Returning fish to LFS - what do they do with them?

[JPA]

I'm thinking of converting my tank from a general community to a discus tank. This would require me to return a number of adult fish to my LFS, who typically have no problem taking them.

Assuming the fish look healthy, what do LFSs typically do with returned fish? I'm worried that due to fear of disease they may typically just euthanize them, which would make me change my mind about returning them.

I know the answer will differ from store to store, but I'm wondering if anyone who works/worked at a LFS can shed some light on this.

Fish in question are congo tetras and bosemian rainbow.

Thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

I am in Australia and when I was in the pet industry, we put the unwanted fish in the shop tanks with the other fish to be sold. If a fish was particularly nice, or the boss wanted it for a breeding partner, then it went into a display tank. That was a few years ago and a lot of the new chain pet shops don't take fish from customers.

If you have a pet shop that is willing to take your fish, they might give you a store credit and the fish would go in the for sale tanks.

Most shops don't euthanise congo tetras or boesemani rainbowfish because they are worth money.

 

[Andy Sager]

It really depends on the store. There is no cut and dry answer to this. There is a big risk when taking in fish from hobbyists so some stores will not accept them, some will take their chances with them if you are a regular customer who has not had problems in their tank ( if the customer is honest ) and some will use a quarantine system for the fish to make sure they are healthy before they resell them. All you can do is ask the store you want to give them to what they do. My buddy who owns a fish store takes back big fish from his regular customers but his set up is all individual tanks so it's easy for him to isolate new incoming fish. Other shops have whole systems where the tanks are all tied together so if anything gets into one tank, it gets into the whole system and can effect every tank. You need to keep this all in mind when the store gives you their answer.

 

[JPA]

Thanks Colin and Andy, I appreciate your responses!

 

[m.j.gomez]

Hello, you can check w/you're local Petco. They're policy was put in place to keep non native species from getting into public waters. You won't get anything for them but they will adopt out for a sm fee that goes to local pet based charities. Hopefully this helps!!!!!