Lfs Curiousity

Miamisportsfan45 · Nov 22, 2009

It just dawned on me, and I'm very curious about this all of a sudden. But every LFS always has such a small tank with such a large amount of fish. Regardless of the LFS and the profession and knowledge that they have as well.

Is it okay/safe to have that many fish inside those small tanks because of the type of filter the shop has? Is it because they are expecting the fish to sell before harmful things arise? Is it because they aren't knowledgeable in it?

A little curious because I'd like to have as many fish as possible in my tank without killing the levels, and I want to know what kind of filtration that they use if it is safe. Thanks.

Truck · Nov 22, 2009

The fish the LFS have are in their tanks for a few weeks, that is why bread and butter species are often in tank quite small with large numbers of fish, because they are sold within a few weeks, which isn't enough to make a difference, like it would with our tanks.

OohFeeshy · Nov 22, 2009

The fish in the shop are only there temporarily, and usually juvenile. Some shops do use quite a hefty filtration system, but equally some use roughly the same filtration you'd have in your tank at home (via sponge filters, for example). Bioload is only part of the issue- if the fish are going to be sold, you don't need to worry too much about how much space they have. For example, a shop might have ten rabbits in a 6'x4' enclosure. If you did that at home, it's pretty obvious the amount of space is nowhere near enough, but if it's only for a week or so it isn't too bad. The high stocking levels can also mean terratorial issues are reduced- like you would do with African cichlids in a home aquarium, but taken to a more extreme level.

The point is, if the shops kept fish at the sort of stocking density you would have at home, can you imagine how much space that would take up, and how much it would cost?