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hi guys! i'm a graphic design student (and fish-o-phile) and am currently working on a project that involves the (hypothetical) redesign of a local store's tank signage, packaging, etc...

anyhow, i was just curious as to what information you feel is most important/crucial/necessary to have access to when purchasing a new fish. please rate the items below in order of importance, from most to least important.


a) species/scientific name
b) maximum size
c) feeding requirements
d) compatibility
e) tank set-up (size, decor, etc...)
f) behaviour/compatibility
g) water requirements (pH, temp, etc...)
h) interesting facts/info


also, feel free to add any comments or thoughts you may have (for example, how you think tank signage, etc... could be improved, what it's lacking etc).


thanks a lot

Great topic, niggit! A client of mine developed a tank sticker for his stores backed with 3M PostIt adhesive to make it easy to remove.

Key items were:
1. Difficulty
2. Compatibility
3. Adult size
4. Tank size
5. Temperature

Each category was broken into value ranges boxes so that the store could simply check a box instead of writing out the information. The label was large enough that the store could write out the common name, scientific name and origin.



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

if they want a custom tag for each fish they stock, including a pic would be helpful.

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Something tells me this has been a topic dealt with in an earlier thread ...

First of all, I'd assign top priority to the scientific name. The reason being that once the fish species has been identified correctly, the rest starts to fall into place pretty quickly. Anyone who knows what they are doing can then take that information, find web sources on that fish (e.g., Fishbase, and of course this very Board ) and gather together the remaining information.

Next, water chemistry requirements. That will be the defining feature that determines whether or not it is possible for two fishes to share the same water. Note I said share the same water, not the same aquarium - I'll come to that shortly! To state the obvious in a manner that should elicit some mirth from the regulars, there is no way on Earth I'm ever going to see Paracheirodon axelrodi swimming alongside Chaetodon trifasciatus, for the simple reason that one is a primary freshwater fish that will die if exposed to salt, and the other is a marine fish. Likewise, only a fool would try to integrate Symphysodon discus with Cyphotilapia frontosa, despite the fact that both fishes belong to the same Family and are therefore distant cousins, because one requires very soft, acidic water containing humic acids and the other requires hard, alkaline water - the conditions appropriate for one of those two species would probably kill off the other in fairly short order, given that they're also specialised fishes from specialised environments.

Next, behavioural compatibility. Paracheirodon innesi and Astronotus ocellatus may inhabit the same waters in the wild, but from the standpoint of aquarium compatibility, the brakes are slammed on immediately by the fact that the first species is, in all probability, a prey species of the second in the wild! That will certainly be the case in the wild once the Oscar grows to a reasonable size ... Moral here of course being don't put tiny, gentle fishes in with hulking big predators. If that seems obvious to most people here, then remember you're dealing with a shop, which will have coming through its doors people whose idea of an aquarium is a box full of pretty baubles that they'll pick and mix because they think it'll look good, as opposed to it being a complex living system whose occupants need to be chosen with care and attention to detail. The knowledgeable people won't need the kindergarten lesson, but there are an awful lot of numpties out there who DO. Incidentally, one trick that will have to be mastered is presenting this stuff in a mnner that even the numpties can take on board without insulting the intelligent life forms, which is a balancing act in a shop that will test ingenuity somewhat. Likewise, some fishes are relatively sedentary, while others zoom about the aquarium at speeds that make you wonder if they're going to develop a red shift. The fast swimmers might be compatible with some of the sedentary ones, but sometimes, there are cases when they won't be. This one is sometimes a judgement call - which means exhorting the customer to ask for advice.

