Why do people buy fish

[BeccaBlain]

I completely agree with you Sorrel (And no, I wasn't talking about your situation. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders when it comes to fish).

It infuriated me people would do this to fish. Koi, for example. People would buy Koi from our water gardens, return them when they were too big... Duh. They'd be ask if they knew what size they'd get, they'd say yes... ARRRG.

My mother has three Koi, that are their NATURAL size. You could make a dinner for 5 out of these monsters.

But thats because they have a habitat that suits their size. *sigh*

Poor fish

 

[vantgE]

3000 gallons for koi be neat to have a giant pond...
Anyways, I disagree with you on this, as for african cichlids this is necesary for you to buymore fish then you can keep, The reason being that you need perfect m,ale female ratios for your fish to happily coexist and most fish are bought as fry so you buy ten with the intention of takeing six back to the store when they have reached an age in which sex can be determined
Tell that to every clown loach owner, and most pleco people
Boxfish can live with other fish
And sometimes all the research in the world won't help especially five minutes, but some odd mixes do work out very well from time to time even though reserarch may indicate otherwise
However there are points you make obviously an oscar or arrowna or koi won't fit in an aquarium it is bought for but that's what people trust the lfs's to do
And i of course everyone should always do extensive research but sometimes there is just a great deal and people have no time to do so

Who does not know that males shouldn't be housed toghether i can't ever remeber learning that i just know and it's not like i've alway been intrested in the fish world

 

[Sky042]

There is a flip side to this. I recently had to get rid of fish due to imcompatibility. and I did research them. Most anyone would tell you zebra dainos would have been fine in a community tank with dwarf gouramis and some tetras. However mine must have had a violent streak in them as they started killing fish. Now thats not normal danio behavior and nothing I did wrong. So I put them in my oscar tank where everyone said they'd be eaten. Guess what they co-habitate nicely and swim right along with my 4" oscar and catch all the food bits that shoot out his gills when he eats.

Often it's ignorance but on some occasions you just get freak fish.

 

[BeccaBlain]

Boxfish shouldn't be placed with anything.

We had a boxfish, and it wiped out all but one very very tough fish. It poisoned the entire 55+ gallon tank.

It was very upsetting to see that much moeny and beautiful fish keel over from painful deaths. It was a beautiful aquarium.. until the box fish got in there.

Thats my reasoning for my dislike.

Becca

 

[PETsMARTchick]

With my experience at work and with my family, I've realized that so many people don't realize how complex having fish is. A lot of people just don't want to hear that they have to wait for their tank to cycle before they add fish, or that goldfish can't live in bowls, or that this fish can't go w/ this fish and this one gets 22 inches. They want what they want and that's it. They don't care. I get so frustrated when people don't listen!!! Once a woman bought 5 cichilds to put in a 10 gallon and a man bought fish even though he didn't have a heater. A lot of people buy plecos and say that they'll just put them in their pond when they get too big. Even my family drives me crazy. They think I should be able to add 10 more fish to my little tank. People don't know, don't want to know, or just don't care.

 

[clutterydrawer]

And i of course everyone should always do extensive research but sometimes there is just a great deal and people have no time to do so

If people don't have time to learn how to care for their pets, they shouldn't be keeping them.

 

[Koda]

It would be nice if all the information a newbie needs could be readily available in the oft mentioned 5 minutes.It'd be really nice if it were possible to get good reliable information from the places that sell fish.Then maybe all the arrogance in this thread would be justified.Unfortunately it's just not that simple.A lot of mistakes are the result of believing the information passed off by less than competent employees and/or owners.I will say that I'm glad there are a lot of people on this forum who are willing to share what they've learned without making the newbie feel like an ignorant and lazy person with no sense of responsibility.And to the rest of you...well thanks anyway

Koda

 

[vantgE]

And i of course everyone should always do extensive research but sometimes there is just a great deal and people have no time to do so

If people don't have time to learn how to care for their pets, they shouldn't be keeping them.

I meant before they buy, still need to do it after theres always time after and boxfish can be kept in aquariums with other fish

http/s6.invisi onfree.com/AlbertaAquatica/index.php?showtopic=193



PLus everyones situation is different like sky showed so a database that will tell someonae all the need to know is inacurate and useless

 

[njnauticalnut]

Five minutes of research, and the entire problem is prevented!

Five minutes of research and half of the questions on this forum wouldn't need to be asked.

I don't know if that's a good thing or not for the forum itself... I suppose the more traffic the better... but you can tell a lot of posters would rather have all the answers handed to them (and the details even extracted from their heads telepathically) without lifting a finger than spend 5 minutes with google (which will bring you the answers faster). Strange.

But anyway, I gather a pet store is no more than a toy store to a lot of people.

Endparenthesis,

I usually do both. Researching on the web alone or reading a book gives you basic information, but you need experience to truly learn. This kind of a forum offers that knowledge and experience. And obviously doing things yourself gives even greater experience.

A good analogy for me is that I could read and read all the books I want about how to swim, but until I jump into the water and actually do it, I really am not experienced. Of course, it is a good idea to have someone with you who knows how to swim when you take the plunge and that is what this forum offers.

Just my .02 cents.

 

[bpb21]

I personally like the forums, not because I'm lazy (which I am), but because they're efficient. Why spend 5 to 10 minutes Googling something when you can post a question, look at your fish, and be emailed when there's a response? It's just about efficiency - and the best way to learn something is to ask someone who knows.

How many of you bought a computer without researching it? How many of you spent the obligatory $1000, have a huge screen, DVD burners, 1 gazillion megabytes of ram, a broadband internet connection, and just use the thing to check your email and post on this forum? Well, I'm just kidding about that, sort of...

BUT - let's not pass all of the blame off on the buyers!

What I'm saying is, when I go in my locally owned & operated fish / reptile (exclusively, well, maybe a bird or cat or enormous turtle walking around the store) store, I see -all sizes- of fish. Can't emphasize this enough. They've got some kind of goldfish that's as big as my head! (I say goldfish, it's a fish and it's gold, the tag just said not for sale). They've got pl*cos as long as my feet! They've got everything in between as well. Whenever I've got a question, they always ask what kind of tank do you have? What other fish have you got? etc.
Now, when I go in my local chain pet store (or God forbid a Wal-Mart) I only see the miniature, just recently hatched versions of these fish. They all look so cute and manageable! They're all swimming around, sometimes 20 to a tank, in crystal clear water, and there's a stack of the 10 gallon tanks right there next to them. I swear the chain pet stores take all of the fish, when they get over 2" and throw them in a dumpster. I laughed when I saw a local chain pet store label a 6" pl*co as "large"! And that's the best example right there. Stores catering to impulse buyers are most of the problem. Parents walking around the supermarket, trying to get all of the groceries, and their kid runs up to them asking for this 2" fish and a bowl. Now, is the parent going to give the kid a 10 minute lesson on biology and ecology, of how this 2" fish could turn into an 18" monster, requiring lots of maintenance and know-how? Or is the parent just going to say oh alright, but hurry up, I want to catch the Sopranos tonight!

Think about it; even to a ten year old, if he sees a little cute 2" goldfish, and right next to it is the same fish, ten years later, as big as a basketball (yes, I'm still stunned with this enormous fish I saw at this local pet store), it's kind of hard not to stop and think, gee, these things get big, maybe there's a little more to it...

Just some idle thoughts!

 

[endparenthesis]

I usually do both. Researching on the web alone or reading a book gives you basic information, but you need experience to truly learn. This kind of a forum offers that knowledge and experience. And obviously doing things yourself gives even greater experience.

Yes, I didn't mean all of the questions by any means... I've asked plenty myself. I'm not anti-helping-people. I just meant the really basic ones. Like "what temperature does this fish like" or "show me a picture of what this fish looks like". It just seems odd to me that people would ask a question here and wait a day or two for answers (even getting annoyed that they aren't answered fast enough) when they could just type it in and get 10 websites that would answer the question (and then some) in a heartbeat. So in a lot of cases pointing them to google, or even just another thread on the same subject, seems more helpful to me.

 

[bpb21]

Do people get irate when their questions aren't answered quickly on here? Touchy...

Yea, you're right about that. Really basic stuff is everywhere on the net. Although, they might end up googling to some chain pet store's website with some lesser quality info than they might have had.

And I still place the blame for inadequate fish care squarely on the chain pet stores. They just prey on the average person's lack of familiarity with fish, in order to eventually guilt-trip them into buying bigger tanks, water products, etc.

For example, no one buys a great dane puppy and then says Gee, you mean dogs get BIG? I thought they'd stay puppy-size! At least, I hope no one does this... People just don't come into contact with "adult" tropical fish to the degree that they'd be aware of the average size and requirements. And they look so neat when they're 2" swimming around with 20 or so others...

I figure most people are at worst negligent in buying fish, rather than willfully disregarding the animal's needs. I think if your average fish-abusing consumer was informed (by someone) & caught on that fish are animals, just like dogs in many respects (well, depends on the fish, and the dog for that matter, and I guess the person too while I'm at it), they would research them a little more thoroughly, or at least at all.

But hey, people buy just about everything without taking the time to do research. Computers, fish, houseplants, cell phone plans, computers, automobiles (does any civilian need a Hummer for it's utility value? Is anyone's commute from home to the office this rugged? If I see one more of these things taking up two parking spaces at the freakin' mall...but I gotta admit, they're pretty cool )

 

[SConrad]

not sure...
but some people dont even know the names of the type of fish they buy...I want to post a link to someones post on this site that needs ID's but i wont do that to them

 

[vantgE]

Name is often unimportant, as you can tell by looking at tetra what it is and what it needs the color morph is less needed

 

[Sorrell]

) ) I just posted an ID question...As Vantge has pointed out though, there are types that you don't need to know all the names for. My fish in question are Mbunas, I have a Mbuna tank. Worked out fine.

I think a lot of people post on here rather than googling because you know you can trust the answers, and most times will get some sort of consensus. I'd rather have that then end up at Jo Schmos fish page and a hundred others before I find a reliable one.