I'm going to attempt to start a rational *friendly* discussion on a topic that pops up again and again. This is not an attempt to point fingers or question anyone's methods or intentions. It's just a topic for discussion and a means to generate the sharing of information.
Many threads are started, especially in the CA/SA Cichlid forum about stocking several species and/or buying young species that grow very large and placing them in small "temporary" tanks. How often does this really work out? If I had a dollar for every person that asks for suggestions for stocking a 29 gallon tank with Oscars, Managuense, Midas etc. because they are getting a 180 in six months, I'd be a rich man. Most of the time, I think the person posting knows they shouldn't put those fish in such a small tank but they're asking for advice because they know they're going to get 20 responses, from 20 different people and *someone* will say it's okay to put those fish in the tank temporarily. In my experience, temporary tanks often do not become temporary. CA/SA Cichlids often grow faster than people expect and, let's be honest, outgrow temporary tanks way before Christmas time or when someone gets a new apartment etc... I'm not questioning anyone's good intentions, I'm questioning the concept of advocating "temporary" tanks. In my opinion, temporary tanks are just not a good idea. I would like to promote the idea of buying the tanks before buying the fish. It's just the responsible thing to do.
Obviously, I'm a huge advocate. The last thing I ever want to do is discourage someone from getting involved in this wonderful hobby. However, I am often disturbed by the ideas people get about keeping several species with the potential to get very large and aggressive in a limited amount of space. This is just a recipe for disaster, especially when keeping a number of the same species with the possibility of spawning activity. If you want to keep and breed cichlids, in my opinion, you really need to have *several* tanks available for adults and fry. You need to be in control of the situation i.e. be able to add/remove adult fish, fry, etc... Species specific tanks are also a good idea when breeding. If the idea is to have a tank with several different large colorful fish, then aggressive cichlids may not be your best choice unless you are stocking a very large tank with individuals of different species that fill different niches. Once you get a breeding pair, everyone else will be on the run. Do you want an arrangement where everyone is happy, healthy, and living in harmony or do you want to breed cichlids? Often, these two situations are independant.
I guess what I'm getting at is that our aquariums are often the furthest thing from a natural situation. We're enclosing these fish in a box and often expecting them to behave in ways that go against their instincts. As responsible hobbiest, we need to plan accordingly and prepare for the unexpected. Large fish do not do well in small boxes. Our fish have no place to go when confronted with parent fish desperate to ensure the survival of their fry.
Just a topic for discussion...
Many threads are started, especially in the CA/SA Cichlid forum about stocking several species and/or buying young species that grow very large and placing them in small "temporary" tanks. How often does this really work out? If I had a dollar for every person that asks for suggestions for stocking a 29 gallon tank with Oscars, Managuense, Midas etc. because they are getting a 180 in six months, I'd be a rich man. Most of the time, I think the person posting knows they shouldn't put those fish in such a small tank but they're asking for advice because they know they're going to get 20 responses, from 20 different people and *someone* will say it's okay to put those fish in the tank temporarily. In my experience, temporary tanks often do not become temporary. CA/SA Cichlids often grow faster than people expect and, let's be honest, outgrow temporary tanks way before Christmas time or when someone gets a new apartment etc... I'm not questioning anyone's good intentions, I'm questioning the concept of advocating "temporary" tanks. In my opinion, temporary tanks are just not a good idea. I would like to promote the idea of buying the tanks before buying the fish. It's just the responsible thing to do.
Obviously, I'm a huge advocate. The last thing I ever want to do is discourage someone from getting involved in this wonderful hobby. However, I am often disturbed by the ideas people get about keeping several species with the potential to get very large and aggressive in a limited amount of space. This is just a recipe for disaster, especially when keeping a number of the same species with the possibility of spawning activity. If you want to keep and breed cichlids, in my opinion, you really need to have *several* tanks available for adults and fry. You need to be in control of the situation i.e. be able to add/remove adult fish, fry, etc... Species specific tanks are also a good idea when breeding. If the idea is to have a tank with several different large colorful fish, then aggressive cichlids may not be your best choice unless you are stocking a very large tank with individuals of different species that fill different niches. Once you get a breeding pair, everyone else will be on the run. Do you want an arrangement where everyone is happy, healthy, and living in harmony or do you want to breed cichlids? Often, these two situations are independant.
I guess what I'm getting at is that our aquariums are often the furthest thing from a natural situation. We're enclosing these fish in a box and often expecting them to behave in ways that go against their instincts. As responsible hobbiest, we need to plan accordingly and prepare for the unexpected. Large fish do not do well in small boxes. Our fish have no place to go when confronted with parent fish desperate to ensure the survival of their fry.
Just a topic for discussion...
I said my temperory tank is 3 feet in length and 1 and a half feet in width and height. I see your point and I understand its positive message, but to believe you can judge me or think I am thinking as those you mentioned would expect replies from the members...you are wrong.
carpediem but the general public will not spend the money on big tanks or sacrafice big space in their home for a FISH or proper equipment etc...Only monster fish keepers are willing to do those crazy things 
the public wants a single pretty fish tank with no mataince and nobody telling them that their wal-mart 55 gal can't hold 5 pleco 5 pacu & 5 oscars they don't want to hear it it hurts them. Then we have monster fish keepers that want to live beyond their financial means to many fish not enough tanks and try to justify it somehow and i have been guilty of this at times as well
.The bottom line is we can never recreate nature i figure that my red devil pair in the wild probly hold a territory as big as my single car garage
but i have them in 125 gal in the garage and that is as good as life is going get for them. That is about all the tank i can provide for them and that's all anybody can do in this hobby is give their fish what they can but many fall short of the bare minimum and that"s the real problem.
