Fish only grow to the size of their environment.

[cichlid2006]

There are two kinds of fish shop owners:

1.) Those who suck at fish keeping but are great at business
2.) Those who suck at business but are great at fish keeping

For some reason the twain rarely ever seem to meet. One thing you can tell thbough, is that the guy mentioned by the poster owned TWO shops (I am doubting it, but ok). If you manage to start asecond store your are probably a type 1 shop owner. The guy slling retail fish does not want you to keep a fish for its total lifetime. he wants you to kill it ovr and over and keep buying another one. Fish stores are great for buying fish stuff and or fish, but rarely ever do they offer good advice.

i hope to own my own aquatics store eventually once i learn more, about business and aquatics. i have about 19 years in fishkeeping. not in cichlids but in your usual run of the mill community tanks. i hope one day that i will be able to go against, and beat, the odds and excel in both aspects of shop keeping like zerelli says rarely come together. i want to give others the same great start i had into fishkeeping by giving true advice that way my customers will trust and always come back to me and i should make more money in the long run.

 

[dmed]

I wish I would have read this earlier. I could have kept my kids in a Rubbermaid box from birth and stayed in my cool little downtown apartment. That's OK, though, 'cuz I'm going to set up a mini-whale watching exhibit in my tool shed and soon I will be rakin' in the cash!!! I probably wouldn't have had the space for a 30-gallon whale tank plus the tourists (and the tiny kids) in the loft.

Seriously, this idea is so ridiculous it doesn't merit the space we're using to discuss it. This idea fails.

 

[KaiserJeep]

26 years ago I acquired a juvenile Oscar and kept him for 11 years in a 29g tank, and he grew to 12+ inches before expiring of old age. I was a penniless college student, then a newly married guy with a kid - I wanted a 55g upgrade but could never afford it.

He was a healthy fish, fed a combination of Tetra pellets, nightcrawlers, and feeder goldfish. He got two 5 gallon water changes a week - I kept an airstone in a 6 gallon plastic bucket below his tank.

Maybe it wasn't ideal. But he was a healthy fish.

 

[ewurm]

If all that was needed to stunt a fish's growth was a smaller tank then, there would be breeding pairs of pimas in 10 gal tanks. Or, healthy active RTCs in brandy snifters.

Hope this shop owner takes 5 minutes to read up on brown-blood disease (nitrite poisoning. He probably also swears up and down that oscars only live for 2-3 years but, are happy in a 10 gal.

For the same reason, we don't keep dogs in closets and dump food in once in awhile. An animal has basic needs, and that includes room to grow.

 

[ewurm]

26 years ago I acquired a juvenile Oscar and kept him for 11 years in a 29g tank, and he grew to 12+ inches before expiring of old age. I was a penniless college student, then a newly married guy with a kid - I wanted a 55g upgrade but could never afford it.

He was a healthy fish, fed a combination of Tetra pellets, nightcrawlers, and feeder goldfish. He got two 5 gallon water changes a week - I kept an airstone in a 6 gallon plastic bucket below his tank.

Maybe it wasn't ideal. But he was a healthy fish.

Your example is the exception, not really a good guideline. If you are a penniless college student with a 29 gallon tank, I would suggest a fish that doesn't grow over 12". There are many choices for a 29 gal that would be ideal.

 

[tyl089]

Probably the same guy that sold my bro in law the jardini and said it will be fine in a 20g.

 

[BIGgourami]

Probably the same guy that sold my bro in law the jardini and said it will be fine in a 20g.

that was a typo, he meant to say 200

 

[CHOMPERS]

This thread hasn't died yet?

 

[Hawaii Predator]

this guy is stupid. my aro and my ck wpuldnt stop growing if i kept them in my 46 that i had them in when i first got them.