Why do so many reefers disapprove of buying fish with the intention of rehoming them after a couple of years?

[dtruitt]

Weve got a 65g tank, so the options are slim when it comes to fish that will be appropriate when they're fully grown.

There seems to be a stigma about getting fish with the intention of passing them on to another hobbyist when they get too large. Other than the stress of being rehomed, what makes this so unethical if the animal is relocated before getting so large as to be unhappy in its environment?

 

[DeniseAndy]

I think it is certainly an option for many fish and reef keepers. If you have the ability to re-home safely and when time arises. I just know sometimes people have good intentions and then things do not work out, and fish get left in the dust.

I always try to think of the final fish size and lifestyle before I buy it, but that is just me. I know others who grow them up and trade them in. You are doing a service for those that want larger fish that are aquarium ready.

I had to re home a couple fish in the past due to aggression. We cannot always predict issues. I would say as long as you have a plan, you are fine.

I have clowns that I keep in my traveling tank that after 2 years I must re home to get new babies. The juvies are too large at that point. I have never had issues doing that. Of course, I tend to get attached and keep them, but I have given some to others and some to schools.

 

[|Tom the Bomb|]

I think it is certainly an option for many fish and reef keepers. If you have the ability to re-home safely and when time arises. I just know sometimes people have good intentions and then things do not work out, and fish get left in the dust.

I always try to think of the final fish size and lifestyle before I buy it, but that is just me. I know others who grow them up and trade them in. You are doing a service for those that want larger fish that are aquarium ready.

I had to re home a couple fish in the past due to aggression. We cannot always predict issues. I would say as long as you have a plan, you are fine.

I have clowns that I keep in my traveling tank that after 2 years I must re home to get new babies. The juvies are too large at that point. I have never had issues doing that. Of course, I tend to get attached and keep them, but I have given some to others and some to schools.

True I always try to buy fish I can keep forever, like if i want to get a lionfish for example, i would go research and find out it needs around 125 gallons so I would get a 125+ gallon tank not anything smaller...

 

[Nick Steele]

I see nothing wrong with it as long as you really trade them in. Some people will just say that to make others quite down and fish get harmed.

I personally don’t like the trade in because I get attached and care for my animals so it’s just not for me.

 

[dtruitt]

I think it is certainly an option for many fish and reef keepers. If you have the ability to re-home safely and when time arises. I just know sometimes people have good intentions and then things do not work out, and fish get left in the dust.

I always try to think of the final fish size and lifestyle before I buy it, but that is just me. I know others who grow them up and trade them in. You are doing a service for those that want larger fish that are aquarium ready.

I had to re home a couple fish in the past due to aggression. We cannot always predict issues. I would say as long as you have a plan, you are fine.

I have clowns that I keep in my traveling tank that after 2 years I must re home to get new babies. The juvies are too large at that point. I have never had issues doing that. Of course, I tend to get attached and keep them, but I have given some to others and some to schools.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I'd like to think I spoil our fish. Everyone is fat and happy and gets along.

 

[Katrina71]

It's like trying to re-home your kids. Ya want to sometimes, but you end up loving them no matter how much they eat. It's not for me.

 

[dtruitt]

It's like trying to re-home your kids. Ya want to sometimes, but you end up loving them no matter how much they eat. It's not for me.

Itll definitely be hard to rehome the yellow Tang in a couple of months, but I'll just have to be grateful for the time we had with him.

 

[Katrina71]

Itll definitely be hard to rehome the yellow Tang in a couple of months, but I'll just have to be grateful for the time we had with him.

Where are you located?

 

[AZMSGT]

I don’t rehome my dogs when they get to old. I intend to be with my pets for the duration of their lives as well as mine. I want to give them all the best home I can. It’s a commitment and love of the pets I share my life with.

 

[dtruitt]

Where are you located?

Philadelphia suburbs.

 

[Katrina71]

Philadelphia suburbs.

I'm sure you'll find your baby a good home.

 

[lion king]

Fish do not live in the same place in the wild all their life, so the concept of rehoming a fish is really not a big deal. What is a big deal, is not having a plan. Just returning them to the lfs is a bad deal, you are not the only one doing that, where do you think they are all going to end up. I have rehomed many fish, but I have resources like maintenance companies looking for large fish for their large aquarium clients, bars and restaurants, etc with large tanks happy to take a large cared for, captive raised fish. If you have the resources to rehome the fish to a good home, then to enjoy growing up a fish is great. But if you just plan to return it to the lfs, please dont.

