PFK Article

[D-MAC]

Ten fish that the trade might be better without :yes:
I agree with most of these :yes: What do you think?

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=4506&utm_source=PFK_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=November_11_2011&utm_term=Ten_fish_that_the_trade_might_be_better_without…&utm_content=html

 

[Stan]

I agree for the most part too, aside from the syno and common plec. Choosing the right tank and tankmates is paramount with any fish purchase. Its the consumer's responsibility to research before they buy.

 

[xingu]

Glad the common made it in there, although the people that need educating are probably not the type to read PFK

Also add RTC, TSN

 

[D-MAC]

The one I don't agree with is the guppy as that is more to do with sourcing...There is a lot of c***p out there for sale, but also a lot of good fish if you know where to go...A lot of the problems I find is that some stores won't pay the price for a quality fish...They buy the cheaper option which generally dies in the hobbyists tank.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I'm with Derek, my only slight quibble would be the Guppy and again for the reasons stated. Also agree with Xingu that quite a few more catfish could have been in there.

cheers Darrel

 

[IanB]

I'd like to see shops self-regulate the sale of the larger fish tbh.. it'd be a bit harsh to remove them from the hobby although that would probably be the only way to protect them..

 

[ccole]

I think that this artical raises some very important and long standing issues. The biggest issues being money grabbing large chain stores and ignorant consumers of fish that look 'nice' or 'strange'

When i first looked at the Elephant nose mormyrid i was horrified that this happens to them....i mean where has my head been? I have owned two of these babaies and have lived for years. But like the artical said i had time or made the time to hand feed these babies , gave them space and good quality aquarium.

Maybe species like these should be by order only and take a test like to be able to drive?
but then look at the amount of idiots behinde the wheel of a car!

 

[Jo Crane]

Simple honest information on stock is key to the tank busters and aggressive fish being homed correctly a casual conversation about a customers aquarium can help a caring knowledgeble seller make the right choice as to sell or not

 

[xingu]

Black ghost knife as well

 

[IanB]

Why BGK??

 

[Stan]

Why BGK??

Indeed, I'm on my second one over the years and they've always been great fish IME.-

 

[IanB]

I don't want to argue a point, I'm genuinely curious as to the reason why.

I've only had mine a couple of months but he's proving to be a cracking chap.

There's not a lot of info readily available on them. And they get to 18" so perhaps not suited to a number of fishkeepers.
But they aren't that big or that tricky to keep.. imo..

What I didn't like was a local-ish shop with a tank of at least 20 of them, all about 3-4"..
I asked the chap who worked there if I could add another one into my tank, it's 160 imp. gallons, the space is there.
He said he wouldn't advise it for all the right reasons (the ones I already knew) but, on the tank, the fish were £xx each or 3 for £xx so they were willing to sell them in 3's..

 

[Stan]

I don't want to argue a point, I'm genuinely curious as to the reason why.

I've only had mine a couple of months but he's proving to be a cracking chap.

There's not a lot of info readily available on them. And they get to 18" so perhaps not suited to a number of fishkeepers.
But they aren't that big or that tricky to keep.. imo..

What I didn't like was a local-ish shop with a tank of at least 20 of them, all about 3-4"..
I asked the chap who worked there if I could add another one into my tank, it's 160 imp. gallons, the space is there.
He said he wouldn't advise it for all the right reasons (the ones I already knew) but, on the tank, the fish were £xx each or 3 for £xx so they were willing to sell them in 3's..

Don't take me wrong I was also curious to the reason. No argument meant.

 

[D-MAC]

The BKN can be a bit of a mixed bag tbh....Some are ok some not... I have also kept 1 in with larger fish with no problems until it hit around the 8-10" mark...At this point I noticed that all my fish started to have ragged fins, all apart from one BKN, it would not leave them alone, so had to be removed :wb:

 

[xingu]

don't get me wrong I think they are cracking fish, I had one myself.

I just think they should be in the 'adult' section, kind of a top shelf fish perhaps.

They get bigger than people would imagine and love snacking on tetras which I discovered!

 

[IanB]

I just think they should be in the 'adult' section, kind of a top shelf fish perhaps.

Makes sense.. :yes:

 

[macvsog23]

Let us be honest we all know keeping the bigger fish is a problem we all know that it is not just the size but the way the fish lives in the wild some of the bigger cats have a mitigatory spawning pattern were they travel miles to a spawning site , despite not wishing to spawn it is hard wired in to them.

 

[zeebo]

interesting . This is for sure a very good reason for fishkeepers do do their homework first, read everything about the fish we are interested in , ask q on the forum ,get others opinions Before we make a purchase. And never listen to the kid who who works at the local pet store fish dept as usually he/she has been schooled in selling products , and ANY FISH TO ANYONE .
Yeah, many fish are cool looking and we would love to have them in our tank, but nobody would want caos or oversized fish in their tank, right?

Last week i read the marine forum here and saw the coolest green starfish...then kept reading , not a nice guy at all , still very cool looking but that dosent out-weigh the probs involved.

so this forum website continues to be very informative and interesting and helpful to me .

thanks
Georgie