ok 1st point anywone who lives in civilisation can access a computor and the internet even in an internet cafe if you must. you should always research any pet you are planning to purchase. 2nds i really f*in hate people who buy a fish (monster) who dont yet have the tank it needs to compfortably live in for life. IF YOU DONT HAVE A MONSTER TANK WHY DO YOU THINK YOU CAN KEEP A MONSTER FISH!!! they are called monsters for a reason. on the shark subject i believe that you should have to apply for a lisence even for the smaller species. therefor one of the requirements would be an adequite tank for a shark. and 50 gallons is redicoulos for a shark i believe a minimum for any shark would be 12x5. dont try to protect idiots who buy big fish for there small tanks. thats like keeping your baby in a cot untill its 5 years old and planning to eventually upgrade to a bed. they are alive aswell i think people forget that!
LARGE sharks and aquarists
- Thread starter capo larzo
- Start date
people dont just jump into buying 200+ gallon tanks. Im willing to bet a good portion of the people with big tanks got them because they bought fish as juvies that grew large so they had to upgrade. A lot of people didnt get into the hobby with a monster tank. Thats just the progression of it. Im willing to bet your first tank wasnt even 100 gallons. You dont just decide one day "I wanna be a MFKer". Theres phases people go through. Most people dont put a 2 inch baby peacock bass into a 360 gallon tank. It just doesnt make sense. Theres no problem with putting your baby in a crib, even though at age 30 he'll have a king size bed. You wouldnt buy your baby a king size bed at age 1 would you?
my first tank was a 4ft by 16" and i only kept the later of community fish. i decided to be a mfker when i saw a monster in the shop then researched it and purchased my 1st 180 gallon, remember you have to see the monster in the shop when you buy it so in all honesty i think you should research your aquatic life to be able to provide near perfect conditions for it. so dont tell me that people buy peacock basses by mistake! you would have to be stupid to purchase any fish/pet without researching 1st. also bear in mind a child doesnt stay in its bed all the time. but a fish cant go and sit in the kitchen if its feelin stuffy.
"That's why I no longer work in the LFS as telling a parent he/she is an idiot is frowned upon."
Thats why I could never work in a LFS because I would do that way to often as well and probably get fired in a few weeks.
Thats why I could never work in a LFS because I would do that way to often as well and probably get fired in a few weeks.
I'm against flaming people for no reason, or if they are truly unaware that they are making a mistake but if they are truly being and Idiot I'm all for telling them.
I have an odd feeling this is beginning to get a might bit aggressive, who would have thought?
It's great that you purchased that large of a tank and had that large of a tank available right away. If I could disagree with you on a couple of points, and agree on others:
Pet licensure is a fantastic idea. As I have it some parts of Europe require it. They also require spaying/neutering without a breeders license. Really cuts down on the unwanted animals and ignorant animal owners that we see here in the states. The difference is of course, my shark isn't going to form a roving pack if I let it go.
On tank size, bigger is great but not always better. The analogies have hit a little of key though. I keep my juvenile monsters in a small tank for safety and convenience. If I have a two inch pbass, I'm going to keep it in a 30-50gallon tank until 4-6 inches. This way I can find it to measure growth and health easily, and I don't have to worry about future tankmates eating the damn thing. Don't get me wrong, I love getting small monsters and watching them grow. To continue the analogy, it's not a difference of bed size. Comparativley letting your baby roam around the house whilst you watch through the windows is a better example. Then again, the other babies in the house aren't in a great deal of risk of being consumed either are they?
We all do what we can and we come here to share insights and ideas. As a result we tend to weed out the casual keeper. No reason to be discourteous billbob, you are not preaching to the choir, you are coming down on your peers for exactly the point you are trying to make.
On the topic of monster fish keeping, please don't patronize. The biggest tank I've seen on here is a 52,000gallon. It's infamous of course but I wouldn't expect arapaima to tell us it's the recreation of habitat. There simply is no way for us to recreate the amazon in water movement or turnover. Especially so for sharks and rays. A 10,000 gallon tank is by no means close to what a shark can swim in moments in the sea. A 1,000 gallon tank is nowhere close to what a pbass would swim in the wild. For all of the fishkeeping we do, we are still doing our best, and that's all we can do.
I have delusions that I find humility in sharing the bad decisions I've made in the hopes that I will grow as a person and another may heed the advice. While I do understand the condescension you feel, there's no reason not to be civil.
Swim on!
