Pet Stores Selling Monster Fish
Recently, I took a fish quiz online and one of the questions was "which of these fish is not suitable for most home aquariums?" The answers to choose from consisted of iridescent sharks, pacus, red-tailed catfish, and all of the above. I, as an experienced hobbyist, chose the correct answer of "all of the above" ("Fish Quiz"). For me, this is common knowledge, but unfortunately, most fishkeepers who are new to the hobby do not research the fish before they buy their new pets. They simply set up a tank, fill it with water, and go to the pet store to stock up on fish they know nothing about. Some of these fish sold at pet stores include monster fish, which are fish known to grow over one foot in length and can not be kept in most beginner aquariums, usually ranging from two to twenty gallons. Allowing pet stores to sell monster fish to uninformed customers puts the animals’ health at risk, frustrates the novice fishkeeper, and creates new problems for the store.
While the fish may not grow due to a small habitat, the organs will continue to grow. Most people do not realize fish do not grow according to the tank size. "It is not true that fish will only grow to fit their tank. This is an 'old wives' tale' and one of the most common myths about fishkeeping today" (Seyffarth). When a monster fish is left in a small tank for a long time, its organs continue to grow while its skin does not. This eventually causes the fish to look bloated, but in reality is a serious threat to its health and in most cases will be fatal. This mistake can be avoided by first researching the fish’s size before buying it. William Berg, the author of "Tropical Fish: A Beginner's Guide," informs new fishkeepers that "it is also important to look at the adult size of the fish you are going to get. If you have a small aquarium, the fish may soon outgrow the size of the aquarium" (44). Eventually, these kinds of growth problems will cause the monster fish to become more susceptible to a variety of diseases, which can cause financial problems for the keeper.
Furthermore, most monster fish should be kept in groups which is impossible in a home aquarium due to their size. Piranhas, for instance, grow too large to be kept in groups. "A 10 gallon tank is way to [sic] small for these fish. First off they are a schooling fish and should be kept in groups of 5+" (Monster Fish Keeper). Pacu, which can reach 2-5 feet in length (---XR---)," are nervous fish that are meant to be kept in groups" (Okiemavis). Iridescent sharks, a type of catfish found at most chain pet stores, "are best kept in a group or school in a large aquarium. They don’t thrive as well if kept singly when small" (Brough). While some fish must be kept alone like the common male betta found in almost any pet store, most monster fish actually live in groups in the wild. They are considered schooling fish and need to be kept with others of their species to obtain optimal health.
One problem affecting the fishkeeper is the fish may die since it can not be kept in a small tank. For example "the Fire eel, Paddlefish, Red-Tailed Catfish, the Pacu, and the South American Leaf Fish are some varieties that you should keep away from. Some of these grow very big, and tend to bash themselves against the glass sides and other obstacles in the aquarium" (Berg 48). Usually, monster fish in the hands of fishkeepers new to the hobby end up dying before they can reach their proper size. This can be caused by the small aquarium or because they fatally hurt themselves by running into things. Another common fish, the goldfish, should be classified as a monster fish because it gets too large as well. Many people have their pet goldfish die because their tank is not large enough. They do not realize how massive they get because these fish are sold when they are under an inch at the store. At Practical Fishkeeping, someone asked why their goldfish died; the responses were all similar: "Agreed that your goldfish died because the tank was too small for them. Goldfish grow fast and large" (Helenfaulkner). Goldfish are commonly kept in bowls which is unfortunate because goldfish are very messy and can quickly grow to over one foot in length.
Unfortunately, employees typically do not provide the customers with correct information on the fish's growth. They are employed to make money and not give the customer advice resulting in less profit. The store will do anything to bring in more profit, including mis-labeling the fish: "Iridescent shark (Pangasius sutchi)…Large, peaceful, bottom dweller, Adult size: 36 inches" (Iridescent Shark Description). Iridescent sharks do not just grow large by regular pet fish standards; they can actually grow more than four feet in length! Many new fishkeepers ask store employees for advice and walk away with fish which will become too large for their tank. One such customer lamented, "I recently bought a 78x24x24 inch tank, and when it turned up it had two 15 inch pacu and 3 16 to 9 inch pangasius, an oscar and loads of cat fish and plecs! No way they should have been in there but the guy said 'the fish shop said they would all be fine'" (Priestly).
