Animals That Should Be Kept Out Of Petstores

[OohFeeshy]

What needs to happen is fish that are not suitable for the average fish keeper should be priced so that only someone dedicated towards its welfare will buy them, you dont see many Asian arowana's or stingrays in tanks that are too small and this is because not many people will shell out hundreds of pounds on a fish which might then die if they dont care for it properly.

Heh, but what about the poor people? I can just about stretch to £25 per fish, and even fish that expensive still get the bad buyer.

 

[Nauplii]

I can't nessessarily think of anything that should be banned apart from Dyed fish of course...

But I know that if the Fish store is responsible enough and give out the correct info and advice on fish which will grow large, then i think it is ok to have fish such as red tailed catfish, snakeheads and specialist fish.

But i do agree that if these types of fish are ordered in by a fish store who is not responsible and does not warn people about these fish, then maybe they should not be allowed to sell it.

So i reckon you should have to show a fair amount of understanding about these fish to have them ordered into the shop, so that really only speicalist retailers can guide you in the right direction.

 

[Anthony!]

I agree with Vixen. Apart from dyed fish, I can't think of any that personally should be outright banned, except for those that have little or no chance of longterm survival in captivity. But, I think that stated "Specialist" Fish should not be kept in LFS all month, every month. Fish like the Arrowana, which are sold at a cute 3 or 4", tempting for the guy with a ten gallon and twenty bucks. Or the pacu, which at first I was tricked into thinking was a colour morph of the Silver Dollar, as told by one LFS, and would be fine in a ten gallon. Basically, my opinion is that no fish should be banned, just that people should at least attempt to better educate themselves before they give a death sentence to a fish, both store workers and new enthusiasts.

 

[Nauplii]

I absolutely agree.

Just even if a shop sells small red tail catfish or small arrowanas, that they should make damn sure its goin to someone who knows thir stuff and can accommodate them properly

 

[Gankutsuou]

on a less serious note.... since it says animals... and i can't help myself....

I don't think Smurfs should be sold in pet stores. The drugs or the animals versions.

and i think people should have a fish buying liscense or something.... but that's me.

"Goldfish and bettas were not meant to be kept in cups/tiny bowls"
"Six fish, especially 6 different species of shoaling fish, do no't go in a 2.5 gallon tank."
"Bala sharks do not go in a 10 gallon with a red oscar"

ect.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If i owned a lfs, i would not stock these sorts of fish;

a. Fish that are endangered or threatened/rare.
b. Fish which are generally unsuited to pond or aquarium life in every or most aspects (like stergeons or elephant nose fish etc).
c. Dyed fish.
d. Fish that grow over 2.5 to 3ft long.

I think other things would need to be changed though- i think that the problem with most problem fish is that there is just too many sold of them.
Its not imposible to house a common or sailfin plec- its just that the quantity of sailfin and common plecs sold is so many, that most end up in tanks far too small because most fish keepers only have tanks up to 40-50gals tops, and only a small percentage have tanks exceeding 125gals.
If less tankbusting fish were sold, less would end up in unsuitable tanks. Instead of having species of tankbusting fish like common and sailfin plecs in the cheap and plenty section of the shop, just have one or two full grown adults in the display tank section in really large tanks. Physically showing customers how big certain fish sold get by displaying adult specimens in suitable sized tanks should help make people think twice about getting them.

 

[mandi]

I don't think most fish should be banned (except dyed or unsuited/endangered species, as others have said).

But I think that there should be more education (for salespeople and shoppers) and more clearly labelled tanks. A lot of fish stores I go to just have the fish name and price on the tank -- I'd liike to know the adult size, the latin name, etc etc. (Random trick I've learned: When I go to the LFS and see something I like but don't know about, I take a picture of the label with my cellphone camera, then come home and research it -- taking the pic saves me having to scribble down notes while I'm at the LFS!)

It would be nice if tanks were labelled not only with the adult size of the fish, but maybe a BIG sticker in the corner of the tank saying "55 gal MINIMUM" or whatever is appropriate. Because newbies can't always "translate" that X-inches of fish needs such-and-such size tank.

 

[cheeky_chappie]

at the end of the day they're businesses. if they hiked up the price of more difficult to keep fish they would have less sales and they'd also be discriminating against people who might be excellent fishkeepers but on low incomes ... not fair, period. just cause you can afford to buy something doesn't mean you're going to be able to care for it properly.