Why Buy Fish To Get Rid Of Later When Too Big

[psychobilly]

i know im a newbie on here but i can't get over the amount of post on here where folk buy fish that are going to be too big for them and then simply say ill get rid of it later.......duh are these folk thick or what make my blood boil...on ebay a guy is selling his common plec for £15 as its too big for him but he is also saying that he will dispose of the fish if it don't sell....duh yet another thicko......its simple really if you want big fish buy a big tank......psychobilly


slate me all you want i don't care.....

 

[Ginge]

I agree but you have to remember a percentage of people buy these fish totoaly ignorant to how big they will get

 

[Chri$]

i agree, i can't see the point of buying a fish that will out grow your tank, it's just a waste of time.

 

[pieman]

I agree completly with you, you should know if a fish is going to be too big for your tank and if your unsure dont buy it and look it up.

I've been looking around my LFS for a pleco that wont grow too big for my tank, but i'm not going to get one that will grow to big then sell it.

 

[Mithlondwen]

I'm a newbie to aquariums. I had this happen to me. I am the proud owner of a 3.5 inch common pleco. I'm sad to say, I wasn't alerted to the fact that he will grow as big as he will when I purchased him. Nor had I done my research. I'm now attached to him, and will likely continue to upgrade tanks for him. Luckily for me, my family is addicted to fish keeping, so it ought not be a problem.

 

[Ginge]

If your family is addictid to fish how come they didnt pick up on this.

 

[WILDER]

Also bad lfs advice, hoping to get a sale on a bigger tank.

 

[Mithlondwen]

If your family is addictid to fish how come they didnt pick up on this.

Because we were all new to this at the same time. My point is that I won't have trouble convincing to upgrade tanks.

My point was mistakes happen to people with good intentions. We now realize we ought to have done more research BEFORE and not blindly trusted a salesman.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I think original post is more about people who know exxactly what they are getting into and they just don't give a damn.

They actually remind me of people you see that are always going on about their furry pets. "I just don't have the strength to take the dog for a walk", or, "It's too much work for me to have to brush that cat every day." It just makes you want to smack these people, because it's like well why did you get a mastiff then, why did you get a persian? They act like they thought the cute puppy was going to stay small, where as these people with the overly large fish just think, Hey, no biggie, I'll just get rid of it when it's huge. And then what can really make you mad is when they act like "Isn't it cool how big my fish is?"

 

[fishfishfish]

i often buy bigger fish and sell them them off.like from a lfs.i saw a women wanting to buy a tiger shovelnose to put in her 10 GALLON!i bought it before her and held it till i could make it up to ST Lawrence where i am close to the aquariums owners.he now has a happy 250 gallon and is a feedable fish.

 

[Nevergone815]

i have hardly ever gotten information on fish from a lfs and when i did it was poor advice. yes i bought the common pleco knowing that it gets big. but i never had experience with them getting overly huge. as for my CAE well i was looking in the market for an algae eater and was under the impression that they don't get big and that they would be good in a 10 gal. it was sold as an "algae eater". well afterwards i found out that they are not even good to put into any tank and that 2-3 oto cats would be ideal. this was when i first started. i have more info now and research via this forum and online sources now. i am rehoming the CAE and the pleco will upgrade tanks eventually. i didn't get good help from my lfs and what i was told didn't help at all.

now i learned that the lfs doesn't know what they are talking about most of the time and that if they say the fish will be ok or good or even great for a 10 gal, it usually means to put them in a 20-30 gal.

 

[moeldner]

I have 3 Siamese algae eaters/flying foxes in my tank that I know at some point will have to have at least 2 returned to the fish shop.

In my instance, I got them to help sort out a hair algae problem (which is now sorted thanks to these guys).

The LFS I got them from is happy to re-home them, and has indicated that they may end up in his tanks at home when they get too large for me to have 3 in my tank (mainly an agression problem i think).

Anyway, they are now at 2-3 inches in size each, chubby and healthy, and have rid me of my algae problem.

I know it was not a permament solution. One of then will remain in my tank, but the other two, I know are going back to a LFS that takes good care of his fish, and will be re-homed appropriately. He is one of the rare kind that actually ask about the environment you have at home when buying fish, and the tank mates you have.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I suspect the original post was triggered by one where the poster was well aware that the fish would outgrow his tank and was planning to take it back to the lfs once he had had it for a while. SO- not a newbie who was unaware, but somebody who followed a deliberate plan of action. I am uncomfortable with this procedure for several reasons:

There is a serious risk that the fish will be kept in the poster's small tank for too long and have its growth stunted, this can happen before it looks like the tank is too small.

The lfs will then have to find another home for your fish- how do you know they can, or that they won't sell it to somebody else with an equally tiny tank? Or flush it- it's still worth their while to keep you happy by making you think they are looking after your fish.

Public aquaria are not always able or willing to take fish that have outgrown their tanks, or if they do, it may cause them problems: my husband and I visited an aquarium the other day and were concerned at some of the territorial/aggression problems we saw in one of their tanks- a tank full of typical ex-lfs fish.

And if you buy that cute plec now, how do you know that your public aquarium will have a suitable space in a year's time? Not something you should count on.

By buying more big fish than we have tanks for, we are encouraging a trade in big fish that is greater than the market of sufficiently equipped fishkeepers will sustain. As soon as the lfs have sold you that plec, they will order more.

On the other hand, there is noone I respect more than the newbie who has made an honest mistake and then does his honest best to rectify it, either by buying a bigger tank or by contacting a local aquarium.

I also have no problems with experienced fishkeepers who breed or grown on big fish for which they know there is a market of suitable fishkeepers. It's when you don't know but tell yourself that it will sort itself out because I really want this fish, that you're on morally dodgy ground IMO.

But to me the crux of the matter is whether the fish has a good home to go after he leaves your tank. If he does, then I don't think you can compare the situation to that of a cat or a dog, who might have got emotionally attached to you. Your catfish won't feel emotionally rejected as long as he's got plenty of clean water and those lovely bits of cucumber keep descending into his tank.

 

[clareriley]

You do get people who have no clue though.. although the people who do have a clue and have no plans to upgrade and such are really not fish lovers in my eyes..

Im lucky that I know my clowns and sharks and gouramis will grow.. before I got them I had homes for them with family who are either cycling there tanks or they have big tank mates where they wanted them to grow a little before having them.

But I have to admit,I didnt have a clue how big a pleco can actually get. I bought mine at an inch and hes now nearly 3 inches.. he grew to quick and now I want some of my own clowns so i have to upgrade late in the year Man I need a bigger house.

 

[timmystood]

I do agree with you... people should find out how big they get...

But to be fair - it's not always there fault.
- Poor LFS advice
- A desire to fill their tank etc. both contribute to this problem. I've done this before (though it wasn't a case of being too big, more a problem of being too aggressive) - It's a little error people make but I don't think there's any need to be nasty to them.