Customers' tanks are not big enough to accommodate the fish. An interview with Christopher Argue, a knowlegeable fishkeeper, revealed that even a small fish can be classified as a monster fish if it is in the hands of a fishkeeper with a small tank. When asked how he would classify a monster fish, Argue replied, "My knee jerk reaction is to say anything that would out grow the largest standard manufactured tanks (~210 - 230 gallons). That said though to someone who has only ever kept a 10 gallon(s), even a 6” fish would be a monster." From observation, one can see most tanks sold at pet stores do not exceed fifty-five gallons; instead they are around ten to twenty gallons, and therefore, too small for the fish to grow to its proper size. It is very unusual to find anything over seventy-five gallons sold at chain stores due to the fact that tanks of this size are hard to ship and very expensive. Fishkeepers who are new to the hobby typically do not want to spend over one-hundred dollars on their first pet fish. Thus, they buy small tanks that do not exceed twenty gallons and expect to be able to keep monster fish in them. In 2006 a survey was done in the UK about how many large fish were taken in by aquarium facilities because they had outgrown their owner's tank. The statistics were the following: "Piranha, 18+; Plecstomas sp. [sic], 15; Pangassius sp. [sic], 11; Tiger Oscar, 7; Cat fish (sp. Unknown), 5; Pacu, 4, Red Tailed Catfish, 3" ("Campaigns").
Problems for the store include a loss of money when customers return large fish. "Chris_A," a former fish store employee, argued it is not worth the store's effort to take in larger fish because the cost won't balance. He states:
IME [ed. in my experience] a lot of monster fish really don't sell all that fast once they are larger [in] size...I remember sitting on some big fish for a LONG time (literally months) and that just costs the store money. When I think about it, even a week or two is a long time to be eating up tank space with a $50 (or whatever) fish. The big desiding [sic] factor is overhead, if it costs...$100/month in overhead for that tank then sure $50 in 2 weeks isn't *too* horrible, still not great though. $50 in 2 months is a big ol' zero for profit, any longer than that and the store is loosing [sic] money. (Chris_A)
He also frequents several forums and stated on one, concerning this topic, "...take into account that most large fish 1) don't sell fast, and 2) don't retail for all that much, and yes it really doesn't pay for a LFS [ed. local fish store] to take back some large fish" (Chris). Pet stores simply can not afford to take back the outgrown versions of the one inch fish they sell. If these monster fish were not sold to begin with, this problem could be avoided.
Some may argue it is not the responsibility of the store to help the customer care for the fish, but in fact, it is. They are responsible for the products they sell. It will only cause more problems because people will return the fish when they get too large and stores can not keep large fish for very long. If employees would inform customers about the correct length of the adult fish and the proper ways to care for them, more money could be saved on the part of the store and the customer.
Another counter-argument may be the fish is so cheap it really does not matter if it dies; it can easily be replaced. However, it is a living creature. No one would ever treat a cat or dog that way. Yes, fish are, in most cases, much cheaper than other pets, but they have the right to live a healthy life just like any other animal. When the customer buys a live object, such as a fish, they should be responsible for giving it the proper care and keeping it healthy.
Every time I go to a pet store which sells fish, I am appalled by how employees try to get customers to buy fish even though they know the customer can not take proper care of them. Monster fish, including iridescent sharks, pacu, and common plecos, are usually sold while they are still under an inch or two in length. It is like buying a furniture kit which is labeled "easy" but then finding it takes too much effort to build and ends up being a waste of time and money. Monster fish should not be sold by pet stores because they are too hard to care for. They simply grow too large for most beginner fishkeepers to handle and end up causing problems for everyone involved.