Next, size. I've left this after behavioural compatibility because the former will, on average, rule out pairing hulking great juggernauts with tiny fishes on the basis that the big ones will eat the little ones. There are, however, some interesting exceptions to the rule, one I can think of being Trichogaster microlepis. the Moonlight Gourami. It's a sizeable fish as an adult (around 8 inches) but it's mild mannered and tends to leave smaller fishes alone unless it's seriously hungry, and most of the time, in an aquarium environment, it's intelligent enough to know that chasing one of the other fishes for a meal is going to be a waste of time because that nice person who lifts the lid four times a day is due to drop in the live Bloodworm any minute now and the Bloodworm are going to be supplied in quantity. However, no way on Earth is one of those going to fit in a 10 gallon tank. Likewise, Congo Tetras probably won't snack on Neons (though once they reach around 4 inches in length, I'd be wary of putting that temptation in their path) but they're going to need a LOT more swimming space than the Neons. Having said that, however, there's the sedentary versus hyperactive swimmer issue above to contend with, which I've already said is a judegment call. Tank size will be dictated by a combination of size, activity level and temperament - big, mobile, territorial fishes are going to need more space than small, sedentary fishes that don't care one way or the other which bit of the aquarium they're occupying, particularly if several of the big, territorial ones are to be housed together (e.g., a collection of big Central American Cichlids).

Diet follows next. The reason being that combinations of wildly incompatible fishes should be ruled out by the previous issues. However, there are fishes that 'slip through the net', pardon the intentional and awful pun. Corydoras catfishes like their foods meaty - shrimp pellets, fish meal, constituents of this kind are the sort of things they like in their foods. Otocinclus, however, are primarily herbivorous, and when not grazing on aquarium algae, like such things as spirulina flakes and assorted veggies. Now I keep these fishes together, and this is not only possible, it's actually an excellent combination of bottom feeders for many community aquaria. But, doing so requires that combination I keep hammering on about here - care and attention to detail. So, I not only provide a decent variety of foodstuffs for my fishes (six different flakes, live foods, algae, plus algae tables of one sort or another as and when I can get them) but take measures to ensure that the Otocinclus stand a chance of getting to the algae tablets before the Panda Corys have sniffed them out and helped themselves to a nibble or two, which in the case of Hikari Wafers they will do with gusto because those things contain Krill as well, and Corys just LOVE munching on Krill meat. So, pointing out the herbivores (the fishes that will need plant matter in the diet, which includes Mollies, many of whom don't get the vegetable fare they need in captivity) and the carnivores among the compatible fishes is going to be the next task.

Tank setup and decor will, inevitably, be dictated by the previous criteria. As in no calcareous rocks or sea shells in an aquarium intended to house Discus or other soft, acid loving Amazonian fishes, and no Madagascar Lace Leaf plants in a setup containing Malawian Mbuna (not least because the chances are the Mbuna will rip the Lace Leaf to shreds, and Lace Leaf plants are far too hideously expensive to be used as a side salad for Mbuna).

Finally, the interesting and fun facts can be presented. Things such as the fact that Hatchet Fishes are true freshwater flying fishes, and are actually proper flying fishes that flap their pectorals like wings once airborne, instead of just gliding. Which means of course that they're rocket propelled jumpers that need to be covered well!

Now, take a look back at all of the above, and think to yourself, "How do I present all of this?" The sheer size of this post alone should give you some indication of the kind of task you're facing - and you can further reflect upon the fact that I've typed this all off the top of my head, without referring to any Internet sources, and I'll happily sit back and watch your jaw drop. But then, I've got 30 years' fishkeeping under my belt and a decent memory, so I have a few advantages here. Likewise, take a look at the big names in the world of aquarium fish textbooks - Baensch, Gina Sandford, Innes, Herb Axelrod and Warren Burgess - and look at the size of their books. I've got Burgess' Mini-Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes in my collection (nice expensive tome it was too when I bought it) and it's close on 1,100 pages. It's as big as two house bricks put together and nearly as heavy. And that's the MINI atlas. The full sized version is not so much a book as a paving slab made of paper. The old Innes book is a 450 page tome that again is not a lightweight book. The more modern textbooks are more compact because, hey presto, they use smaller type (Gina Sandford wrote one of these). There's a reason these books are that big - the sheer volume of information they need to contain. The big Burgess atlas in electronic form runs to two CDs.

