pet stores selling fish that reach enormous sizes?

Question

why do they do this? like pacus and channel catfish?
its dumb. no one has a tank that can hold a full grown channel cat. the state record where we live is like 42 lbs. my store sells gars, and also some kind of grouper that gets 28inches!

Answer 1

I basically agree that they shouldn't be sold to just anyone wanting one, but at the same time can't see a way to limit their sale without banning the sale of those fish. I have owned and bred several species you are referring to, for example channel catfish. Granted, not in a conventional aquarium, but in an enclosed indoor environment.

To sum it up, I agree with some others before me that say it should be the responsibility of the buyer to know what they are getting into with these fish. I would also say that any decent shop should be able and willing to tell people what that fish can grow to become. If then the buyer wants the fish, there should be no law against it.

MM

Answer 2

i find it unethical. yes, some people may have big enough tanks, however most of the buying public is unaware. especially when stores like petsmart sell red bellied pacus say they get 2 feet long and say they need 30+. most people that buy fish randomly would assume that 30 gallons would be enough. there is also the environmental impact. people that buy fish that get far too big for their home aquariums release them into local streams. sometimes they take hold and destroy whole ecosystems.
i feel the same about snakes.
there is a pet store in town here that sells american alligators. around the tank are pictures of children hugging half-grown alligators. it digusts me.

Answer 3

Not only do pet stores like moronmart and idiotco sell monster fish, they blatantly lie about what is needed to take of it.

Petsmart for example says Oscars, Pacu, and Iridesent Sharks can live in a 30g tank. Thats the stuff fish nightmares are made of. Anyone who knows much about fish understand Oscars need 75g+ and those other guys need 200g and up.

Feel free to help fight the crusade for accurate info at;
http://www.noclownsinacube.net/

Answer 4

I hate when they sell Pacu and Catfish as well. I also feel real bad for a Clown knife or an Arowana in a small tank that needs space and someone who buys it puts it in a smaller tank thinking it will be ok.

Just last week i went to a fish store just shopping for fish food and i saw they can a 15" clown knife and a 12" arowana in a small 20-40g tank and they where clearly stunted. I wanted to buy them and just kill them to put them out of their misery, but then again you never know if some fish enthusiest would buy them and put them in a much needed big tank about 150g.

One thing i saw just yesterday was a Red tailed catfish being sold to a little girl who said she would put it in her fish bowl. I told her mother it grows big and she said "no it will only grow big enough for the bowl" I wanted to straight out smack her but just told her when the fish dies you will see.


I myself keep Clown knife's and Silver arowana's in 150g tanks, although im saving for one at least 250g, which i will add my now 25" clown knife.

Answer 5

It's not wrong to sell fish that get large.It is wrong for the sales person to not inform their patrons that the specimen will get very large.I do this 6 days a week, people love the large fish and its my job to make sure that the fish get the best of care when they the shop.Stores should have reference tags on the tanks that show the max size and temperament of the fish.

Answer 6

They do this for the money. Most fish have a short life span anyways and if in a tank that is small it stunts their growth. The faster fish die on people...the faster they sell more fish. Also most people don't bother to become informed to what they are buying or just don't care.

Answer 7

This is one of my pet hates, mamamia being another one, however, it does raise several different points of view, the ethical question of should a shop be selling tank busters?
should a shop be selling tank busters to inexperienced enthusiasts?
should people be buying such fish without first finding out about them or for that matter any animal?
should suppliers bare any responsibility for a fish that's now outgrown its home?
I'm happy to say that to a large part most suppliers have taken in large fish to save face, and now its very unusual to find the like of pacu's on sale, it seems to me that if your industry is similar to ours in the U.K. then you can order fish from your local fish shop and they'll source out what you want for i admit a healthy commission however, if you want a tank buster wouldn't this be a better way of acquiring it than the supplier filling his tanks with baby ones for the unsuspecting.
And is it our responsibility to point out to shop owners that them trying to flog off tank busters to unsuspecting ppl a no no.

Answer 8

Plenty of people have tanks big enough to hold large fish, but people who have small tanks should be responsible enough to research their fish before buying them.

I have many tanks, I am sure I could put just about any fish I could find in a store in my 360 gallon. I work on tanks owned by clients of mine that range upwards of 1200 gallons. You could go swimming in something that big.

Answer 9

Because people will pay for them. My local store doesn't sell them, but buys them from people and they keep them in this huge pool. Once the customers see how huge these guys get, they don't want to buy them any more. They also get a ton of oscars that have outgrown their "cute" phase.