An Extremely Gutsy Mix, Is it Possible?

[Trouser Cough]

I’d say get it unstuck from your brain or just keep it in your brain and not make it a reality. The only way you should do this is if you have a deal with your LSF to return fish every couple months

Absolutely true. Every LFS has people coming in regularly with fish under one of three guises:

- I'm moving. Can't take 'em. I got 'em here and now they're yours again, or...

- I'm a breeder and I'd like you to pay me for fish you don't need, or...

- I didn't know six pacu (insert whatever species) would get too big for my 55. Here; they're yours.

It's pretty rare that an LFS wants someone else to do grow out duty for them and it's rarer yet that they can find homes for large fish that would be impulse buys. If you don't have permanent home intentions you aren't the right guy for the fish you know you can't keep.

Is there an exception? Sure. That would be that the LFS specifically asked you to grow out "x" species for them which is not the case if these fish are your choice. Poorly planned grow outs end with the owner pondering 6 weeks of feeding tilapia and then a bbq of an exotic species on the back porch.

 

[Joshuakahan]

Absolutely true. Every LFS has people coming in regularly with fish under one of three guises:

- I'm moving. Can't take 'em. I got 'em here and now they're yours again, or...

- I'm a breeder and I'd like you to pay me for fish you don't need, or...

- I didn't know six pacu (insert whatever species) would get too big for my 55. Here; they're yours.

It's pretty rare that an LFS wants someone else to do grow out duty for them and it's rarer yet that they can find homes for large fish that would be impulse buys. If you don't have permanent home intentions you aren't the right guy for the fish you know you can't keep.

Is there an exception? Sure. That would be that the LFS specifically asked you to grow out "x" species for them which is not the case if these fish are your choice. Poorly planned grow outs end with the owner pondering 6 weeks of feeding tilapia and then a bbq of an exotic species on the back porch.

I 100% agree. I have had good luck selling to LFS, fry and outgrowers, but I had long standing relationships with these LFS and they knew what kind of keeper I was. Most will not take fish from customers or if they do, they have a donation tank or two that’s isolated

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

In response to Joshuakahan@ and Trouser Bark@ again, my fish store may take the fish I'm considering and sell it, or they may put it in one of their MASSIVE designer tanks (our local fish store is equivalent to a mini aquarium), I don't know. But I'm going to double-check before I make assumptions.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Also, I forgot to mention in response to Joshuakahan@ that I have had a Hujeta gar before, it was actually my very first fish for the tank lol. It was too much work to feed it live fish all the time (as that was what its diet was) and I eventually had to get rid of it because it was getting in the way of my plans to put more fish in the tank.

 

[Trouser Cough]

In response to Joshuakahan@ and Trouser Bark@ again, my fish store may take the fish I'm considering and sell it, or they may put it in one of their MASSIVE designer tanks (our local fish store is equivalent to a mini aquarium), I don't know. But I'm going to double-check before I make assumptions.

Xlnt choice. Each of us that have been in the hobby for a long time are familiar w/ fish rescue operations to some degree and they're all the same; they're not there because they want to be a repository for hobbyist's no-longer-wanted fish; they're there because they have to be. Watch some of Big Rich's videos from Ohio Fish Rescue and you'll gather that the man has a huge heart but what you won't hear is him encouraging anyone to buy fish they're incapable of homing forever simply because they'd like to raise a giant through the juvenile stage.

Ensuring that there's an individual that actively wants what you know you won't is imperative.

There are two beautiful and sizable RTC's at my LFS right now that can be had for free simply because there aren't too many that can keep something like that long term. Cheap to feed long term? Yep. They're eating dog food. The WC cycle must be outrageous though.

 

[benzjamin13]

OP created another thread on the same topic.