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Was wondering what you all do with any unwanted or undesirable fish that you may have? By this I mean if you have fish that may have gotten too large for your setup, or fish that may be too aggressive towards other tankmates, or even you've just tired of your current selection and maybe want to try something new, but can't set up a new tank for them.

What to you do when none of the LFS won't take any of these fish, with or without a store credit?

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Hey,

I was going to say sell em to the LFS....

What do you have that the LFS wont take for free?

Chaos

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- - - Humorous Bit of Wisdom - - -

Old timer - I'm facing the same situation myself. I plan on selling them on aquabid. You can make an offer that someone can't refuse and then ship them. I think shipping is easier than we think. I'm looking into it quite a bit now.

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Back in the saddle!

Well, I guess I should explain. I don't currently have any fish that I want to get rid of (well maybe one very large pleco), but I have had difficulty in the past relocating fish, so was curious as to what other's do in this situation.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Phone around, phone around to lfs' that you don't usually go to. Good thread /:'

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Around here an LFS is required by law to take in any unwanted fish from a customer (but they don't have to give money/credit back). This is so people don't dump them in the waterways.

-P

really? i did'nt know that? does it apply in all states?

Dunno sorry. I just saw the signs posted on some of the local Brissie LFS's.

-P

I haven't personally had any refusal when taking back fish that hve become too large. They have, on both occassions, offered to exchange for either plants or livestock.

I dont know what I would do if refusal should happen.

Good question african_man re: the law in all states.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Looks like it's illegal to dump non-indigenous fish in waterways in NSW and QLD (not sure about other states):
nsw.gov.au/aboutus/news/releases/fisheries/2005/050707_-_dont_dump_that_fish" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/news/releases/fisheries/2005/050707_-_dont_dump_that_fish
http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/14434.html

I may have overstated when I said LFS was required by law to take fish back. I guess I was under the assumption that if they have the signs posted in the store that they will take any unwanted fish, they're required by law to do so. My bad.



-P

I keep them and buy bigger tanks

Im not the kind of person who could take back a pet, but then Im also not the kind of person who wouldnt choose something I couldnt handle in the first place. When a pet is welcomed into the gittish house, it becomes more than a pet,its family.When you are in a family, you look after your own, and its no longer a commodity. I couldnt sell fish to anyone, although I might provide a willing and enthusuastic new keeper with some home-raised fry, and if that means keeping people owning captive bred and well acclimated animals instead of endlessly killing wild collected specimens through mishandling and ignorance to me thats an improvement. I have no qualms about the rehoming of a fish, but to some degree you should make an effort , and the potential owner should be someone you know, or who has a decent reputation with fish, and who has been vetted by you. I think the rehoming of a fish should always be an action that should lead to enhancing the quality of its life or at least the continuation of it. Returning things to shops is for when the fish are sick and under guarantee or you have been ill advised and missold the fish, and for pretty much no other reason.Ive been known not to return sick fish, knowing that im their best shot for survival and that the pet store may simply knock them on the head. Every needless death is just that, needless, and it should be avoided. There is no higher principle, and against that morality money doesnt matter. There are limits of course,especially if the shop sells sick fish all the time it should be boycotted and the word spread.

If for some reason you become destitute or homeless , or injured beyond the ability to cope, I understand the lfs may be your only port of call in the time you have to arrange something, but under any other circumstance I think its reasonable to expect you to do better. Its not too bad in small lfs 's that have a close community of hardcore keepers that pop in all the time and may help save or redistribute the fish, but thats simply not the case with the chain stores or indeed 95% of all fish shops.

Its one thing to do the best thing considering circumstances and give it to someone else if your inability to keep the animal is incidental, and unintended, but buying unsuitable fish and passing them on regularly denotes to me some kind of failure to appreciate the seriousness and responsibility of animal keeping.

And I think people who buy a fish knowing well that they will eventually be unable to look after it is irresponsible to the point of mentally deficient.
Id personally feel a bit of an emotional wrench having to part with a much loved pet, and it does make me wonder why people who pass fish on , one after another, have them in the first place. If theres no true love and respect for the species , or the individual, why have it in the first place.? These sort of people as far as Im concerned really ought to just stick to reading about them, and perhaps realise that they, because of their rather cold-blooded proclivities, should stay away from pet ownership. If you want to learn about species go to a zoo,perhaps even volunteer for zoos and animal rescue centres, read a book, talk on forums, and meet aquarists. If you want to provide an environment and have respect and show care for an animal with the intent to home it to the best of your ability for the rest of its life, then by all means get a pet. Theres too many aquarists running around like they have a justification for treating fish like trading cards, or believing they are amateur experts and zookeepers. I understand that shop culture and fish trading is attractive to some if not positively addictive, but you should remember that more than your own personal happiness is at stake here, and curtail your worst excesses.

It is said that aquarists sometimes treat this as purely the hobby , to gain experience and not become attached to the fish, but when you pass them onto the lottery of new pet owners (im guessing probably 80% of new fish owners dont really qualify as good fishkeepers) by returning them to shops it seems to me quite a profound level of ingratitude for an animal that has brought you pleasure. I tend to think the minimum commitment for that priviledge is to see the fish is well looked after, and if you return it to a shop, then that is quite simply beyond your control.

Much like a dog is for life , not just for christmas, a fish is for life, not just until you want one a different colour or until it grows to be over a foot long. I understand fish breeders want to sell fish, and I certainly want to buy them, I also understand that many of them have a proffesional detachment to the animals and that its business. Its much the same as farming in a way, but by the same token I have no sympathy with someone who has a huge show of emotion about the impending slaughter of an animal theyve raised. Its fake emotion to me. No point whining about it and letting the animal get killed. Thats pathetic, save it, or shut the hell up.