So, you're looking for a quick visual way of presenting this little lot in a shop. bearing in mind that, depending upon the shop, it could be a place that deals in a number of 'bread and butter' species and varies little from that inventory, or it could be a place that caters for specialist customers, run by a fish nut like me, and which sometimes stocks some weird and wonderful critters. It may stick solely to freshwater fishes, or it may have a marine department. If it has a marine department, it may cater for inverts and corals as well (oh boy that's going to be fun, finding a way of presenting terms such as 'small polyped scleractinian' without blowing away the numpties!). You're setting yourself the task of condensing all of this into something that occupies the interstices between the tanks in the shop, and possibly a couple of wall posters too. Wow, you must really love hard work.

Just to let you know what you've let yourself in for.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Here's my rankings, based on my experience as a former employee at an LFS...

1. Species/scientific name (definitely the most important!)

2. Maximum size (this is next because I find that most customers tend to ignore it, so they can "believe" their fish will fit in their small tank. I recommend putting it in bold type)

3. Water requirements (because in my experience, customers always want to mix African with South American Cichlids, Cardinal Tetras with Mollies, etc)

4. Tank set-up (this relates to number two sort of, also, most fish aren't too picky about their tank decor)

5. Behaviour/compatibility (this is closer to the bottom because I will have expected customers to do at least some preliminary research on the type of fish they want, and therefore have an idea about how the fish is going to act (i.e. they should know that most cichlids are aggressive and most tetras are peaceful). It may be of more importance, however, for fish whose behavior patterns are unlike other members of their group, for example, if there was a tetra that acted like the spawn of Satan)

6. Feeding requirements (this is down near the bottom because the vast majority of aquarium fish are not picky and will adapt well to whatever diet they are fed. May be of more importance for highly predatory animals as well as plecos)

7. Interesting facts/info (this goes last)

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

My thoughts:

1. The scientific and a common name, if possible. Though most customers don't bother with scientific names, linking one with a common name makes them more likely to recognize the scientific name later. It also helps the more knowledgeable people with research and identification purposes.

2. Maximum size. Most of a store's customers are stubborn, foolish, or liars and believe that the maximum size they are quoted does not apply to them. They try to rationalize or make excuses for why they can keep a large fish in a small tank, or they tell the employee that they're going to upgrade in the near future. Most of them are lying.
To go along with max size, a guideline recommended tank size would be helpful.

3. Compatibility. A lot of people want to keep their "oscas" and "conviks" with fish they have no business being near. An objective analysis of the fish species's behavior would be great.

4. Water requirements. Almost as important as the above for the reasons Natalie used. Information about the water the fish are from in the wild, and info about their hardiness in the aquarium should go here.

5. Feeding. Pretty easy except for those fish which need specialty foods. Personally I would warn customers about feeder fish, because far too many people use them and for the wrong reasons.

6. Tank setup. If a recommended minimum tank size has already been given, this isn't so important. Info about what decorations the fish would prefer (plants, rocks, etc.) and how much swimming space they require is really all that's needed.

7. Interesting facts.

I find that people tend to be more responsive to eye-catching informational sheets about fish than what an employee tells them. If data about shelldwelling cichlids is next to a sale tank with the fish, people interested in the shellies are likely to read the sheet and accept what it says.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

water requirements (pH, temp, etc...)

But for many fish, if they've been raised in local water chemistry, it doesn't matter. They manage OK anyway. I think it was GaryRoland who always had the thing about chemistry needing to be stable rather than "right" and I think he had a point.

I would like to see something on a card which describes whether the fish was wild captured or tank born and whether it was born locally or imported from another country.

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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

"But for many fish, if they've been raised in local water chemistry, it doesn't matter."

That can be argued. True, captive bred fish are more tolerant of water conditions other than those of their natural environment. However, it takes more than a few generations of living away from that environment to change their preference for it. I agree that stability is more important than having the "right" water makeup, but stable conditions which mimick a fish's natural water is better than stable water which is unnatural.

It is true that most fish are well able to handle water that they would never see in the wild. I'm just saying that it isn't quite as good for them.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

thanks so much for the info guys - keep it coming!

you've made several really good points... it's a great help, as with a project like this, it's hard to find information in books, etc... that constitutes research. so, i figured i'd go straight to the source!

and yes, i did post something similar to this a few months ago, but the information i got from that thread was quite different. can never have too much research!

thanks a lot!