 

[Crustaceon]

I think it’s a problem because plans fall through. Sometimes you’ll end up with a fish that no one will want at its full size. I had a tomato clown that I rescued from a sump. It was the size of a bluegill. It also took me a year to find it an appropriately-sized home. In the mean time, it lived in a barren 29 gallon tank because it understandably was a bulldozer and had a habit of moving grapefruit-sized rock around the tank. If I remember right, it went to a 200 gallon system.

 

[spfahnestock]

The BRS guys also kind of talked about this in one of their videos.

There is also the possibility that someone will upgrade their tank before the fish grow to a size that would force a re-home.

I personally know within one to two years I will be upgrading back to a 150 or 180. So I bought the fish for my 60 knowing that. However, of this doesnt happen my good friend has a 500 gallon that i can rehome to.

This is just my opinion though.

 

[dtruitt]

Fish do not live in the same place in the wild all their life, so the concept of rehoming a fish is really not a big deal. What is a big deal, is not having a plan. Just returning them to the lfs is a bad deal, you are not the only one doing that, where do you think they are all going to end up. I have rehomed many fish, but I have resources like maintenance companies looking for large fish for their large aquarium clients, bars and restaurants, etc with large tanks happy to take a large cared for, captive raised fish. If you have the resources to rehome the fish to a good home, then to enjoy growing up a fish is great. But if you just plan to return it to the lfs, please dont.

The plan is to reach out to local breeding fb groups / the southeast pa reefers forum on here to find interested parties.

 

[Larry L]

I just know sometimes people have good intentions and then things do not work out, and fish get left in the dust.

I think it’s a problem because plans fall through. Sometimes you’ll end up with a fish that no one will want at its full size.

I think this is the biggest issue. I always keep a foxface in my tank for algae control, but my current tank is a little on the small size for a full grown one. If I start with a small one, it's still several years before it eventually gets too big, but luckily I have a friend who owns a LFS and has several large tank maintenance accounts, so I know I can always find a home if a fish gets too big. But I also know folks who got fish that they knew were going to eventually outgrow the tank, and they just assumed they'd be able to take it back it the fish store, to the local aquarium or something, and that didn't end up working out.

 

[Doctorgori]

I’m wondering if after so many years, or at a certain size, if we should “humanely” consume them...yelow tang in hot mustard ....hmmmm

 

[mort]

I must admit I'm not really a fan of rehoming anything that we bought when we know we couldn't keep it it's full lifespan. For me being able to care for the fish it's whole life is the number one criteria when I consider it. I have clown loaches and various catfish and miscellaneous stuff in my tropical tank for between 20-30 years old, many of them rescues from about 20 years ago from peoples who tank they outgrew, so you have to consider what commitment you are getting into. I don't really get the urge to grow something up and then get rid of it, especially when there is such a choice of smaller fish available.

Saying that life sometimes gets in its way and we need to move things on and as long as it's done in the best interests of the fish, in don't think it's a major issue. I agree with the above and we should only pass it to a lfs as a last resort, unless it's still a sensibly sized fish, by which it's mean not a tank buster that needs an enormous space which the average sized sales tank can't provide.

From a shop perspective I used to get people offering me large fish all the time and I normally turned them down. The average sized tank over here is way smaller than 4ft and that meant all the people offering foot long regal tangs had few options to move them on and thought they could palm them off on a shop (luckily most shops only make that mistake once and when they have had a foot long regal sat in their tank for a year, don't forget that mistake).

So for me, if you are talking about average sized fish that you need to move on its fine but when that turns into tank busters I don't think that's fair unless you have a definite future home for them (I used to grow on some of the larger angels for people who needed a decent sized acclimated fish, simply because their tankmates were so large).

 

[sfairtx]

Human psychology is the reason. The same reason treadmill companies are still in business. Human can self rationalize anything. “I HAVE THE INTENTION of running on that treadmill everyday!” Very few do, most do not. “I HAVE THE INTENTION of upgrading my tank or selling the fish if it gets too big.” Very few do, most do not.

 

[Waters]

In addition to everything that has been said, I thing it also has to do with the fact that a lot of fish just need more room.....even when young. That being said, if I had to guess, 99% of people on this site have probably purchased fish that they shouldn't have lol.