Had to euthanize Pacu's over the weekend

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Ramirezi said:
i dont think forcing lfs to take fish is the way to go. then what will the lfs do? most are struggling anyway and they dont all have to facilities for such large fish.
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Sorry, I disagree.
Most of them turn around and sell the too-large fish to someone who wants it.
I've seen it happen all the time.
One LFS had 14"+ koi in a 20L!
Egads, the fishes (more than one!) sloshed up a lot of water everytime it turned around!
The next week they were gone.
I asked where the big koi went, and a sales person said someone bought them.

I went to another LFS today, and there was this 12" shovelnose catfish!
I didn't know those things can get that big!
It was sitting there trying to turn around in a 10G!

I know large oscars, cichlids, and catfish routinely get returned to the LFS' I regularly visit.
I saw one large (10") catfish sold to a guy who wanted it for $20.
Sorry, I didn't catch what kind of catfish it was, but the guy was very happy.
I overheard the sale guy mention the fish was a customer return.

The original intent of the law was to prevent alien species from pushing out the native species - a lot of the native wildlife are endangered.
It seems to be working here.
 
thats cool.
i just am not sure it would work here. the koi and catfish would be sold because lots of people have outdoor ponds here and are always looking for koi and catfish and plecos for their ponds.
but the lfs by me is quite small and caters to the college students. they carry small livebearer fish mostly and dwarf cichlids. i dont know what they would do if they were forced to take on tankbusters. especially since they dont sell the tankbusters to begin with.
i think if they do force the lfs to take on tankbusters it should only apply to the lfs stupid enough to sell them in the first place.
 
I think pacus and other large fish can be sold but there should be some disclaimer as to how large they get. They are very cute when small and thats why people buy them. Even I did that knowing they got large but not realizing how fast.

I ended up with a 18" pacu in less than a year. I took it back to the store and they said no prob, we'll take it. I heard from an employee later that they just bagged him and put him in a black garbage bag and tossed him in a dumpster :( Very cruel

Anyway they are smart and friendly fish. More personality than anything I have owned. I think they are even more personable than Oscars and even more playful. Just wish they didnt get more than say 12-14" long.
 
I can feel you my fellow hobbist.

I had to get rid of my beloved Pacu one month ago. When I first bought my Pacu it was size of a silver dollar, after nearly 7 months it was almosy 14 inches. I fed it 4-5 daily with this specialized commercial diet. I wanted it to grow bigger and faster so that I will have an excuse in buying a larger(500+) aquairum. The Pacu was so skittish, my oscars who were onyl half it size chased it all around the tank splashing water on my hardwood and heaters broken. I had to replace 3 heaters in a period of 5 months. So one day, while doing a water change I decided to get rid of it. Thing was so strong even for a fish at 14 inches. I ended up giving it a fish store.

Maybe one day, I'll keep another Pacu.
 
.....just a fish, buy another one.
 
BamaPits said:
.....just a fish, buy another one.
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In the beginning, they are 'just fish' but after keeping them for a while and seeing the individual personalities come out, they become family.
 
jagarundi said:
In the beginning, they are 'just fish' but after keeping them for a while and seeing the individual personalities come out, they become family.
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I will never consider a fish a part of my family but you are welcome too. Hell slap him on the grill or something. If you have to get rid of a fish that has grown too large.
 
I know one thing you get all the time in any fish forums and chats,
People asking for help that are new to the chat are to **** lazy to do the
research and always ask where can I find all the time, sorry, I may hand out some advice to the ones like that but I sure as heck aint doing the research for them to.
IF I try to help them in that maner, i go to Doppile.com, type in what they are wanting to know, and send them the URL for the search results, let them look for the crap themselfs.......you shoulda found someone to take the fish or a LSF to trade them or take them off your hands........
 
I am sorry to hear about your difficult time :( I also feel that it is partly the stores fault!! I agree that research should be done before a purchase but we all do make mistakes and learn from them.... but why didn't they tell you what the fish would need, for your sake and for the fish??? Isn't that their job? Sorry you had to go through that.
 
you shoulda found someone to take the fish or a LSF to trade them or take them off your hands

It's obvious you didn't READ that I tried unsuccessfully MANY times to find someone to take them off of my hands and THERE WERE NO TAKERS!!
 
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