Are we actualy MFK ?

[waynes world]

MFK should not being only about keep big fishes. If one thinks the site should really have those people, you are limited to a very few. If that is the case, the site should not have a section related to smaller fishes such as cichlids and breeding. Also people that sell non-monster fishes should be banned. So do you get the idea. I think the premise is about the ultimate in fish keeping eventually for most. Everyone starts small and work there way up to something most people dream of. It is like the moment of enlightenment in the hobby. It is like a religion.

As said above in a previuos reply, the thread is to be about fish that grow large, or to large when you realise the fish is too big as you have either not researched or havnt a clue what you have got in your tank.

There so many fish that people where they cant home, even some fish keepers find an oscar to large to keep, This site covers a lot of large fish and large fish keepers from an oscar to a RTC, all needing large tanks in there own way.

I agree we all change things in our hobby to new or different things but i myself wouldnt dream of getting rid of my fish, the reason i have decided to buld a smaller 500g for the aro i have with a pair of smakk rays and the cats i have i can keep in a tank nearer to 1500g, this way i think i am dedicated to my fish.



MFK in this thead means do keep we large fish for life, or do we sell on when its to big for our tank and cant home it either from not realising the size or just wanted to keep the fish.
MFK in this thread is nothing to do with the site name.


Good to see so many different approachs to this, it shows the dedication people have to there fish and how different the hobby is seen to folk.

I would be devastated to loose/have to sell one of my fish, i lost a oscar a few month back, only young but i was totaly gutted and upset, mainly as it was my fault it happend.

I dont like to see fish kept in a tank so small it harms or at the worst kills them, this is not fish keeping at all, people all to often get fish, eg a RTC and keep it in a tank say 100 and then they need to rehome it but struggle to find a home for it, by time they have the damage is done, that is NOT a MFK.

All the best for the fishy new year

 

[pacu mom]

MFK in this thead means do keep we large fish for life, or do we sell on when its to big for our tank and cant home it either from not realising the size or just wanted to keep the fish.
MFK in this thread is nothing to do with the site name.


Good to see so many different approachs to this, it shows the dedication people have to there fish and how different the hobby is seen to folk.

I would be devastated to loose/have to sell one of my fish, i lost a oscar a few month back, only young but i was totaly gutted and upset, mainly as it was my fault it happend.

I dont like to see fish kept in a tank so small it harms or at the worst kills them, this is not fish keeping at all, people all to often get fish, eg a RTC and keep it in a tank say 100 and then they need to rehome it but struggle to find a home for it, by time they have the damage is done, that is NOT a MFK.

All the best for the fishy new year

 

[fishmamma]

Not, keeping the current fish I have has never been an option for me. It actually has never even crossed my mind to ever give them away, trade, or sell them just because of a taste change.. or anything else besides keeping them for life. I kinda stumbled across fish keeping, but naturally loved it because of my obsession with aquatic animals.

I had left MFK for about a year, but upon returning observed that there were many more members that were keeping smaller fish and sharing about it. For me, that was enlightning because like someone else said, it's not about the size fish you keep it's how you keep them. I always say, that if the new fish keeper knew how much care a fish tank really needs to be happy and healthy, most would not even touch the hobby.

One last thing, my fish are part of my children and I treat them that way. So yeah, I consider myself to be a true MFK'er!!

 

[bomber]

my fish are part of my children and I treat them that way.

I totally agree cause I do not have human kids.

 

[packer43064]

I don't keep the same fish for years just because It's easier to sell/give away the fish then buying a whole new/used tank and filters and substrate and all that. Hate if you want, but I like experiencing new fish. I'm not saying I keep them for 6 months, but after several years and I want to sell them I don't feel a bit of regret at all.

 

[vr6fan]

I don't keep the same fish for years just because It's easier to sell/give away the fish then buying a whole new/used tank and filters and substrate and all that. Hate if you want, but I like experiencing new fish. I'm not saying I keep them for 6 months, but after several years and I want to sell them I don't feel a bit of regret at all.

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

[Mudslinger14]

MonsterFKrs can keep the smallest of fish. They can still be "monsters" though.

 

[Bderick67]

Guess I don't qualify as a true MFKer. As I've gotten rid of many fish. Then again I'm not one to keep a fish in an improper sized tank as many in this thread that are tooting their own horns.

 

[Red Devil]

Guess I don't qualify as a true MFKer. As I've gotten rid of many fish. Then again I'm not one to keep a fish in an improper sized tank as many in this thread that are tooting their own horns.

.... no one is tooting their horn.. just stating their own feelings about whether or not they purchase a fish or have fish long term..as far as the size of a tank, that really is determined in many ways.. how many tankmates?... how long you have had the fish..? is the fish healthy.?. is the water quality above board.. and water changes kept up to a regid schedule..? does the fish have swimming room.. not all fish need a huge tank to survive and remain healthy..but they ALL need a fishkeeper that is strigent about keeping the water pristine and nutrition of the highest quality .. the size of the tank is important but only if all these other factors are applied too...some huge monster tanks are not ideal just because they are huge..does not help much if they have the wrong fishkeeper keeping them...and personally i don't think that the OP has any issue with breeding or raising fish into good homes..he is just wondering about the average person buying a fish that he knows he cannot "within his means" "keep" long term..The OP goal is to educate and not purchase fish that the consumer cannot keep and yet has no idea what he is going to do with the unwanted large fish besides put it in the freezer out of desperation because they have outgrown their tanks.. i think this is what mfk is all about.. to educate..

 

[kdrun76]

Would love to see all you MFK'ers after 37 years of continuosu monster fish keeping.

Of course you will give fish away; of course you will, over the time, change your tastes in fish and will do your best to rehome everything when you want to change track.

Of course that you will buy small to make grow, and will also buy big from the onset.

And of course that you will have some fish grow into sizes you cannot cope with and short of transforming a room into a tank you will have to give/sell those monsters away.

Miguel I think you just described my fish keeping. I haven't been at this 37 years yet. I have had fish since I was 11 (23 years ago) but have only had "monsters" for the past 11 years.

My original "monster" was an eel that I raised from the size of a pencil to 28" long and over 2" in diameter. But in the last 3 years I also acquired, pacu and went back to school for my PhD. The need to simplify my fish keeping became essential to both passing my classes and keeping healthy fish.

I upgraded all my tanks to much larger ones so that they would be understocked and require less frequent water changes and I gave away all my salt water fish. I cried like a baby when my eel left. I still miss him. He was 10 years old and handsome beyond handsome.....

Just like Miguel has said, things change. I had to reduce the time requirements of my tanks and that meant the salt water tanks had to go. I have taken in both small and large pacu and both small and large oscars.

My "simplified" fish tanks are a 450, a 180, a 125, a 30 and a 25. I am still a monster fish keeper and I hope that I have a home that I can keep my pacu for life, but if I can't....I have already found a 600 gallon tank option that won't require a remodel of my home. If they out grow 600 gallons.... I don't know what to do, but I will come up with a responsible plan.

I still have 8 year old fish, but I gave away a 10 year old eel. Does my giving away a fish that I couldn't care properly for any longer mean I am not a MFK'er? Its now in a a home where it will get cared for properly. That is responsible husbandry plain and simple. I had planed to keep that fish for life, but my life changed. I am again planning to keep these pacu for life, but if I have to move for some reason, will I be able to take them with me?