5x5
Aquarium Advice FINatic
What's the best thing to do if you purchase a fish that gets bigger than expected and it starts to outgrow your tank?
Assuming you can't get a bigger tank.
Assuming you can't get a bigger tank.
Fish Outgrowing Tank
- Thread starter 5x5
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
Find the fish a new home.
OP
OP
5x5
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Do LFS's usually take fish back? Either as a sale or for free?
I often see very large fish in the LFS and wonder if people brought them back.
I often see very large fish in the LFS and wonder if people brought them back.
Fishkeeper26
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Some do, others don't
EndlersEatGuppies
Aquarium Advice Addict
5x5 said:
Most chain-stores will not take them IME. Try a non chain-store LFS and they may take them.
jcolon
Aquarium Advice Addict
The smaller stores do tend to take back fish and maybe give you a store credit.
Is there an LFS you trust the most? Give them a call with the details of your fish.
Fishkeeper26
Aquarium Advice Addict
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What kind of fish is it?
EndlersEatGuppies
Aquarium Advice Addict
You can sell it on here. Classifieds - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
If you can't give it away you can euthanize it.
eco23
Aquarium Advice Addict
jetajockey said:
Really dude? I like you man, but that's gotta be the absolute bottom of the list option. If I moved from my house into an apartment and my dog was too big...I wouldn't break out my gun and bring him out into the back yard. I know they're fish and not people, dogs, cats, etc... but I hope the OP considers that an absolute last option.
I'd try and post in the classifieds on this site as fisherman suggested, or break out the phone book and call all the lfs's everywhere near by.
HUKIT
Aquarium Advice Addict
If all other options have failed rather than see the fish suffer or stunted is there a better option? I agree this is the last resort. But this is exactly why researching fish selection and buy the tank first then the fish is so important.
Last edited:
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
Just saying, if someone can't take care of the fish, and can't get rid of it, it should be euthanized rather than suffer in sub-par standards. Even the state wildlife officials suggest this for native fish captures rather than releasing them back into nature.
It sounds rough, and it's not something I would do personally, I'd just get a bigger tank.
It sounds rough, and it's not something I would do personally, I'd just get a bigger tank.
eco23
Aquarium Advice Addict
Fully understood. I just want the OP to view it as an absolute last option.
Esoteric Backbone
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Chain pet stores do take fish, atleast IME. I went to my local PetCo, and they had two 10" Angelfish, they also had a 13" Pleco. People had got rid of them because of there size, or for whatever reason.
EndlersEatGuppies
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes SOME chain-stores do. My Petsmart has a HUGE fantail goldiefishie
and it was given to them.Esoteric Backbone
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I don't understand why only SOME do it, because the PetCo here sold the two Angelfish, and the pleco. They sold it for 25$ and the two Angels for 20$ each.
Homedog98
Aquarium Advice Addict
jetajockey said:
Geez... Even as a last resort... Seems pretty harsh IMO. There are people that will take them, you just have to give it time.
mfdrookie516
Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
I agree with jetajockey. If you can't find it a suitable home, it would be much better to euthanize than have it suffer. While that's not something you should do just because you dont like a fish or something like that, it should definitely be considered over housing a fish in inappropriate conditions.
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
Euthanizing is on the end of the spectrum for sure, but as I stated earlier, this option is even recommended by fish and wildlife as preferred choice over release into the wild.
We have to be careful when it comes to animal rights. Its easy to say well all animals deserve to have rights and all that, and ir sounds good, but it makes us hypocrites as fishkeepers, since we take possession and ownership of said animals. We buy and sell these animals with little concern as to what the animal wants.
But off of that moral merry go round and back to the specific issue.
On the subject of taking the fish a lfs, I'm kinda up in the air. There's only one lfs in my are out of half a dozen that I'd even remotely feel comfortable rehoming to, the rest are a tossup with euthanasia unfortunately.
We have to be careful when it comes to animal rights. Its easy to say well all animals deserve to have rights and all that, and ir sounds good, but it makes us hypocrites as fishkeepers, since we take possession and ownership of said animals. We buy and sell these animals with little concern as to what the animal wants.
But off of that moral merry go round and back to the specific issue.
On the subject of taking the fish a lfs, I'm kinda up in the air. There's only one lfs in my are out of half a dozen that I'd even remotely feel comfortable rehoming to, the rest are a tossup with euthanasia unfortunately.
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