One of my local fish shops have a fully grown RTC in a custom tank, the litres are crazy mad. Can't remember what it is off the top of my head, but put it this way, you could swim in it. Even with all the effort they have put in, the thing can barely turn around in it, and it literally never moves. Recently it burst its tank and had to be moved to their sump system while they repair it.
There is another shop that we visited on a long drive the other week, and we asked the man if they had any nice catfish suitable for an aggressive American cichlid community in a 5 foot tank. The man promptly told us to get a RTC. My partner and I instantly rolled our eyes at each other and lost all respect for not only the shop assistant, but also the shop itself for not training their staff properly. This is what's causing the outside problems with the hobby. The shops have a responsibility to inform the newer people to the hobby about their purchases. People don't do their research, and sadly, that will likely never change, but the shops have the chance to take a few minutes out to explain things to them. Clearly, a small profit is more important than these tank busters lives.
I grew up with big cichlids and I hope the next generation do too, otherwise we may find our hobby on the decline. As it is, we have had some local shops close down over the last few years and local availability has declined to a molly & guppy style bread and butter theme.
On the other hand, it's shocking how many fish shops you go to these days and the staff don't know what on earth they are talking about.
A fish shop down the road from me is selling a group of RTC x TSN for £10, which is around $7 USD. That screams newbie error purchase. Que the 'It ate all my fish' cries as they return them to the shops in droves.
One UK shop chain where you do still find oddballs, cats, plecs and cichlids is actually really good, they post the fish's maximum size and aggression on the label which is a great move.
I would LOVE a RTC. Like, REALLY love one, but I know I can't have one. Why is everyone not informed of the max size before purchasing? A quick search of UK classified ads shows a lot of big RTC, TSN, and various other tank busters for sale due to outgrowing their tanks.
Shops shouldn't be allowed to sell them like they do for so little money, and staff training should be mandatory so that they can inform the consumer about their potential tank busters. My partner thinks they should require a cheap but vetted licence to keep one, and I almost agree having seen one fully grown and miserable in a tank that you could have a party in. They certainly can't keep selling tank busters to everyone like they are at present. We will find our hobby targeted by all sorts of damaging organisations.
There is another shop that we visited on a long drive the other week, and we asked the man if they had any nice catfish suitable for an aggressive American cichlid community in a 5 foot tank. The man promptly told us to get a RTC. My partner and I instantly rolled our eyes at each other and lost all respect for not only the shop assistant, but also the shop itself for not training their staff properly. This is what's causing the outside problems with the hobby. The shops have a responsibility to inform the newer people to the hobby about their purchases. People don't do their research, and sadly, that will likely never change, but the shops have the chance to take a few minutes out to explain things to them. Clearly, a small profit is more important than these tank busters lives.
I grew up with big cichlids and I hope the next generation do too, otherwise we may find our hobby on the decline. As it is, we have had some local shops close down over the last few years and local availability has declined to a molly & guppy style bread and butter theme.
On the other hand, it's shocking how many fish shops you go to these days and the staff don't know what on earth they are talking about.
A fish shop down the road from me is selling a group of RTC x TSN for £10, which is around $7 USD. That screams newbie error purchase. Que the 'It ate all my fish' cries as they return them to the shops in droves.
One UK shop chain where you do still find oddballs, cats, plecs and cichlids is actually really good, they post the fish's maximum size and aggression on the label which is a great move.
I would LOVE a RTC. Like, REALLY love one, but I know I can't have one. Why is everyone not informed of the max size before purchasing? A quick search of UK classified ads shows a lot of big RTC, TSN, and various other tank busters for sale due to outgrowing their tanks.
Shops shouldn't be allowed to sell them like they do for so little money, and staff training should be mandatory so that they can inform the consumer about their potential tank busters. My partner thinks they should require a cheap but vetted licence to keep one, and I almost agree having seen one fully grown and miserable in a tank that you could have a party in. They certainly can't keep selling tank busters to everyone like they are at present. We will find our hobby targeted by all sorts of damaging organisations.
Talk about doing everything wrong. What an inauspicious beginning into our fish keeping journey for life. I am sure that he had known this impulsive yard sale purchase would cause him to put everything on a two year hold so he could build an addition to house the big fish tank, that he probably would not have made that purchase. Had I been involved and done my research first, I would have come to the wrong conclusion on tank size, since most of the pacu "experts" are completely clueless.