It's great that you purchased that large of a tank and had that large of a tank available right away. If I could disagree with you on a couple of points, and agree on others:
Pet licensure is a fantastic idea. As I have it some parts of Europe require it. They also require spaying/neutering without a breeders license. Really cuts down on the unwanted animals and ignorant animal owners that we see here in the states. The difference is of course, my shark isn't going to form a roving pack if I let it go.
On tank size, bigger is great but not always better. The analogies have hit a little of key though. I keep my juvenile monsters in a small tank for safety and convenience. If I have a two inch pbass, I'm going to keep it in a 30-50gallon tank until 4-6 inches. This way I can find it to measure growth and health easily, and I don't have to worry about future tankmates eating the damn thing. Don't get me wrong, I love getting small monsters and watching them grow. To continue the analogy, it's not a difference of bed size. Comparativley letting your baby roam around the house whilst you watch through the windows is a better example. Then again, the other babies in the house aren't in a great deal of risk of being consumed either are they?
We all do what we can and we come here to share insights and ideas. As a result we tend to weed out the casual keeper. No reason to be discourteous billbob, you are not preaching to the choir, you are coming down on your peers for exactly the point you are trying to make.
On the topic of monster fish keeping, please don't patronize. The biggest tank I've seen on here is a 52,000gallon. It's infamous of course but I wouldn't expect arapaima to tell us it's the recreation of habitat. There simply is no way for us to recreate the amazon in water movement or turnover. Especially so for sharks and rays. A 10,000 gallon tank is by no means close to what a shark can swim in moments in the sea. A 1,000 gallon tank is nowhere close to what a pbass would swim in the wild. For all of the fishkeeping we do, we are still doing our best, and that's all we can do.
I have delusions that I find humility in sharing the bad decisions I've made in the hopes that I will grow as a person and another may heed the advice. While I do understand the condescension you feel, there's no reason not to be civil.
Swim on!
Metalyx, I totally agree with you. On a totally unrelated note, the readability of your posts are astounding. That is serious, you are one of the better structured posters around MFK.
I hope im not coming across as defending animal (fish) abuse. And im not defending stupidity either. Im just trying to be honest. This is real life, not theory. These things happen and they will continue to happen for the rest of aquaria's existence. All that you can try to do is educate, or re-educate, and hope that someone heeds what you say.
Perhaps a sticky should be created where a list of every species and their minimum tank size is spelled out very clearly and in bold. And dont label it "Recommended Minimum tank size". Make it "REQUIRED MINIMUM TANK SIZE". People see the word recommended and think that its a give and take situation. Required would be much more efficient at deterring people that think they can play with numbers.
This list would become an instant reference for every "Is this tank big enough?" question that gets posted here. It could also serve as a wake up call to people interested in jumping into this area of fish keeping. People will see very clearly what is actually required to make this thing work properly.
Just my opinion, as is everything ive said so far.
Perhaps a sticky should be created where a list of every species and their minimum tank size is spelled out very clearly and in bold. And dont label it "Recommended Minimum tank size". Make it "REQUIRED MINIMUM TANK SIZE". People see the word recommended and think that its a give and take situation. Required would be much more efficient at deterring people that think they can play with numbers.
This list would become an instant reference for every "Is this tank big enough?" question that gets posted here. It could also serve as a wake up call to people interested in jumping into this area of fish keeping. People will see very clearly what is actually required to make this thing work properly.
Just my opinion, as is everything ive said so far.
I like everyone on this site and i have never flamed anybody. i love monster fish and monster fish keeping but it is a small pool of the whole picture of keeping aquatic life.I believe that the guys who sell the fish are too blame, and they should certainly make sure people have adequite tanks and always ask for a water sample (My lfs does even though he knows me and my tank very well)
But you are correct these things will always happen and we cannot stop it. I think its the job of everybody on this site to educate the people who want to learn how to care for there fish, even the ones who baught the pbass in the 30gals; they just need to know we are here for them to provide information for them to hopefully better there knoweledge of monster fish and eventually better the life for there fish. I know reletively little in comparison to everybody else on this site but i have very strict morals and i have researched monster fish for nearly 5 years now.
But you are correct these things will always happen and we cannot stop it. I think its the job of everybody on this site to educate the people who want to learn how to care for there fish, even the ones who baught the pbass in the 30gals; they just need to know we are here for them to provide information for them to hopefully better there knoweledge of monster fish and eventually better the life for there fish. I know reletively little in comparison to everybody else on this site but i have very strict morals and i have researched monster fish for nearly 5 years now.
WOW. Now thats what im talking about! I agree with your last post completely.
Now we're getting somewhere.
Now we're getting somewhere.
