Am I the only one who feels bad for the blemish fish at DiversDen

[Tripod1404]

I kinda feel like nobody would buy some of them. Especially the ones that are severely disfigured. Like today there was a black cap basslet with almost no dorsal fin. I imagine if no body buys them for a long time, they eventually put them down.

Over the years, just because of this I bought several blemish fish that I have encountered on DD. Even now I have 4 such fish I have a golden golden Rhomboidalis with one eye and dislocated jaw, a niger trigger that misses half of its tail, a blue flasher with no dorsal fin and a flame angel with one eye.

Please guys I dont want to buy a blackcap basslet .

[albano]

Originally Posted by Tripod1404

I imagine if no body buys them for a long time, they eventually put them down.

I'd be surprised by that!

[Tripod1404]

Originally Posted by albano

I'd be surprised by that!

I really hope so.

I know certain LFSs that put down fish that they have no hope of selling. Like very large unicorn and vlamingi tangs (that grow while waiting to be sold) that nobody would buy and certain blemish fish.

[ramseynb]

Originally Posted by Tripod1404

I really hope so.

I know certain LFSs that put down fish that they have no hope of selling. Like very large unicorn and vlamingi tangs (that grow while waiting to be sold) that nobody would buy and certain blemish fish.

You'd think they'd just give them away if it came to that. I'm not sure how you could put down a vlamingi tang. Those things are like a pet dog. My LFS has one in a big frag tank and he'll follow you around and stick half his face out of the water to get a closer look at you and even likes pets.

I don't feel bad for DD blems though. If no one was buying them they'd have a long list of them but they don't. Plus, a lot of the blems probably have a better chance of survival in someone's tank than in the wild.

[nereefpat]

You sound like a crazy lady I know who comes home from the sale barn with three legged llamas.

[WVfishguy]

When I had my service business, I could have a dozen large, perfect, beautiful fish in a tank.

But if ONE fish was, for example, missing an eye, or had a scale or fin missing, that's all I'd hear about the entire time it was there.

Both my customers and their customers would seek me out or call me to ask about that one stupid fish: "Will it infect the other fish?" "What's wrong with it?" etc.

I wanted to say, "Sure, you stupid jerk, the other fish will have their eyes pop out."

It was such a PIA I had no choice but to euthanize perfectly good fish.

People suck.

[ramseynb]

Originally Posted by WVfishguy

When I had my service business, I could have a dozen large, perfect, beautiful fish in a tank.



But if ONE fish was, for example, missing an eye, or had a scale or fin missing, that's all I'd hear about the entire time it was there.



Both my customers and their customers would seek me out or call me to ask about that one stupid fish: "Will it infect the other fish?" "What's wrong with it?" etc.



I wanted to say, "Sure, you stupid jerk, the other fish will have their eyes pop out."



It was such a PIA I had no choice but to euthanize perfectly good fish.



People suck.

Wow, that’s terrible. Is it wrong that I can’t stand people that have a reef tank or any fish tank but no nothing about it and pay someone to do all the work for them? To me, half the fun is learning and being challenged to provide the best environment I can for my critters.

[albano]

Originally Posted by ramseynb

Is it wrong that I can’t stand people that have a reef tank or any fish tank but no nothing about it and pay someone to do all the work for them? ...

Yes, it is wrong... some people don’t have the time to do it themselves but still appreciate the beauty of a tank for their home or business. Doesn’t mean that they know nothing about it.
What do you think of people that have a swimming pool but hire a company to clean and maintain it?

[Dmorty217]

Originally Posted by Tripod1404

I really hope so.

I know certain LFSs that put down fish that they have no hope of selling. Like very large unicorn and vlamingi tangs (that grow while waiting to be sold) that nobody would buy and certain blemish fish.

You let me know if you're ever at a LFS and see a Unicorn or Vlamingi that they are going to "put down"... I will buy them and pay for shipping no questions asked

[nereefpat]

Originally Posted by WVfishguy

When I had my service business, I could have a dozen large, perfect, beautiful fish in a tank.

But if ONE fish was, for example, missing an eye, or had a scale or fin missing, that's all I'd hear about the entire time it was there.

Both my customers and their customers would seek me out or call me to ask about that one stupid fish: "Will it infect the other fish?" "What's wrong with it?" etc.

I wanted to say, "Sure, you stupid jerk, the other fish will have their eyes pop out."

