pl*cs

[fraservet]

I've only been here a short while, but have noticed that a lot of people have pl*cs that they know are going to grow too big for their tank and intend to sell back to their lfs once they get too big.
Is this practice acceptable? I know that in my experience shops are very reluctant to take back these big fish as they find it difficult to sell them on.

I think this is almost a bad a practice as buying one of these fish out of ignorance of the size it will grow to.

what are your opinions?

(this is not meant to seem critical of people who do this, they have a right to their opinion and I certainly have been known to do things others wouldn't approve of. I just want to know if this is common and acceptable)

 

[jams.alaskan]

I also think that once you know the size that some of them will reach that it is not a good practice to purchace them unless you plan to house them for their whole lives. Choosing not to purchace them once you know also lessons the demand for these fish that really are not suitable for the small home aquarium, it is ok to inform others about the size this fish will get and NO it is not a poop eating/algae eating machine it's whole life...

ALASKA

That said, I still have my 10 inch common pleco and he's not in a tank that is suitable for him. The 45 gal tank is gone and he'll have to bare with me till I replace it with something that works better for him then the 20 gal...

 

[kevin007]

i am one of the people u are talking about, i find it ok, here are my reasons

not much people have a tank larger than 30 gallon where i live so the plec will get his grouth stunt alot of the time, but instead i have a 55 gallon for the plec to grow, at least he won't get stunted and gets keeped by a good fishowner.

this is my point like it or not, you also have to rmb that the owner of the fish is sad too since the plec will be kept for a long time to be big enough to grow out a 55 gallon

 

[cometcattle]

I don't think people should buy pets unless they intend to keep and care for them their entire lives.

I wouldn't buy a Great Dane pup with intentions to "trade him in" when he outgrows my apartment.

 

[Paul_MTS]

I also think it's not particularly right to buy something you can't house for live.

I personally couldn't do it for 2 reasons, 1 being the fishes well fare and then the other being I probable couldn't bare trading my nicely grown fish in for some litle tiddier!!

Also the fish travels more than it should do stressing it out.

 

[Angry_Platy]

I don't think people should buy pets unless they intend to keep and care for them their entire lives.

I wouldn't buy a Great Dane pup with intentions to "trade him in" when he outgrows my apartment.

I agree with Cometcattle here....there are plenty of smaller plecs available for 30gal tanks....like bristlenoses. They only grow to 6 inches and IMO, are the best algae cleaners I know of!!

Its like having kids....you don't have a kid in a small one bedroom apartment when decide to take it back when it needs a room and space of its own. To me, fish are no difference. If you want a pretty nice big plec to look at then get a wall poster/mural. Don't put living breathing creatures into a situation where they cannot thrive to their full capacity.

 

[samthefishman]

I think that none of yous know what an Aquaculturists is. Its there buisness and many people on here are, such as myself. We buy fish, grow them, sell them. I do have pet fish at home that i would not sell EVER because i love them. But its some peoples jobs.

 

[cometcattle]

I think that none of yous know what an Aquaculturists is. Its there buisness and many people on here are, such as myself. We buy fish, grow them, sell them. I do have pet fish at home that i would not sell EVER because i love them. But its some peoples jobs.

Many people on this forum?

I don't think so.

 

[Doggfather]

I agree with chook and comm, when i buy a fish i intend to keep it for it's life

 

[SirMinion]

In that case, I'm not an aquaculturist. I buy fish for keeps, making sure I can house them for life, our four inch puffer alone in her four foot tank being a prime example.

If I haven't got the room for a pet, then I don't buy it how ever much I want it

 

[snowyangel]

I just bought common adult pleco from my lfs(about 10inches). He was in maybe 30g tank so i decided to bring him home to my 55gallon long. I have no regrets and he gets along fine with his smaller neighbours. I think of it as his retirement home. I plan to keep and raise all my fish till they grow big and old.

 

[rvm]

Yup, I agree with the majority here. My 55g is slightly overstocked if you take it a full adult length (I have a gibby and a Royal Plec) but currently I am well understocked, and plan to have a seriously big tank by the end of this week where all my big fish can live their lives to a happy end!!!
I don't see the point in buying plecs (or any big fish for that matter as I've seen people say it about Oscars as well) and having to give them back when they outgrow the tank. The tendance here is to say "Oh well, he's not that big yet; I'll keep it for another month or so", and stunting will inevitably occur!!
Another problem with this is that IME the older and bigger a fish is, the longer it takes them to settle into a new environment, so it puts uneccesary stress on the fish!!
SamTheFishMan, I understand what you are saying, and it makes sense, but a lot of people do it purely so they can have a certain type of fish like an Oscar, and then take it back to the LFS for another small one!!

 

[Zagggon]

I am one of these people who buys a small common Pleco in the hope that one day he will grow into a giant, and guess what?, IT WORKED!!! Now he is nearly 7 inches long and is hopefully going to grow much larger in my new 42 hex community aquarium!

 

[Fiddlesticks]

I don't think people should buy pets unless they intend to keep and care for them their entire lives.

I wouldn't buy a Great Dane pup with intentions to "trade him in" when he outgrows my apartment.

well said comet.

I know I was guilty one time of buying a fish before I did my research. I had to take the fish back, as soon as I realized what I had done. Its better than stunting the poor thing. But to buy the fish after you know its not suitable is wrong.

 

[kevin007]

i am one of the people u are talking about, i find it ok, here are my reasons

not much people have a tank larger than 30 gallon where i live so the plec will get his grouth stunt alot of the time, but instead i have a 55 gallon for the plec to grow, at least he won't get stunted and gets keeped by a good fishowner.

this is my point like it or not, you also have to rmb that the owner of the fish is sad too since the plec will be kept for a long time to be big enough to grow out a 55 gallon

why don't no one disagree to that i wanna see other people's point...

another point of mine is that i brought the plec like a resue mission, as i said it will get stunted 75% of the time when some newbies buys it, at least my plec can live a hapy 1.5 year or more? right? instead of dying becasue of the growth stunt in less than a year, don't you think it is ok?