible. All well and good thinking you will get a bigger tank, and many people do this successfully - get a fish small then get a bigger tank later, but I always think what if something comes up, what if I need that money for something else? Then you are left with a huge fish, though no fault of its own thats going to be in a tank too small and is probably going to be hard to even give away.

I've added an option to not buy one and changed your choice for you shroob, if anyone else who has already voted wants their choice changed let me know.

 

[kewskills]

I forever see fish i want and then reserve them and then quickly go and get another tank for them, not always tankbusters but i just cant help myself sometimes

 

[the biffster]

quetzel

tilapia mozambique


i know there not exactly tank busters but the do grow to 18 inches to two foot quetzel{cichlid} was a very friendly
fish it used to come to the front of the tank and greet me when i came home from work

 

[Arfie]

Yep I had a Gibbiceps, in fact I was sold a second one a week later by the same lfs when I set my tank up. This was a 2 foot tank and a fish that can grow to 18" long After it got to about 6" I bought a 4 foot tank for it to grow into with the intention of upgrading to a 6 foot tank. Sadly at 9" long he died

I have no desire to have a tank buster well maybe an oscar one day, but I prefer small comminuty fish in general.

If I do go for an Oscar, I will probably buy the tank first then get the fish, but I would be prepared to buy the fish as a baby and grow it on in a smaller tank whilst getting a large permanent home setup for it After all a 6' x 2' x 2' tank with nothing more than a couple fo baby oscars would look a tad empty.

Arfie

 

[OscarWilde]

I was given an Oscar at around 6 inches by a painter and decorator who was working on my old flat. He had him in a 15G! I did not do my research before accpeting and put him in a 20G.

I quickly moved him up to a 45G after researching the fish (biggest I could afford at the time) and then did my best to find him a new larger home with a new owner. The guy I sold him to told me he was joining some other large fish in a 250G so I'm pleased I took the fish.

This experience made me a firm beliver that it is ok to upgrade tanks over a fishes lifetime. I have never had a problem with buying fish and then moving them to a larger tank at a later stage. There is no reason why someone can not enjoy buying, rasising and caring for a young fish if they are SURE they will be able to give it the environemnt it needs at all stages of it's life.

I have recently made a mistake with Piranhas but that was down to number of fish (too few) rather than size of tank. I have already found a new home for these fish too when they are a bit bigger.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the main difficulty with upgradint tanks is that you can't always tell when the fish is getting too big for the tank, growth can be stunted without you knowing and start to cause problems when you think that the fish just isn't big enough to move yet.

it can work fine if you are aware of the avergae growth rate and make sure that the fish isn't falling behind, but it's not an exact science therefore easy to get wrong.

 

[Sailor]

I bought a ID shark with out knowing how big they grow. It ended up dieing when it was only around 4-5" so I didn't have to find a new home for it. I'm not sure what I would have done with it if it hadn't died. I now have a 6' tank that it would have been happy in for a while but after that I'm not sure, first try to find someone to take it. And if I couldn't find someone that wanted it... fertilizer

 

[TribeOfShroom]

It's not really a tank buster (unless you have a coldwater tank), but I have 2 mirror carp in my pond which I'll have to move soon. (luckily I've got a 12ft x 12ft x 12ft koi pond as well as the current pond they're in now) In the wild this fish reach 30lbs+ easily!!

Like I said, not a tank buster, but they both be big bar-stewards soon! (nice play with words eh?... no?.. damn lol )

 

[smmetz]

I was sold a common plec (about 3") when i started keeping fish, and only had a 10 gallon tank. I got a 29 gallon, then a 55 gallon since. He is now about 9.5" long, and I am looking out for a deal on a 6 foot tank. Money is tight now though, so I don't know if I'll be able to afford it this year. I have noticed that his growth rate has slowed considerably in recent months. 3-8 inches went fast, he has been around 9 inches now for several months though. I wonder if the growth will pick up again when I am able to get a 6 foot tank?

 

[OscarWilde]

it can work fine if you are aware of the avergae growth rate and make sure that the fish isn't falling behind, but it's not an exact science therefore easy to get wrong.

Agreed. If you choose to do it like this you need to do your research first.

 

[darknirvana217]

Back when i first started fish keeping, I tried to keep two black pacus in a 120 gallon tank. Living in Orlando, FL i first tried to donate them to Seaworld's freshwater aquarium. That didn't work, so I ended donating them to a fish store called Big Als thad had a 4,000 or 5,000 gallon aquarium with other pacus. Won't do that again, they got to be the size of dinner plates within six months of having them. Since then I learned my lesson on big fish. I can't stress just how important it is to research your fish before buying them.

 

[shang hi]

biggest fish i've ever bought will get to 9.8" and its my LDA33, not a tankbuster. right now hes only 2" and i love him to bits (despite some mild plant eating, but you have to expect that with a algae eater).