It was such a PIA I had no choice but to euthanize perfectly good fish.

People suck.

No other choice? I would bet if you told people it was a rescue fish they would accept that.

Originally Posted by ramseynb

Wow, that’s terrible. Is it wrong that I can’t stand people that have a reef tank or any fish tank but no nothing about it and pay someone to do all the work for them? To me, half the fun is learning and being challenged to provide the best environment I can for my critters.

Most service account tanks (or at least many) are in offices, clinics, hospitals, etc. Do you think your pediatric dentist is going to come in early to clean the office fish tank?

[WVfishguy]

[QUOTE=nereefpat;25397378]No other choice? I would bet if you told people it was a rescue fish they would accept that.

It wasn't a matter of "accepting it," it was the multiple phone calls and other harassment. I had around 100 tanks in the field, I didn't have time to get a dozen calls on one tank. Or to stop and discuss it with a dozen people.

Cleaning tanks for a living is nothing like doing it for a hobby.

Some customers actually had tanks at their residences. But taking care of a tank outside the home is a different animal altogether. It was simply not worth their time.

I had a millionaire (more than one) who had multiple tanks at his home (mansion). He hired me so he could focus on making more millions. This happened more than once. And many accounts had more than one aquarium.

AND WHILE I'M AT IT!!!

ALL my customers were wealthy. All of them. But out of 80 + accounts, ONLY TWO gave me a bonus for Christmas.

They would tip their stylist, postal carrier, garbage collector, etc. but the guy who came into their home every other week got nothing.

I thought nothing of cleaning a pile of dog poop off the carpet when they were on vacation, or putting the garbage out for them, etc. etc., but NEVER a Christmas bonus.

Sorry. But I had to vent. There's not many places I can do that....

[Tripod1404]

[QUOTE=WVfishguy;25398064]

Originally Posted by nereefpat

No other choice? I would bet if you told people it was a rescue fish they would accept that.

It wasn't a matter of "accepting it," it was the multiple phone calls and other harassment. I had around 100 tanks in the field, I didn't have time to get a dozen calls on one tank. Or to stop and discuss it with a dozen people.

Cleaning tanks for a living is nothing like doing it for a hobby.

Some customers actually had tanks at their residences. But taking care of a tank outside the home is a different animal altogether. It was simply not worth their time.

I had a millionaire (more than one) who had multiple tanks at his home (mansion). He hired me so he could focus on making more millions. This happened more than once. And many accounts had more than one aquarium.

AND WHILE I'M AT IT!!!

ALL my customers were wealthy. All of them. But out of 80 + accounts, ONLY TWO gave me a bonus for Christmas.

They would tip their stylist, postal carrier, garbage collector, etc. but the guy who came into their home every other week got nothing.

I thought nothing of cleaning a pile of dog poop off the carpet when they were on vacation, or putting the garbage out for them, etc. etc., but NEVER a Christmas bonus.

Sorry. But I had to vent. There's not many places I can do that....

Not to mention how many people are there who has tanks large enough for a 2 feet long tang versus how many juvenile sized specimens of those tangs are imported? Supply is simply way to high compared to demand. Most those fish are either not sold and remain at the LFS until they die or live and overgrow their tanks. Ones that are sold rarely go to a caring owner, most are either die or come to an end you described, or get returned to an LFS where they die or get killed.

People who operate an LFS do not do the job just because they love fish. I am sure most really love fish/corals and what they do. But, in the end they need to earn money. A 2 feet fish that eats like a pig and almost has no chance of selling is not good for business.

Business is businesses. Do you ever wondered how all those derringer clowns are made? Well it is not a story about flower and rainbows. They basically breed clowns and grow the fry until they are juveniles and kill all that doesn't have the desired colors and patterns. You take the fish that look the most the way you want, breed them with their siblings and repeat the above process. You continue this until you end up with a stable color and pattern and all undesired traits are removed from the gene pool. BTW, this is also the way how all breeds of dog are created.

[nereefpat]

Originally Posted by WVfishguy

It wasn't a matter of "accepting it," it was the multiple phone calls and other harassment. I had around 100 tanks in the field, I didn't have time to get a dozen calls on one tank. Or to stop and discuss it with a dozen people.

Cleaning tanks for a living is nothing like doing it for a hobby.

I know it's different than a hobby tank at home. I did it for a few years in college. My tank list was about 1/3 the size of your's.

