Man.......I'm kinda surprised the mods haven't gotten involved with this thread.
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Why do people buy fish...
- Thread starter ehh
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Enough bickering, if y9u can't get along with someone, put them on ignore and move on with your life. Arguing in the open forum will not be tolerated.
Didn't read this thread entirely, got bored quick, but just a tip that works for me, post your fish on used classifieds 6 months before you anticipate you will want to rehome it if you don't have a bigger tank. Impossible to find a good owner on there nowadays. Plus get the price you deserve.
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I have a beautiful tiger oscar thats several years old. I saw him in the local fish store about 2 years ago. He had terrible fin rot, fungus on his scales, looked to be hole in the head too. He listed to one side and laid on the bottom, lifeless, would not eat.
The shop owner said an older couple had him for a few years In a 55g and had to "surrender" him due to moving. They only wanted $6 for him, a sickly near death fullgrown Oscar fish.
I left that night empty handed.. and returned immediately the next day. I always wanted an oscar and I couldn't bare to think about him suffering. I wanted to save him. I had no tank to put this oscar in. I was living in an apartment and had no extra tanks. I swung by my dad's house and picked up an extra tank from him. It was only 20g high. (I know I know) with the half dead fish listing in a garbage bag sized fish bag from the lfs, I set up the 20g on the floor and moved 2 established HOB on it and went to work. I dosed him daily with melafix and stress coat. I did daily water changes and monitored parameters. With in a week he was eating and starting to heal up. His fins started to grow back and he was able to swim once again.
once I was confident he was making his way toward recovery I secured a 40g breeder from my father who had several of them collecting dust from when he used to breed fish. AGA 40B from 1988 original silicone. Yep I was broke and it fit the bill. I got some serious budget filtration on the tank. (2x 200gph utility pumps with sponge prefilters running an overhead sump packed with biomax)
2 years later he is still in the 40breeder, (minus the budget diy filter- running commercial filters now) he's survived a move, a power outage, and a heater failure. He is as healthy as can be, he's made a full recovery and is a beautiful colorful specimen. He swims around happy and follows me around the room. I know the tank is too small, but honestly a 40b is much better than a 13" wide 55g, which seem to be recommended for oscars as the minimum size. He gets huge waterchanges every single week. The stand he is on is 48" long, im searching currently for a cheap 75g on Craigslist. Other options would be a 72 bow or 65. Im paying off a wedding, medical bills, and saving for a baby due in 5 months, money is tight.
Long story short, I made a bad decision. It was hasty and reckless. I was a broke 21 year old living on my own in a dive apartment. I didnt even have a tank to put the fish in. But in the end i saved the Oscar. Im confident he would have died on the store. I didnt have much to lose, and neither did the fish: he was on his way out from a life of extreme neglect. Im proud of him and my friend who used to breed oscars in his 125 says he is one of the best looking he's seen. Even with all of his scars.
Fishkeeping is an expensive hobby. caution should be exercised when impulse buys arise and money is tight. I'll never make this mistake again. I however am glad that I did decide to try my hand at monster fish keeping when I*almost missed the rent that month lol.
The shop owner said an older couple had him for a few years In a 55g and had to "surrender" him due to moving. They only wanted $6 for him, a sickly near death fullgrown Oscar fish.
I left that night empty handed.. and returned immediately the next day. I always wanted an oscar and I couldn't bare to think about him suffering. I wanted to save him. I had no tank to put this oscar in. I was living in an apartment and had no extra tanks. I swung by my dad's house and picked up an extra tank from him. It was only 20g high. (I know I know) with the half dead fish listing in a garbage bag sized fish bag from the lfs, I set up the 20g on the floor and moved 2 established HOB on it and went to work. I dosed him daily with melafix and stress coat. I did daily water changes and monitored parameters. With in a week he was eating and starting to heal up. His fins started to grow back and he was able to swim once again.
once I was confident he was making his way toward recovery I secured a 40g breeder from my father who had several of them collecting dust from when he used to breed fish. AGA 40B from 1988 original silicone. Yep I was broke and it fit the bill. I got some serious budget filtration on the tank. (2x 200gph utility pumps with sponge prefilters running an overhead sump packed with biomax)
2 years later he is still in the 40breeder, (minus the budget diy filter- running commercial filters now) he's survived a move, a power outage, and a heater failure. He is as healthy as can be, he's made a full recovery and is a beautiful colorful specimen. He swims around happy and follows me around the room. I know the tank is too small, but honestly a 40b is much better than a 13" wide 55g, which seem to be recommended for oscars as the minimum size. He gets huge waterchanges every single week. The stand he is on is 48" long, im searching currently for a cheap 75g on Craigslist. Other options would be a 72 bow or 65. Im paying off a wedding, medical bills, and saving for a baby due in 5 months, money is tight.
Long story short, I made a bad decision. It was hasty and reckless. I was a broke 21 year old living on my own in a dive apartment. I didnt even have a tank to put the fish in. But in the end i saved the Oscar. Im confident he would have died on the store. I didnt have much to lose, and neither did the fish: he was on his way out from a life of extreme neglect. Im proud of him and my friend who used to breed oscars in his 125 says he is one of the best looking he's seen. Even with all of his scars.
Fishkeeping is an expensive hobby. caution should be exercised when impulse buys arise and money is tight. I'll never make this mistake again. I however am glad that I did decide to try my hand at monster fish keeping when I*almost missed the rent that month lol.
Sometimes you have to do this to get a pair of cichlids to mate. I bought some babies with the intent of them pairing up as they grew up and rehoming all but the pair, as this is the best way to do it. I've been told this over and over and have experienced males getting out of hand with aggression if you try to pair up adults in some species. Sadly for me, they are all male so if I wanna breed I'm gonna have to rehome these and roll the dice again. Kinda hazards of trying to get these bloody things to make a pair, I guess.
Other than that I don't really agree with it.
Other than that I don't really agree with it.
I still buy fish I can't house, purely to satisfy my need to 'own' it. No BS here....I do it because I want to enjoy looking at it in 'MY' tank. Playing God is a big part of it too....I love how I have total control over my pet's well being.
Well I don't think I've heard of anyone intending on rehoming them since the day they bought them but for example my dad's fish outgrew his tank and he didn't know that they would exceed his tank size so he gave them away if I remember correctly
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IMO, it's hard to grow attached to one that you can't hold or pet, yet 100% depend on you. Even my friend's son doesn't consider fish as a pet, because he can't hold or pet a fish, not like a turte or a beard dragon... He can tell the difference and he's not even 10 years old yet. Fish keeping is a hobby. Whoever thinks or says he/she will keep a fish for life either doesn't know the meaning of "life" or doesn't have a life.
As usual, I agree with you JL. I buy and sell a lot of fish. Sometimes I just want to see what it is like to care for a new species. It's easy to do with fish. But other animals like dogs, this wouldn't be as realistic with the emotional bonds that form. My lady is perfectly fine with me buying, selling and trading fish all the time but if I brought a puppy home... I'll most likely be stuck with it for life.
I've owned a number of fish I couldn't house for life at that time. I've upgraded many times over the years to accommodate some that i liked and sold some when I couldn't do so in the proper time frame. I'm fortunate enough to have an income where I can buy new tanks and ponds regularly at my homes but I still have made the RTC mistake in the past. I still buy potentially giant fish sometimes with no intent of keeping them forever. When the time comes I sell them to someone who can house them or give them away to those who can. Often a financial loss but I enjoy watching and observing them. Expensive hobby but gratifying.
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