Ethics- Buying Large Fish...

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rsandelius

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 28, 2005
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Detroit, MI
I'm curious about the ethics of buying a monster fish when it's small and then selling it when it grows too big. I've heard people say it's just not right, other people saying that they do it all of the time.

Now, personally, I don't see any problem with it. I would love to keep a tiretrack eel while it would fit in a 55, but not when it gets so much bigger. Plus, I'll be honest. There are SOOOOOOOOO many awesome monster fish out there, doing so would increase the rotation in which I'd be able to experience new fish.

I DO understand there is a grey area to this discussion. Keeping a monster fish in an undersized aquarium WHILE you are trying to sell it is just wrong. So don't think that I'm using that as an excuse, because I full expect any of you (as my peers) would call me out on that if you saw that any of my stuff was out of line (like I know my 30 is getting small for my 6.5" bichir...).

That being said, I'm just wondering what side of this ethical fine line that most of my tend to stay on. I'm not planning on selling fish for profits, but just for the experience. I love ALL fish (goldfish pending, lol) for the curiosity, peace, and fun they bring to my life.
 
I guess it depends on the degree of Monster you want to discuss. Finding a home for a tiretrack eel that outgrew a tank is quite a bit easier than finding a new home for a pima that's outgrown a home tank at less than half its' adult size. A half grown juvie, at over 4ft, would only find a home in the largest of home tanks. And, don't rely on "I'll donate him to Sea World". If it's a one-of-a-kind species, they may take it. But, they're not the "Boy's Town" for everyone's abandoned fish.
 
I would say it's only okay if you have a definitive gameplan on what to do with the fish when it get's too big.

It upsets me when people say "I will get a bigger tank later" or "I will figure out something when it gets too big", because more often than not the fish gets neglected, is placed in a bad home, or ends up dead..

I see people buying Airapima Gigas and other XL fish all the time, assuming it should be no problem to find a home for them when they get larger.. Most public aquariums have all the Gigas they can handle.. Also, once a fish gets 'too big' for your aquarium you have to take into consideration how hard it will be to transport to it's new destination..

Sooo before you buy your monster fish, and assume you can just take it back to the LFS or find a new home for it without hastle, THINK TWICE.. Get a gameplan set up and project about what time the fish will outgrow the tank (try moving a 3' RTC in the snow..?).. This will better help you prepare and hopefully think out a good plan before you make your purchase..



PS. The XXL fish that have little to no worth at XL sizes should either be inflated in price or restricted in order to prevent these type of scenarios.. (ie: Pacus, Clown Knife, RTC, Pacus, TSN, Pacus, and more Pacus..)
 
I will let you know.. Should be able to ship you some monsters for a pretty good rate via Air Cargo..

I am going to set up a few stock tanks on my back porch for the summer, incase I have any unexpected XL Donations for yas! :D The LFS near me gets in big pacus, oscars, and cats on a regular basis, because they don't mention to their customers how big they get!
 
Right... I've already contact a bunch of LFS's around me and a bunch of them said that they often did that... :) I'm anal about that kind of stuff... ask anybody who knows me. They always wonder why I research a fish for 3 weeks before I buy it... lol
 
Once I buy it, it is hard to let it go. I will only buy what will fit in my tanks or when I buy it I understand that I will need to spend the money later to get a bigger tank.
 
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