Everyone draws the line at a different place. But in my book, a fish that survives for a certain amount of time in one of our tanks disserves to keep living there.

Getting rid of a fish because a few looky-loos complained about a missing eye or something isn't something I would do.

[Hitch08]

Is that fish gone? I couldn’t find it.

[ramseynb]

Originally Posted by albano

Yes, it is wrong... some people don’t have the time to do it themselves but still appreciate the beauty of a tank for their home or business. Doesn’t mean that they know nothing about it.
What do you think of people that have a swimming pool but hire a company to clean and maintain it?

If I had a swimming pool, I would maintain it myself.

Originally Posted by nereefpat

Most service account tanks (or at least many) are in offices, clinics, hospitals, etc. Do you think your pediatric dentist is going to come in early to clean the office fish tank?

For a business, I can understand.

Maybe it's just me. I feel the same about people that "collect" guitars but don't play them. I have a guitar collection but I also play them.

Messing with my tank is part of the fun to me. I feel like I'd be missing out if I had someone else come and do all the work. I mean, cleaning my skimmer or doing a water change isn't exactly fun, but staying connected and engaged to my tank is a lot of fun. To me it's more than just a living painting.

[lionfish300]

Originally Posted by ramseynb

Messing with my tank is part of the fun to me. I feel like I'd be missing out if I had someone else come and do all the work. I mean, cleaning my skimmer or doing a water change isn't exactly fun, but staying connected and engaged to my tank is a lot of fun. To me it's more than just a living painting.

I agree

[WVfishguy]

[QUOTE=Tripod1404;25398075]

Originally Posted by WVfishguy

Not to mention how many people are there who has tanks large enough for a 2 feet long tang versus how many juvenile sized specimens of those tangs are imported? Supply is simply way to high compared to demand. Most those fish are either not sold and remain at the LFS until they die or live and overgrow their tanks. Ones that are sold rarely go to a caring owner, most are either die or come to an end you described, or get returned to an LFS where they die or get killed.

Over the past 40 years or so, this is the one which galls me most. LFS's selling redtail cats, pacus and marine fish which will outgrow anyone's aquarium.

A LFS owner said to me, "I'm not taking back any more pacus." Pacus can get more than two or three feet long and weigh 10-20 pounds.

I asked, "Are you going to continue to sell them?" To which he replied, "Of course."

This is what causes government to get involved and begin regulating what can and can't be sold. And believe me, you DO NOT want government involved.

[Tripod1404]

[QUOTE=WVfishguy;25398943]

Originally Posted by Tripod1404

Over the past 40 years or so, this is the one which galls me most. LFS's selling redtail cats, pacus and marine fish which will outgrow anyone's aquarium.

A LFS owner said to me, "I'm not taking back any more pacus." Pacus can get more than two or three feet long and weigh 10-20 pounds.

I asked, "Are you going to continue to sell them?" To which he replied, "Of course."

This is what causes government to get involved and begin regulating what can and can't be sold. And believe me, you DO NOT want government involved.

Lol about 5 years ago, I was at one of biggest fish stores in the west coast. They had a large tank (maybe 200-300 gallons) with several arowana in them. While looking at the tank from a distance, I realized one of them was not an arowana, there it was, a freaking juvenile arapaima.

Lol who the hell imports an arapaima that grows to be 10ft as adults.

[nereefpat]

Originally Posted by Tripod1404

Lol who the hell imports an arapaima that grows to be 10ft as adults.

Hopefully someone with a salmon or chicken farm to feed the thing.

[Dmorty217]

[QUOTE=Tripod1404;25399254]

Originally Posted by WVfishguy

Lol about 5 years ago, I was at one of biggest fish stores in the west coast. They had a large tank (maybe 200-300 gallons) with several arowana in them. While looking at the tank from a distance, I realized one of them was not an arowana, there it was, a freaking juvenile arapaima.

Lol who the hell imports an arapaima that grows to be 10ft as adults.

I agree with what you're saying but I think you would be surprised at the number of huge private aquariums there are in just the USA. Most of these guys aren't on forums like this so you would never know they exist. With that being said it certainly doesn't make importing fish that get to be 10ft any more acceptable

[sethd12]

I specifically have been purchasing DD's "blemished" fish when they pop up and is something I am looking for. Fish don't have to be "perfect" to be beautiful. As Dmorty said, let me know of a LFS killing large tangs, I will take them off of their hands no questions asked.

[Hitch08]

Deleted.