Why did you buy fish that get too large for your tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I live by the one inch per gallon rule. But usually will only go half of that.
 
Most people usually have the intentions of getting bigger tanks i do and i bought bigger tanks for the fish that arnt even close to the size they have to be for a bigger tank. for example i have a 55 grow out with PB's and dats but they are all under 3 inches and soon will be in a 125gallon i recently bought and set up. but local people when i work at the LFS ask me will this outgrow the tank i said deffinetly unless you get a bigger tank in 6 months but eventually i talk them out of buying the fish because i know some that just started fish keeping and try to get expert level fish and wont know what to do in a case of emergency.
 
I'm slightly overstocked, grossly overstocked, but individually my fish aren't too "large" for my tank...however when they get any where near half the width of my tank i'll be moving them to an indoor pond.
 
I think that in an effort to make a sell, Workers at the pet store press for the purchase and never warn people how big or fast the fish can get. That and people don''t know what too big for the tank means. Most people assume as long as they can swim and eat then they should be fine?
 
I've bought fish that will get to big for my tanks/ponds, my trio of gator gars, because I felt they deserved a better home than where they currently were. The bigger gars were in a 24" wide tank at 31" and 33" long. The little guys was with someone who rushed into a decision and decided to rehome the gars before it was too late. Realistically with builds in progress and planned builds I can house them till about 5-6'. A lot bigger than most people in my area who think a 30 gallon is a big tank.
 
i think its because people who really like fish and know what they wanna buy want the satisfaction of owning a certain type of fish or something even if they dont have the tank size, for the moment it works, and eventually they will have to come up with another solution. but for the moment it is satisfying to see that awesome fish you've always wanted swimming around in your tank. at least thats what i would do lol.

im waiting a little longer for mine, a couple of discus, need to set up an extra tank for em. and i have a community too.
 
I am deffinately guilty of buying fish that "out-grow" my tanks. But I know it. And have no plans of re-homing them when they get to big for their current tanks. I'm big on "up-grading" To me the idea of putting a 4" fish in a 220 gal is silly. My fish are all very interactive and happy in their tanks. Part of this is I encourage the interactions. I've rarely had issues with jumpers or other issues most people akin "to small a tank" to. I'm pretty sure my back is shot from all the water changes I do, as my bank statement tells me they eat better then I do.. I have a "emergency fund" set aside for my fish, thats also for saving up for the next upgrade. Would it be easier to just Buy the big tank now? yes. But I enjoy how I do things, and my fish are by no means stunted. I recently sold my Arrowana and TSN because even as an experianced hobbyist I realized all of my fish would suffer if I kept these 2 very demanding species. So I let them go before they would be hard to re-home. Or became stunted/illhealth. And neither fish had been an impulse buy. The LFS that has my silver has it in a 220 atm and it is still amazing looking.

Even an Educated decision with the best of intentions doesn't always mean you'll be able to house something for life. And even if I woulda had a 220 for the arrow it's aggression with my gar wasn't likely to change. They simply did not like eachother. And I had the gar longer, and more attached to it. I ended up getting another gar and they live peacefully.
 
People are selfish and keeping certain fish just seem to be a status symbol or something:screwy: It's amazing the amount of people who think their fish are "happy" jammed in that 55g or 40g breeder:duh:


This thread seems to be turning into one of those "toot your own horn" feel good threads.
 
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