Lfs Display Tanks

[finchfarm]

We were driving around trying to find a place to eat yesterday when we came across a LFS that we've never been to. The majority of what they sold were saltwater fish, but they also had some freshwater. I was impressed with what they had and how the fish looked and all until we got to the freshwater fish.

They had, what I'm assuming was a surrender, a Pacu, which I would estimate at about a foot in length.....crammed in what I would estimate as a 10 gallon display tank. The fish could literally only swim about an inch forward and turn in a circle. I used to have a Pacu myself and it was my favorite fish I ever had. I actually thought it was quite cruel to keep him in a tank so small. All the display tanks in the store were the same size.....no big deal for the other fish because they were either small species or were still young. They didn't even have a bigger tank to put him in even if they wanted to.....unless they set up one of the tanks they were trying to sell. I understand these are display tanks and the fish are only kept in them until they are sold and many display tanks are undersized for the fish they hold....but a foot long fish in a 10 gallon?!

I seriously thought about buying him (the Pacu) and taking him home just to get him out of that tiny tank. But I didn't.....mainly for the reasons that 1.) our tank is cycling and I wouldn't want to buy him knowing there was a higher risk that he might die and 2.) even at 75 gallons, our tank would eventually be too small for a Pacu, not to mention we have other large fish and we would be way overstocked. I even had thoughts later in the night of going to buy him and taking him to the LFS we usually go to and selling him to them. They put all they're bigger fish in 20-50 gallon tanks, depending on size.

But, I guess here's where the debate comes in. What do you think of LFS and other places that sell fish of keeping them in overstocked/undersized tanks until they're sold? Just thought it'd be an interesting topic.

 

[murphyk32]

It isnt always a bad situation to do so BUT in a situation like that all lfs's should have ATLEAST one or two larger tanks, to put them in. My lfs has larger tanks aswell they also have a 350 gallon freshwater "pond" setup where a lot of larger fish go. One thing about having one large fish in a lfs is they dont always sell as fast as the smaller fish and DO need a slightly larger tank.

 

[andywg]

Suppose the fish had only just been returned and the store had nowhere else to put it?

Making a judgement on a snap shot without all the facts is always going to end up falling back onto your prejudged views on why a situation would exist.

 

[murphyk32]

Suppose the fish had only just been returned and the store had nowhere else to put it?

Making a judgement on a snap shot without all the facts is always going to end up falling back onto your prejudged views on why a situation would exist.

BUT there is still the point that the store had NO larger tanks to hold such fish in the first place, going back to what i had just stated, they should, imho, always have atleast one larger tank.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Unfortunately most fish stores only have so much space for tanks. I don't like seeing big fish in tanks that they can barely move in but from a business point of view their aren't too many options.

the two good lfs near me have a couple of large tanks for the big fish but occasionally get a larger one in that has to go into a smaller tank. These normally don't tend to be there for too long though and they always look very healthy.

 

[andywg]

BUT there is still the point that the store had NO larger tanks to hold such fish in the first place, going back to what i had just stated, they should, imho, always have atleast one larger tank.

So you are saying a fish shop should always have a large tank (costing money in rented floorspace, rates, electrics and loss of earning potential) just in case someone decides to walk in and dump a fish on them? would this also apply to lfs that don't sell large growing fish?

That's hardly a good business practice, especially when many lfs don't make huge profits. Too many people on here are all too quick to flame lfs without truly understanding how one is run.

 

[Maximus]

I completely agree with andy.

It especially doesn't help when you turn around to find a large box on the floor, with an equally large fish inside.

You'd be surprised the amount of people "Dump + Run" as we call it. Theres nothing more you can do in a situation like that.

 

[Gremily]

I've seen almost this situation before, one of my LFSs had a big Pacu in small tank, I was quite shocke.
If people come in with a fish they can't care for, most LFS would probably rather take it than let the person just throw it away. I think it's unlikely they ordered the fish in, they probably had to take it from someone and don't really have much of a choice. It's sad that it happens but you're always going to get irresponsible owners who don't know what to do with fish that grow far too large.

