Loyalty to my fish?

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fishychick

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
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229
Location
Southern California
I've heard it mentioned that you can sometimes trade in or give back fish to your lfs, is that a common thing? What do you guys think about returning fish?
I'm upgrading my tank to give my corys more room and increase their numbers so they are in a proper shoal. But I have one that is a copper cory (I think) which I got because it was all my lfs had and I thought I needed to get something, anything to put with my one albino cory. Anyway, I'm not sure I want 6-10 copper corys, so I have considered seeing if my lfs would take him back. But I'm not sure I have to heart to get rid of him. I'm one of those ridiculous people that gives each of my fish a name and gets all attached to them, considers them part of the family, etc etc. Am I being silly? Should I just ditch the copper cory and get the fish that is more aesthetically pleasing to me? Or will I Love You (that is his name...given to him by my 4 year old) know that I ditched him? Is it unfair to him to just discard him based on looks? Or am I waaay over thinking this because, come on..it's just a fish!?
 
I have one emerald cory in with 6 albinos. It just ended up that way and I just leave him. If its a fish I havent had long or one my mother purchased and shouldn't have then I have no problem returning it, giving it away etc. If its a fish that has a name and has been with me quite awhile then I keep it because I am a bit attached to it also. Hope this helps. :)
 
I'd keep him personally. I also get attached to my fish!
 
I have upgraded and can't seem to shake off my dwarf gourami! "Comet" love that Dude! Had him since I started my 20 and moved up to 36 :)


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I have a mix of Corys, all dwarf to medium size, and they get along great. I worried about my one panda but he seems as happy and healthy as the others. A shoal of Corys don't need to match.



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Most reputable lfs will take them back. What I wonder is what they do with them. They have no way of knowing what kind of tank they came from. Anybody out there work at a LFS who can tell us?


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Most reputable lfs will take them back. What I wonder is what they do with them. They have no way of knowing what kind of tank they came from. Anybody out there work at a LFS who can tell us?


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I know a little about this, it depends on the store. If your lfs has a closed filtration system. Meaning each tank has it's own filter and system they will take them and put them up for "adoption" for free. If they don't have a closed system and all tanks are running on the same system they can't take your fish it could possibly compromise the entire store. It's a store to store basis.


May the force be with you.
 
I know a little about this, it depends on the store. If your lfs has a closed filtration system. Meaning each tank has it's own filter and system they will take them and put them up for "adoption" for free. If they don't have a closed system and all tanks are running on the same system they can't take your fish it could possibly compromise the entire store. It's a store to store basis.


May the force be with you.

+1.
Personally, if a store with a centralized system puts your fish directly into their system, I wouldn't buy fish there anymore. They have no idea want that fish came from or what diseases it was exposed to and they are compromising their entire system.
On the other hand, it is also possible that, for customer relations, they may take the fish back and bring it to the back of the store where they will dispose of the fish so as NOT to contaminate their system but please the customer. That might be hard to swallow for some but it happens in many stores.
I suggest, if you are that attached to your fish, accommodate them at home. I also suggest you not buy fish with the intention of returning them at a later date unless the idea of them being destroyed doesn't bother you. :whistle:
 
Just depends on the store. The 2 stores I go to both take fish back. They put them in quarantine tanks which are not attached to the central filtration system. I frequent the stores so often they know me by name, they also know how I keep my tanks so guess they don't have a problem re homing for me.
 
Most reputable lfs will take them back. What I wonder is what they do with them. They have no way of knowing what kind of tank they came from. Anybody out there work at a LFS who can tell us?


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My privately owned LFS knows his customers very well. When I was going there regularly he remembered the stocking of my tanks. However, when you take fish in he goes on a case by case basis. If they were coming from one of his regulars like me, he had no qualms about putting them in his display tanks (they all have their own separate filters)

If they came from some random person that bought their fish from pet smart he would stick them in a QT tank for a little while.

It truly depends on the type of LFS. If you have a petsmart as your go to for returning a fish then keep it. If it's a LFS like mine then I would go ahead and trade him in.
 
I am one to get attached. In all aspects of my life, which is why I have 5 dogs, 3 who are foster fails and a foster fail cat. (In my defense i habe plenty of nonfailed fosters lol)

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+1.

