Here's why you SHOULD buy that cute little RTC at your LFS

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
i think you could go on and on with this with everyones different viewpoints,but the permit idea is a good one and yeah there is loads of fish mistreated not just the big ones,but even an oscar is a large aquarium fish and prob the most mistreated considering the amount available in the trade
 
Davo - I am not one of those who euthanise pets (unless they are in pain) since I do have several fishrooms, quite a few above ground pools and several LARGE ponds so dont misunderstand me. But just to continue the discussion I am wondering if you and others can argue why there is a distinction between food animal and pet animal then? And what if a food animal is kept a pet? ie a cow. I mean of course there is .. but why?

Necrocranis - IMO the problem with permits is they only limit and disadvantage the law abidding citizens. Those who are happy to break the law will not care about a permit and remain unaffected. Gun permits, native animal permits, reptile permits etc. Permits will also raise more problems than they solve. How to police? How to charge? Who decides? etc etc. I think customer education is the best way. Surely those who are misinformed at their LFS will complain and no longer shop there? Dont most places have a sign?

If a LFS can not sell a RTC then it will buy less or stop stocking them altogether. How many educated people here at MFK have bought a Pacu or Arapima I wonder? I suspect it is not always the LFS`s fault.

I wish I could take some of the unwanted large fish I see posted. Pools are cheap!!!!
 
fishdance;923993; said:
If we farm cows until they are useful size and then kill and eat them, is it not the same as keeping a baby RTC until it is no longer cute and then euthanising? Is a year of happy living better than not being born at all? And those which dont go to the ornamental fish trade end up being fattened and eaten. They are all doomed!!! I guess it comes down to quality of life.
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I don't know if I could eat my fish because I tend to become attached to them, but I would have no problem with people growing out rtc(s) and eating them... No difference with them and cows or pigs....
 
fishdance;924075; said:
Davo - I am not one of those who euthanise pets (unless they are in pain) since I do have several fishrooms, quite a few above ground pools and several LARGE ponds so dont misunderstand me. But just to continue the discussion I am wondering if you and others can argue why there is a distinction between food animal and pet animal then? And what if a food animal is kept a pet? ie a cow. I mean of course there is .. but why?

Necrocranis - IMO the problem with permits is they only limit and disadvantage the law abidding citizens. Those who are happy to break the law will not care about a permit and remain unaffected. Gun permits, native animal permits, reptile permits etc. Permits will also raise more problems than they solve. How to police? How to charge? Who decides? etc etc. I think customer education is the best way. Surely those who are misinformed at their LFS will complain and no longer shop there? Dont most places have a sign?

If a LFS can not sell a RTC then it will buy less or stop stocking them altogether. How many educated people here at MFK have bought a Pacu or Arapima I wonder? I suspect it is not always the LFS`s fault.

I wish I could take some of the unwanted large fish I see posted. Pools are cheap!!!!
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Used to have cows as pets lol. I'm not saying YOU can't look after one, i don't know your situation, it's just if i am keeping an animal as a pet then it's something for life. If it's for food then obviously you are growing it to eat it, and as soon as it's ready... I have kept animals that are food animals and obviously you become a bit attached to some individuals, but you never loose sight of them being food. BUT for the fishkeeping hobby, there is a fundamental difference to you keeping these fish as your pets (as you would with guppys etc) to growing them up as food... I just doubt every fishkeeper that buys them is going to decide to eat their fish once it outgrows the tank.
 
**** BIG QUESTION ****


Are large catfish really a problem that effect many people ??? The ecosystem ???? Do they negatively effect the hobby in any way ??? I THINK NOT. Tell someone you have an Oscar and they know what it is, tell someone you have a RTC and they have no clew. Do you see large returned RTC's at every petshop, I think not. How about Oscars and Pleco's and Tinfoil barbs and Irridesent sharks ect...... I see a lot of them. And I love to hear when someone says "KEEP FOR LIFE" Whats the longest most people have fish before a total tank wipeout. Who hasnt lost a valuable / favorite fish for no reason ???? Its fishkeeping guys !!!! Go spend some more time with your kids and keep them off the drugs and spend less time on the stupid computer bashing "average" RTC keepers. :cry:


Sorry if I sound like an ass but this **** is getting old.


bob
 
Way to go bob. I just dont think it is that big of an issues. They are popular fish with those of us involved in the hobby due to their look and personality but like I and others have stated before, their someone elses tilapia in South America. Last time I was in Colombia a local fisherman was selling foot long shovelnose on the street. At my LFS there have been five 4inch RTC and they have gone unsold for 2 months and they arent getting any bigger which shows wat kind of treatment they are getting. You wanna buy a fish that eats everything else in your tank and outgrows all but the biggest accomidations in a year, have fun with it, Your not affecting the trade local environment but helping the LFS and exporters. and the truth is your the one person who walked into that store all day who knew what the heck he or she was even looking at.
 
This just happened a couple days ago at my local pet supermarket


The scene is that this one lady and an employee are looking for somethign that just got in the tanks that day. Earlier I heard bits of pieces about a huge fish that will eat everything and I guesses right. So they say they are looking for a red tail cat. My brother found the label on a tank which contained one arowana about 6 inches. The employee says oh no its in the arowana tank and my brother says it might be in the ornamental cave. She holds it and out comes a 2-3 inch cute Red Tail catfish. I said oh those get huge. The lady says yeah I had one about this big. *she uses her hands to show a length of 6-7 inches* She says it was huge. I said well they get 3 to 4 feet long and just ignored me. Oh welll. I heard her talk about how her fire eel is acting strange. Oh well.
 
I know how you feel jox, a lady that works at the fish store I got my rtc at was like, oh are you gonna eat it when it gets big enough, and when I told her that I was trying to raise it to 4 ft she looked at me crazy. She said there was no way it would get over 2ft. Then i told her that I had a 35" hybrid of rtc x tsn, and she said it was just a different species that hybrids are a myth. The guy that owned the stored was laughing as so was I. I just left and he called me later to appologize. He never would have ordered my rtc if he had not seen my tanks in person.
 
Sounds like you have one of the "good" LFS.

A guy I work with has one in a 55gal that he's had for about a year, he said it's about 10" long and lives with 2 oscars. :(
 
Bgonz;924350; said:
**** BIG QUESTION ****


Are large catfish really a problem that effect many people ??? The ecosystem ???? Do they negatively effect the hobby in any way ??? I THINK NOT. Tell someone you have an Oscar and they know what it is, tell someone you have a RTC and they have no clew. Do you see large returned RTC's at every petshop, I think not. How about Oscars and Pleco's and Tinfoil barbs and Irridesent sharks ect...... I see a lot of them. And I love to hear when someone says "KEEP FOR LIFE" Whats the longest most people have fish before a total tank wipeout. Who hasnt lost a valuable / favorite fish for no reason ???? Its fishkeeping guys !!!! Go spend some more time with your kids and keep them off the drugs and spend less time on the stupid computer bashing "average" RTC keepers. :cry:


Sorry if I sound like an ass but this **** is getting old.


bob
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lol your having a laugh. Everywhere i go theres an rtc that is longer than the tank is wide. If i took a photo of every rtc i saw that was crammed into a small tank, my hard drive would be full in the next 2 weeks... and it's not just rtc's but a few other catfish too.
I agree the whole rtc/alligator gar etc threads get old... maybe it's because they are constantly needed to reming people of the cute 3-4 inch catfish won't stay that way for long.
 
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