 

[nmcturner]

I agree with everybody who says that the big fish that are "surrendered" should be placed in larger tanks, but that is not always possible. I can understand some LFS putting them in small tanks for short periods of time. \

All of the responsibility falls on the person surrendering the fish. If you know that your Local only has small tanks, then take it somewhere that you know can care for it. That is your responsibility as a pet owner, even when you are trying to rehome your animal. Most people wouldn't take a dog to someone who they know could not take care of it. Fish are living creatures too.

All that being said, I have also seen (in my LFS as well) fish that are "Not for sale - Display only) crammed into small tanks for years. The closest LFS to my house (though certainly not the best) has in one 120 gallon tank a HUGE featherback, even larger Iridescent, and some other gigantic fish that I cannot tell the type. No frills, no decorations. I will take a pic next time I'm in there if they let me and post it.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

All that being said, I have also seen (in my LFS as well) fish that are "Not for sale - Display only) crammed into small tanks for years. The closest LFS to my house (though certainly not the best) has in one 120 gallon tank a HUGE featherback, even larger Iridescent, and some other gigantic fish that I cannot tell the type. No frills, no decorations. I will take a pic next time I'm in there if they let me and post it.

Yes there's a lfs of mine that has a great deal of true display tanks i.e. tanks where fish live there permanently, not for sale.

Some of its display tanks are actually quite good (there's about 5 display tanks in totaly, all between 4-6ft long), for example they have a really nicely stocked discus tank and a good sized piranha tank on display. But some of their other tanks are really bad- there's one in particular i dislike, its about 65-75gallons and i have never seen a tank so overcrowded before. Its basically just got about every commonly sold fish under the sun living in it. There's a load of large Chinese algae eaters which are constantly fighting each other everytime i see the tank, while the rest of the fish do pretty much nothing because there's hardly any space left to swim into with the hundreds of tetras, danios, barbs etc crammed into the tank.
There's always dead or sick fish in the tank, probably brought on by the seriously over-crowded conditions in the tank. I think huge/big fish in small tanks are obviously very bad, but sometimes the large tanks with millions of small to medium sized fish crammed in can be just as bad too.

BUT there is still the point that the store had NO larger tanks to hold such fish in the first place, going back to what i had just stated, they should, imho, always have atleast one larger tank.

So you are saying a fish shop should always have a large tank (costing money in rented floorspace, rates, electrics and loss of earning potential) just in case someone decides to walk in and dump a fish on them? would this also apply to lfs that don't sell large growing fish?That's hardly a good business practice, especially when many lfs don't make huge profits. Too many people on here are all too quick to flame lfs without truly understanding how one is run.

Actually, i would have thought that larger tanks would be more efficient to run than loads of small tanks, so surely it would be better buisness practice to have large tanks too?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Actually, i would have thought that larger tanks would be more efficient to run than loads of small tanks, so surely it would be better buisness practice to have large tanks too?

Not really. If you have 4ft of vertical space for a tank you have a choice of 4 tanks at 1ft with 4 different species of fish in or one tank at 4ft with 1 species of fish in. Thats one reason most fish stores have smaller tanks (they majority of most fish stores stocks are small fish so there is no reason to have more then a few larger tanks depending on what they normally sell).

With regards to actually keeping the tanks filtered etc most decent fish shops have a central filtration system (or more then one) which services all their tanks so it doesn't make any differences to them if they have 1 tank or 20. They don't have to worry about having filters, heaters,etc in each tank and they don't have to watch the water in each tank.

I do agree though. Having a load of small fish overcrowded in a tank is no better (and in some cases a lot worse) then having one large fish in a small tank.

 

[andywg]

Actually, i would have thought that larger tanks would be more efficient to run than loads of small tanks, so surely it would be better buisness practice to have large tanks too?

Not more efficient for netting out smaller fish, or allowing stocks of fish to be kept seperately though. With a centralised filter the small tanks will be more efficient than larger tanks (which if they are set up to take in dumped fish will want to be "off system" to prevent possible cross contamination).

 

[roseK]

theres a crappy fish store by me, and they even have 30 gallons ori think larger? for some of their fish!

but when u think of it, thats how they sell all animals in pet stores, dogs, cats, fish, birds, rodents. the only cages that arent over stocked are the reptiles