A lot of public aquariums are over-run with these super common giant fish that shouldn't even really be sold in the hobby. People buy them as tiny baby juveniles that are super cheap, then can't house them.
Thank you!! I will shoot them an email.
They get so massive!!! But they are definitely weirdly cute.
www.predatoryfins.com
I really don't think fish like pacus or common plecos should be sold except as special orders. Obviously, everyone should research their fish before purchase. But many people don't and they buy these fish not knowing what they're getting into.A lot of public aquariums are over-run with these super common giant fish that shouldn't even really be sold in the hobby. People buy them as tiny baby juveniles that are super cheap, then can't house them.
It's still worth a try and asking if they can take it though, would ring around every public aquarium. If you find somewhere that's a distance away, you can watch Ohio Fish Rescue's trips on youtube to see how they move these batches of giant fish in the back of their van in huge tubs with airstones and W/C's on the way.
I said exactly the same thing to someone else the other day!
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
They did take in, and rehome if they could, some fish if they could manage, like the odd common plec.
It has even more dire consequences. A lot of people who don't know any better think it's ok to release a fish into the wild if they can't care for them anymore. Here in the US, common plecos have become an invasive species in some areas because of irresponsible fish keepers who release them into the wild. Or they escape from fish farms. Goldfish too. A pacu could easily decimate a local ecosystem.I said exactly the same thing to someone else the other day!
We do have something in the UK called "The Big Fish Campaign", an awareness campaign launched by UK zoos and aquaria, specifically requesting that stores don't stock "tank busters" as standard - because so many people end up either asking public aquariums to take these fish, or dumping them on them even. So they're trying to raise awareness in the hobby, and also pressuring stores not to stock "tank busters" as standard stocking.
Will you support The Big Fish Campaign?
At least one of the big chain stores here backs it:https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/stories/tankbusters-co-do-you-really-know-what-you-are-taking-on
And my privately owned LFS (before it shut down, because decent LFS's run by passionate hobbyists can't compete against the big chains and online shopping) didn't stock things like common plecos or shovelnose cats, would only special order in fish like that if the new potential owner knew exactly what they were getting, and could show they had a set up suitable for an adult sized fish of the type they wanted.
Thank you, I will send them an email!!!I had one, that grew to 24 inches long, before one day knocking the top off, because of it's massive strength & weight, on a custom 220 gallon tank, one day while we were out of town...
there is a fish seller called Predatory Fins in roughly your area of the country, that advertises, that they rehome large fish...
Fish Rescue
ONE FISH AT A TIME When fish come into the rescue, we make sure that they are quarantined, medicated and healthy before introducing them into our display tanks or offer them for adoptions with Zoo's and Aquariums where they will be cared for. Our 3,500 sq facilities houses over 250 species from...
