your advice is appreciated

[Sarah88]

The LFS lies, either because the kids tell you what they know you want to hear, or because they're lazy. Even the best LFS I've heard outrageous lies. Eventually a passion turns into a job, when that happens fish suffer.

Ask here, not at an LFS.


EDIT: The worst lie I heard at an LFS. Lady comes in and said the live rock she was sold was growing mold (algae... Clearly just by hearing her call algae mold, I know she doesn't know how to take care of the tank immediately). The LFS corrects her and tells her it's algae... Then tells her to take the live rock to the sink and scrub it under hot tap water.....

To anyone who keeps a reef, that's like telling someone a 100g will fit an arapaima for life.

+1, lfs employees def dont know what they are talking about most of the time, its just a job and they dont bother putting forth the effort in learning about what they are selling, and to that story about scrubbing the live rock, wow...just WOW, lol but i guess thats a sure fire way to get the person to continuously come back in and buy new fish and other things they wouldn't need if they had told them how to correctly set-up the tank to begin with...

 

[RLHam3]

yeah i think that all of the chain pet stores are terrible. NOBODY there knows what they're talking about usually. They're either lying to make money or just have no idea what they're talking about(usually this one).

i would defiitely do some research first, but i would suggest an oscar if your lookin for personality though. One would be ok in a 75. maybe two if they were a mated pair and you had a lot of filtration

 

[nolapete]

None of the replies answer the real issue. The festae you have doesn't seem to be secure in the tank and is startled by your presence. The answer to that is give him time to get used to you by spending a lot more time watching him and letting him watch you. Don't make sudden movements.

A 75 is plenty enough tank for an adult festae. My avatar pair spent a lot of time in a 90 and spawned many times. They barely used half of the tank. A 75 is 18" wide which is the longest an adult male will possibly get. Yes, there have been some extraordinary specimens larger, but the norm is closer to 14" or so.

You DON'T need a 6'x2' tank for ONE festae!

 

[VRWC]

You didnt answer the real issue either. He says NOTHING about housing a festae for life BY ITSELF in a 75...and a 75 isnt big enough for a festae for life unless you are ok with giving the extreme bare minimum to the fish, which is ghetto and apparently par for the course around here (as of late) based on the terrible advice people have been giving out. I have 5 honduran red points in a 75 and its barely enough for them, IMO. I had a festae pair in a 265 and it was what Id consider "big enough" for a pair for life, without tankmates.

Also, in talking about solo tank sizes, Im talking about average size festae...which is about 8-10 inches. I dont think there is a single person on MFK with a 14"er and if so, they havent posted pics on here of it or even acknowledged it. A 14"er would DEFINITELY require a 6x2 for life to be comfortable...and thats solo.

You probably know this, but more than likely youd have lost one of your pair (probably the female) to aggression had you put them both in half of a 90 even though "they barely used half the tank".

None of the replies answer the real issue. The festae you have doesn't seem to be secure in the tank and is startled by your presence. The answer to that is give him time to get used to you by spending a lot more time watching him and letting him watch you. Don't make sudden movements.

A 75 is plenty enough tank for an adult festae. My avatar pair spent a lot of time in a 90 and spawned many times. They barely used half of the tank. A 75 is 18" wide which is the longest an adult male will possibly get. Yes, there have been some extraordinary specimens larger, but the norm is closer to 14" or so.

You DON'T need a 6'x2' tank for ONE festae!

 

[FishFreak95]

I have seen a few lfs owners and employees that knew what they were talking about but most dont anything about fish

 

[balton777]

You didnt answer the real issue either. He says NOTHING about housing a festae for life BY ITSELF in a 75...and a 75 isnt big enough for a festae for life unless you are ok with giving the extreme bare minimum to the fish, which is ghetto and apparently par for the course around here (as of late) based on the terrible advice people have been giving out. I have 5 honduran red points in a 75 and its barely enough for them, IMO. I had a festae pair in a 265 and it was what Id consider "big enough" for a pair for life, without tankmates.

Also, in talking about solo tank sizes, Im talking about average size festae...which is about 8-10 inches. I dont think there is a single person on MFK with a 14"er and if so, they havent posted pics on here of it or even acknowledged it. A 14"er would DEFINITELY require a 6x2 for life to be comfortable...and thats solo.

You probably know this, but more than likely youd have lost one of your pair (probably the female) to aggression had you put them both in half of a 90 even though "they barely used half the tank".

I agree 100%. But unfortunately due to bordom of the fish or lack of proper care, most MFK'ers don't keep their fish to full size so they don't know just how big they can get. A fish doesn't only get longer, but taller, thicker and more massive as well. I've seen a group of 15-16" Vieja and even a 6' tank would be too small for just one of them imo. A 4' would be their coffin in the short run.

As to the OP's original problem. If you're bored with the fish, like I said before, most MFK'ers will trade the fish in for something else. You'll probably get bored with that one too shortly and trade again....never truly experiencing the different phases they go thru and having the fish peak into it's awesome adult form. Mine never paid me any attention until it matured. Now he greets me when I come to the tank. Don't get me wrong, he's still no Oscar lol but a super fantastic fish none the less.