Personally, if a store with a centralized system puts your fish directly into their system, I wouldn't buy fish there anymore. They have no idea want that fish came from or what diseases it was exposed to and they are compromising their entire system.

On the other hand, it is also possible that, for customer relations, they may take the fish back and bring it to the back of the store where they will dispose of the fish so as NOT to contaminate their system but please the customer. That might be hard to swallow for some but it happens in many stores.

I suggest, if you are that attached to your fish, accommodate them at home. I also suggest you not buy fish with the intention of returning them at a later date unless the idea of them being destroyed doesn't bother you. :whistle:


Lol, who buys fish with the intention of returning them unless you are trying to find a mating pair :p

I would accommodate them. I couldn't send any of my fish back to the LFS with the thought of them going through the whole acclimatising process. If you feel that you cannot give them a good life look for a local fish club. They may have room for them and you know if they take them in they will be handled with care.


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I only return fish if it for the benefit of the rest of the fish community. For example, I have rosy barbs that are bullying my cories and eating my plants. They are really pretty fish, but if they are ruining the other fishes' day, they gotta go back to the lfs.
 
Hi fishy!
If you have a bronze cory with albino cories, they are both species c. Aenus and they should shoal together so it shouldn't be lonely.
Personally, I'm the least aesthetically attached to my bronze cories as well and would rather increase the numbers of the others, don't feel bad! Everyone has personal preferences with species.
As others have mentioned, some LFS will take them, some won't. For me, only one of mine will take fish for adoptions because they have a separate tank, but theirs currently has an enormous oscar and a CAE so I won't bring fish to them.
Another option is craigslist or local pets groups on Facebook. I found two people who I traded fish with which ended up being awesome. My fish got happier homes and I got some cool stuff out of the deal.
I also rehomed a huge catfish to a local pet store that had a 500 and 3500 gallon pond. I felt guilty, but once you realize the fish is in a better environment, the guilt goes away :)
Just a note: cories do best in groups of six or larger of the same species. The more the better IMO. You can have single types but they won't show all of their beautiful behavior and stress more easily.
Good luck!
 
Lol, who buys fish with the intention of returning them unless you are trying to find a mating pair :p

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Have you read some of the posts on here? :lol: That IS the intention of some. :whistle:

I've worked in stores that did and some that didn't and some that did just what I wrote. This is why I say: If it really bothers you to think that your returned fish might not be rehomed, you would be wise to think twice before buying it. Which, btw, might also encourage people to research the fish they want BEFORE they get them so this is not an issue to deal with. (y)
 
Yeah, it's official, he's staying with me! He's not the prettiest fish, but he's MY fish, lol. I'm not willing to take any chances. I made a commitment to take care of him when I got him, so I guess I'm in for the long haul. Thanks for all your input though. Just an interesting concept, returning/trading fish, especially for those like me that are new to the hobby. I know it's common, but for me, I just don't think I can do it. Thanks!
 
To be fair Caliban and Andy, the fish I rehomed were given to me, not bought. I took them so they wouldn't be euthanized until I could find appropriate homes for them.
 
I remember when I had to rehome my 5 inch comet goldfish that had been with me and my neighbors for a year and a half. He was our first fish when we had a tank on the front porch and I kept him in my 20 gallon long that I had just moved inside and joined this forum but when I got serious into my planted tank when I got my 55 I had to rehome his because he was super destructive :lol:. I gave him to a LFS downtown and watched where they put him and they put him in with their pond size goldfish, not the feeders :). It made me sad but now he's either in a pond or in a large enough tank to support him as they were going to sell him for $15! :brows:
 
Yeah, I can see how there would be appropriate times and ways to re home fish, which is good to know. I just don't think for me, this is one of those instances.
 
There are several reason to return or rehome fish. There are probably more than what I listed but what I can think of off hand.

1. Temperament non-compatibility
2. Raising for specific gender
3. Raising for best specimen
4. Fish just weren't what you expected- Sometimes you can do all the research in the world but when you finally get the fish it just isn't what you thought it would be.

Some people condemned fish stores that would take fish back but I am the opposite I only deal with LFS that will take fish back from the public because it supports good trade and most of the time the fish are in better condition than the farms the whole salers get there fish from. I have found great deals on rarer fish because they took the fish in from the customers. Unfortunately my area doesn't have a good fish club to deal with.
 
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