Food animals are food animals, if youre in business youre in business, and if youre a pet owner your a pet owner, There are responsibilities to be met by each section of animal owners, and people need to get clear in their heads what they are.

Going through the consumer system once in its life is quite enough for any fish. The stressful journeys of a fish have to end sometime,and its destination reached. Be that the dinner plate, or the final aquarium it spends its life in I guess is a conversation for another day, but the constant trading and retrading of fish until it in all likelyhood meets its death in the hands of an inexperienced or foolish keeper, or in transit between destinations with all the water quality changes, shock and stress seems positively inhumane to me. No animal should die for the vanity and irreverence of its keeper, and if you have the skills to keep fish well, why not end the suffering and provide it with a pleasant , and very permanent home?

Bawl me out for it if you like, but thats my opinion, you are entitled to disagree I guess. Just not in my immediate presence But were on the net and your safe

I disagreee (though on a subject such as this, no one man can be "right". I have gone through many different fish frankly enough because my interests have changed over time, not to mention those indivduals that are encountered in such physical destitution that you yearn to take it home and nurse it back to health. That is not, IMO, indicative of my disregard for ichthyoidal life. I most certainly find it difficult to part with fishes that I give away, but I always strive to pass on the fish (almost always for free and of the highest quality, as more than one member here would attest) to suitable homes, with their welfare being my foremost concern.

Thats agreeing actually , I already said its ok to pass them on if it benefits them ,and as I said youre already passing them on to people youve vetted, and the fact that you sometimes increase stock to help save a fish hardly makes you a villain.

We almost disagreed again. We keep doing that

For those that hadnt noticed, we keep trying to disagree with each other, and fail hopelessly, and yes, it is a bit odd, but funny too

I was and am still an inexperienced beginner at this ... I thought that returning fish that became to large for an aquarium was the responsible thing to do rather than let them suffer in a smaller aquarium. I deal with a small lfs and on both times was offered exchanges, had he not offered one I certainly would not have been bothered by that. I was just(i thought)doing the right thing and buying another larger aquarium was not an option at the time.

Through this site and its wealth of information I am learning now what the appropriate fish are for my size aquarium. Passing on fish is not a thing that I would do lightly as I to become very attached to them and I dont plan to have to do it again in the future.

If my LFS hadn't taken them then I dont know what I would have done ... they probably would have still been in the aquarium suffering.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

I am kind of in that saituation myself. I got a 55g and to cycle it i got some rosies (the local lfs sells them as feeder fish) and then got some angels. They are not even interested in the rosies.

My LFS is very resistant in taking fish back. The only time they do that is if the fish is either very expensive ($50 or more) or if you can provide a sufficient number of fish to fill an entire tank (and they have a chance to resell them).

Of course this is profit driven, it is a business and not the welfare. But they also have another reason - Risk. If they take just a few fish then they will have no other choice then to put them in a tank with more fish. Now, if your fish is sick they might get the whole tank sick and obviously this would not be good. If the profit margin of resell is high enough then they are willing to take that risk.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I competely agree with LongHaired.

The only problem is, two of my fish don't get along (as in, they both have to be on opposite sides of the tank) so i am offering one to a friend. They are okay for the tank, but one is just a big bully.

It's not a moral issue or argument of getting into a situation like this or not. The original question was what do you do, nothing about how or why you ended up with unwanted fish.

AquaBid.com is a good place to start after lfs. Before listing a fish for sale, check the 'Items Wanted' section. If you post a fish for sale, set the starting price low (as was already mentioned), no reserve, and offer to pay shipping costs. You might also explain the reason for the low costs: that this fish is healthy and you simply don't have the space any longer or are moving on to something different.

Local fish clubs often let you post fish available without being a member.

If it's an interesting or unusual fish-maybe even if neither-lfs employees may take it themselves or know of customers who might be interested, just get the word out.

longhairedgit-You made many good points but it's not a black and white situation. I bought a cichlid from a very reputable lfs that turned out to be a mystery hybrid. A very large, agressive hybrid. While still a juvenile this fish would go after and kill fish many times larger than himself.

My only option other than getting rid of the fish was to buy a larger tank. Unfortunately that was impossible: I live in a 3rd floor apartment with wood floors, and am already pushing my luck with tank/water weight.

I don't agree with 'disposable pets' either but situations come up that don't leave many options.



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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

As stated I really don't have any unwanted fish at the moment, so I guess this was more of a hypothetical question as to what each of you do or would do?

I've very seldom found myself in a position with some fish I didn't want, but becaused of various circumstances over the years have found myself in a position where I needed to divest myself of excess stock or my entire collection.

I spent 20 years in the USAF and kept fish for most of those years, however at times when being transferred overseas, or even within the US needed to get rid of fish. On many occassions it was nearly impossible to find someone to take the fish.

I currently have a fish that I've had now for +-18 years and he has had to make several moves in that time.

With the advent of the Internet and the ability to now make these fish available to a much wider selection of people it does make it a bit simpler, but again if you have no experience in shipping it can cause some to shirk from this.

I appreciate the fact that some hobbyists get very, very attached to their pets and it makes it difficult to get rid of or even think of getting rid of them, however on the other hand there are many hobbyists that wish to keep a fish for a short period of time, possibly to breed it and then move on to a more challenging species, etc..

I take no fault with either, as both are very dedicated to what they do. So again, what do you do when you find yourself in a position that you need to relocate some of your fish?

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain