I just see people wanting to get these big fish when people on here are strongly advising them not to. My 125g is only 18" wide so I stocked it with fish that max around 8"-12''. People are posting about fish that get 1-2' in a 55g. Crazy!
Buy tank then fish
- Thread starter smokeythebair
- Start date
Fish don't get big overnight. While I agree that a lot of people buy fish they can't house long term, its mistakes like that that fuel the hobby. Some people get bit by the bug and use that tough lesson to get deeper into the hobby with bigger tanks and better equipment. The others end up selling their monsters, which benefits those of us that don't have room to growout every fish under the sun.
Best thing you can do is point them in this sites direction, best thing I ever did
good point. I bought my 125g after I realized I made the mistake of over stocking the 55g. Hated getting rid of my jag and buttikoferi
I made that mistake once. About 20 plus yrs ago I bought a red snake head from Woolworth's for 4$, It was unlabeled an roughly 2-3 inches long. In a years time it grew to 14 inches in a 55 gallon. I didn't keep him much longer,gave him to a pet store that had other snakeheads. It wasn't my first fish but i just had no idea what I was dealing with until after my purchase( no computer or smart phone). Call it innocent ignorance but end result was a 14 inch fish suffering in a 12 wide aquarium.
Yep made these mistakes a long time ago and learned from it. That's why I sold my awesome jardini that out grew the 85 gallon. Yes I would love to have another jardini but my 135 is still not big enough. Still holding off till I can afford something around 240 gallon.
Ha i did the same thing around 20 yrs ago. Completely over stocked tank (really really over stocked) at the time it was called a redline snake head. Killed everything, shut the tank down and was out of the hobby until 2 or 3 years ago
I did the same, I put a 2 inch Oscar in an already overstocked community 20 gallon of tropicals.It became less stocked within a week.. I look back at some of my aqua-doings an realize how clueless I was, always overstocked, always washed ALL the filter media under the sink, never thought about "adult size" etc...Pet store employees don't help much either, they'd sell a Pacu to someone with a 5 gallon.. Now, I research until my eyes hurt before I buy anything, and ask questions if I'm skeptical.
Don't understate the role of many LFS play in leading to the too large fish in too small tank situation. The terrible advice given to, especially new, fish keepers is gob smacking. Almost all shops here are stocked with tank loads of bala sharks, tinfoil barbs, oscars, clown knives, gibiceps, large cichlids and a fair sprinkling of RTCs, shovelnose cats etc, whereas (by my reckoning) most keepers have 40 to 75g tanks.
I can't believe you all fell for that.
I'd say the average aquarium for average people is a 55g. When I tell people I have a 75g, 100g, and a few 125g, I might as well have said I keep small children hidden in the basement. Some of the looks I get are insane. The comments are even worse. "I bet you're single." Is my favorite to date. I then showed the lady my wife and kids swimming in the pond I had in the garage in the middle of winter! HA!
Fish keeping is kept alive by the people who don't know any better. If their wasn't hundreds of people buying RTCs every month none of us would be able to buy them for $20. If people didn't buy the wrong fish compatibility wise we couldn't get awesome deals on used gear. If people didn't overstock their tanks we would never be able to say "That's over stocked man. You need a XXX to keep those in!" I lost huge respect for this forum and it's members when I got on here looking for advice and the only response I could get out of anyone was that I needed a bigger tank. Go fly a kite... during a hurricane! Answer the questions they're asking and then let them weigh their options. If they don't listen WHO CARES!!! It's not your wasted investment. It's not your community tank that gets eaten. It's not your tank that gets the glass blown out or gear destroyed. I get that you folks are passionate about your fish, but you don't need to be passionate about every person that gets on here and has an Oscar in a 10g. Answer their questions, make it known the recommended size of aquarium the species will one day require. Don't however get on your passion horse and just say that they need a bigger set up. Every single one of you that replies to a thread simply to say "Your tank is too small." are expletives. Yes plural. You all need to sit back and remember that once upon a time you where all stupid too. No one, I do mean no one, is not guilty of an impulse buy or a mislabeled purchase that ended up being outside your means. Yes even you shaking your head with that excrement eating little grin on your face. We are supposed to be a knowledge base for people taking a stab at the hobby, not the "You're doing it all wrong brigade." Just my $1.00 on the subject. Let the flaming commence!
I'd say the average aquarium for average people is a 55g. When I tell people I have a 75g, 100g, and a few 125g, I might as well have said I keep small children hidden in the basement. Some of the looks I get are insane. The comments are even worse. "I bet you're single." Is my favorite to date. I then showed the lady my wife and kids swimming in the pond I had in the garage in the middle of winter! HA!
Fish keeping is kept alive by the people who don't know any better. If their wasn't hundreds of people buying RTCs every month none of us would be able to buy them for $20. If people didn't buy the wrong fish compatibility wise we couldn't get awesome deals on used gear. If people didn't overstock their tanks we would never be able to say "That's over stocked man. You need a XXX to keep those in!" I lost huge respect for this forum and it's members when I got on here looking for advice and the only response I could get out of anyone was that I needed a bigger tank. Go fly a kite... during a hurricane! Answer the questions they're asking and then let them weigh their options. If they don't listen WHO CARES!!! It's not your wasted investment. It's not your community tank that gets eaten. It's not your tank that gets the glass blown out or gear destroyed. I get that you folks are passionate about your fish, but you don't need to be passionate about every person that gets on here and has an Oscar in a 10g. Answer their questions, make it known the recommended size of aquarium the species will one day require. Don't however get on your passion horse and just say that they need a bigger set up. Every single one of you that replies to a thread simply to say "Your tank is too small." are expletives. Yes plural. You all need to sit back and remember that once upon a time you where all stupid too. No one, I do mean no one, is not guilty of an impulse buy or a mislabeled purchase that ended up being outside your means. Yes even you shaking your head with that excrement eating little grin on your face. We are supposed to be a knowledge base for people taking a stab at the hobby, not the "You're doing it all wrong brigade." Just my $1.00 on the subject. Let the flaming commence!
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