Can/Do you house your fish for life???

[mrs.dayak]

That's a loophole in this poll. I actually converted a community tank into a single specimen tank by introducing a wolffish (A little tougher to do it the other way around...)

As for dogs, Miguel is the man. 'Nuff said. Time to move on beyond dogs. How about cats?

HarleyK

Bwahahahahah!!!! Classic!! Very smart!

 

[postshawn]

By the way, if you get a fish and get everything setup and decide it's not the fish for you then cool, get rid of it. What I'm saying I wouldn't do is have the setup for say 3 years and then say you don't want it.

I guess converting a community to a single aggressive tank would be an easy one and not having to "get rid of" any fish. haha. Giving them to someone else would be a lesser of the evil for the community fish I guess.

 

[pacu mom]

I have special needs fish. To not keep them would be their death sentence. There is no other tank or fishkeeper in my area that can house my fish. To not house them properly is their death sentence. For a chance at living, my fish need me and what I can provide for them. My situation is very different from the majority of fishkeepers who keep fish which can be housed in standard tanks--fish which can easily be rehomed in hundreds or thousands of other tanks.

If I had fish that could do just as well or better in some one else's tank, I wouldn't think twice about unloading them if I lost interest or found something else that caught my eye. That is not my situation. There are many pacu keepers who keep their pacu for life in 75 gallon tanks. At about two years, they are free to restock their tanks with other fish. That is not keeping fish for life--that's fish genocide. Since pacu can live 30+ years, to provide a home for them to live to their full potential life span is a major commitment of time and $$$.

All of you who have fish circulating through your tanks, please keep posting pictures of your new additions. While I won't be getting new fish, I do enjoy seeing yours. My advice to all is to think long and carefully before acquiring a special needs fish. BTW, I got my WalMart to stop selling pacu. However, that was too late for the five pacu and seven oscars in a 29 gallon tank at a local asian restuarant.

 

[Miguel]

Hats off to You PacuMom!

You excell in a lot of things and are a lesson ato us all.

 

[Eupterus]

My reply to your question does not really fit into your responses.
I did use the second one because I feel it fits my opinion better.

It's perfectly OK to re-home fish if you choose to do so.
I do not think it's OK to get pet fish with the intention of re-homing them when they outgrow your tank, unless maybe if you know they are in high demand.

When it comes to large pet fish that almost nobody else can house or fish with lower demand, keeping them for life might be neccesary in these cases.
I do not for instance think it'd a wise choice to get a pet pacu for a 55 gal with the intentions of re-homing when the pacu outgrows your tank.
So you just have to look at every individual case.

 

[bubbles21476]

I am on two sides of the fence on this as well, in a way... I would have to divide my tanks into two categories.
1) My personal fish - these are the fish that I will keep for life as they are my favorite and I allow myself to grow fond of them and love them.
2) Breeding fish - these are the fish that I breed, raise the fry to various an sell to LFS or others

 

[bubbles21476]

I got my WalMart to stop selling pacu. .

PACU SHOULD NOT BE SOLD ANYWHERE!!! I think we all should try to get at least one store to stop selling them...

Kudos to you!!!

 

[skiptomyzoo]

Fishkeeping many view as a hobby, same isn't true with dogs.

And maybe I have had too much interaction with my dog, and not enough with my fish...
but I could never get rid the dog, I would let all my fish leave before that.

As far as the poll though, I have done both. I have the intentions of keeping for life, but at the same time I view it as a learning experience so that they comes a time and place for some of my fish where they either don't work out, my interests change, or they fail to be seen as much more than another mouth to feed. That it never my intention going in, but it can sometimes be the outcome. I can say that with my festae. I no longer had the time for them when I went back to school, nor did I enjoy them that much. With so many people looking for them, who would enjoy them much more than I, it wouldn't make sense to keep them. When that happens, I rehome them. I also don't keep anything larger than what I can house anymore (if were all being honest, nearly all have done the same at some point), so when I do get rid of a fish there is a very good chance it can be rehomed properly.

 

[deedee203]

WELL I ADMIT I AM ONLY TWELVE AND HAVE BOUGHT A PACU AND TRIED TO HOUSE IT IN A 55GAL WICH HE OUTGREW IN 2 MONTHS SO I SOLD TO A FRIEND WITH A POND AND HE NOW LIVES HAPPILY BUT I WLL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.

 

[Miguel]

WELL I ADMIT I AM ONLY TWELVE AND HAVE BOUGHT A PACU AND TRIED TO HOUSE IT IN A 55GAL WICH HE OUTGREW IN 2 MONTHS SO I SOLD TO A FRIEND WITH A POND AND HE NOW LIVES HAPPILY BUT I WLL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.

Kudus to You! At your age one can and should try all sorts of things. That is the way to learn and grow and it looks as you are doing both!