Often it is kids or rich parents of kids buying a fish a petsmart with only a little bowl. The sales person being hired yesterday as a part-time student who has never owned a fish before telling these parents whatever they want to hear to make their screaming kid happy.
Large cichlids
- Thread starter kosta
- Start date
The misinformed buyer and local store clerk scenario happens all the time, and while unfortunate, it does help weed out those who keep fish from the true hobbyist. It's sad that a lot of fish will die in the process, but it thins the heard out so to speak. I mean, seriously, If you don't take 5 minutes to google a pet you're going to buy, you're not really a hobbyist, you just want some pretty fish. If they live, great. If they die, they'll just buy a snake and when it gets too big they'll just release it into the wild..........while the above scenario is a real problem that goes way beyond the hobby, it is when a real hobbyist does it that bothers me. Knowingly keeping a large fish in a small tank never made much sense. I know I've made plenty of mistakes in the past as far as tank requirements goes, believe me, but I was always fortunate enough to have a lfs that could help me rehome fish that outgrew me. Now, I know not to impulse buy fish without doing a little research, and in all honesty, a larger more lightly stocked tank is a much more easy, and stable environment to keep than a giant fish in a little tank. With added space also comes the potential for more natural behavior ....l.........something you can't have in tight quarters."Thrive" vs "survive" was a concept a wise fish keeper once helped me understand, ands space is a requirement, not an option............
the people at pet-smart recommended me to get a knife fish that has a potential size of a foot for a thirty gallon tank and i was like aw i think you need a 50 gallon + tank for that and she was like you could have 2-3 in a 50 gallon but 1 would be fine in a thirty i didn't get it i left a couple mints later that means that the person there does the same thing to beginners and the beginners buy fish not knowing there potential size of the fish then the fish dies because there organs grow but there skin stops growing fish can not grow to the size of there tank fish are pets to there is this place about 30 minuets away from our house called exotic aquatics the staff are pretty good with fish i bought a 6 inch pearsei cichlid there they always have a big fish well uaslay they have big fish i tend to overstock my tanks a little but i do not keep pairs of pacu in 10 gallon tanks i have a 7 inch pearsei cichlid and a 5 inch common pleco in a 65 gallon tank and in my 75 gallon tank i have 1 14 inch Oscar and 1 14 inch common pleco and 1 9 inch Asian upsidown catfish and in my thirty gallon i have 2 blood parrots they are the hybrid kind and a bunch of assorted community fish and i am getting a other tank for Christmas it will be at lest 40 gallons do not be like your tanks are so overstocked you are a bad fish keeper this is not bad belive me i have seen vidios on you tube of 2 Oscar stuffed in a 5 gallon tank i do realer cleanings for all my tanks to
Many people wan't a colorful aggressive fish they can feed things to yet they can't afford a large tank. Also many are so eazy to get when you can get a jaguar cichlid from petsmart for $3 and the tag says they only need a 29 gallon tank then people don't even consider that it will out grow there small tank
Also the idea that a fish will only grow as big as its suroundings is also a very big problem
Also the idea that a fish will only grow as big as its suroundings is also a very big problem
i know evryone thinks fish grow to the size of there tank it is a rumor about fish that kills many fish
Here is one thing defending Petsmart though. The one by us has tags on each fish tank saying what's in it, how much it is, a brief description, including maximum size and aggression level. I know when I was first learning about all these fish that really helped me to determine what fish to put together for the future. I know size isn't everything (no comment 
) but it sure helped me figure out I didn't want to put a tetra barb with an oscar. Tags are no substitute for a knowledgeable worker, but they sure help.
) but it sure helped me figure out I didn't want to put a tetra barb with an oscar. Tags are no substitute for a knowledgeable worker, but they sure help.Here is one thing defending Petsmart though. The one by us has tags on each fish tank saying what's in it, how much it is, a brief description, including maximum size and aggression level. I know when I was first learning about all these fish that really helped me to determine what fish to put together for the future. I know size isn't everything (no comment
I know what you mean. My neighborhood petsmart is actually very good and the manager of the aquatics department is actually n active hobbyist. We've helped each other rehome fish before. My Midas used to be her personal fish and she adopted a problematic Firemouth of mine. Sad thing is she upsets alot of customers because she tells them the truth about tank size and adult fish size, but she steers them in the right direction for the most part.
I have to do the same thing with motorcycles. I will sell an 18 year old kid a 200 mph Hayabusa, but I definitely tell him he is most likely making a HUGE mistake.
