Irresponsible options at your LFS

I've actually seen the guys in the fish room at Big Al's arguing with a customer over irresponsible purchases, which is great - there are too many places willing to sell someone an arowana and a 10g tank.
I can't even count the number of times I've seen shovelnose catfish, redtail catfish (saw a tank full of 3" babies the other day), sturgeon, stingrays, gar, and other 'tankbusters' for sale with no indication anywhere of the enormous size they'll eventually reach.
 
Yeah, some kind of warning or evaluation would be a good start, maybe. The place w/ the alligator gars had a little handwritten note on the glass that said "grows to 10+ ft." or something to that effect. I noticed that they have either sold at least a dozen of them (or had them die off). They'd pretty much have to have gone in tanks up here, it's too cold for them to overwinter outside in Jersey.

I once witnessed a guy purchase 5 tinfoil barbs, an oscar, and a clown knifefish all at the same time, for his 29g tank. He was dissapointed that some of his bala sharks "mysteriously" died, so he was getting some new fish to throw in there. I asked the kid working there who had given him the fish why he would allow such a thing to happen, and he said that when they talk potential customers out of a sale, there's a good chance that they'd get fired.
 
I see a lot of alligator gars.

Raskolnikov - Great name:) A little Crime and Punishment never hurt anyone:D
 
I"ve seen Sturgeon for sale around here before. I couldnt' believe it, why would anyone even try to keep one in a tank. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/news/items/missingfishjune04.htm
sturgeon1.jpg
 
Sturgeons are definately a no-no, but they also have special requirements that tend to keep the average unknowing individual away from them.

Around here the Tiger shovelnose, and the Irredescent sharks are the really popular tank busters, there are also a lot of arowanas for sale everywhere you look.
Dave
 
Harlock said:
That would be great! Make the pic lifesize too. Of course, I bet there are a lot of folks that would buy something like, say, that dogfish just to say, "Dude, I got a real shark, huh huh huh" and then keep it for a few months before they got bored with it and traded it in, or more likely, let it die before they get their next "toy". Oh, like say a great white shark, sperm whale, or baby seal... I can see it now -

"What, it swims! How was I supposed to know it needed air?!" As irresponsible as some shops are, a lot of times it comes down to ignorant or patently stupid aquarists as well. And, I use the term aquarist loosely.
Click to expand...

exactly. I hear in a store in a nearby city, they ARE currently selling baby great white sharks. I know someone who wants one, and who KNOWS she can't house it properly, but doesn't care. that's what it is to her, a "toy". she can't even keep goldfish alive, for crying out loud. but I'm still trying to convince her not to get it
 
Last I checked even public aquariums couldn't house a Great White. This is a fish that grows to a potential +25ft. and uses an entire ocean as its territory.

And who is out collecting baby GWs? They are live bearers. :eek:

Come to think of it, they are also on the endangered species list.
 
MAN! WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT A FISH BIGGER THAN THEM! F** MAN! I'd be scared ****less! A great white could rpobably bash its way through like 2 feet of glass! And you'd friggin fall in or something!

In a way I dont blame the pet stores, if theres actually people that f*** stupid to buy them. Its more the retarded peoples fault........

Well i'm gonna go try to fit a blue whale in my 5 gallon , talk to you later.
 
I highly, highly doubt they're actual Great Whites, people who catch juveniles tend to catch them at the 3-4ft. range.. however, Caribbean Reef sharks look fairly similar in coloration when small and only get to 4-5ft, perhaps that's what they have. Neither are a good choice, period. Fish that are better left in the ocean.

Maybe send your friend this link to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's webcam on their open ocean tank.. they currently have an true Great White on display.. its a baby, swims by the cam pretty often, about 5ft right now.

http://www.mbayaq.org/news/Default.asp?bhcp=1
 
There is a rack of tanks at my LFS that only the mangers will sell. I think this would work for most LFS so at least part of the odd stuff the manager will ask some questions to see if you should have that fish, and are able to take care of it.
 
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