PlanetCatfish.com

I'm curious. How do you deal with unwanted fish? For example, you have a fish for many years and for some reason you have to get rid of it. What do you do if nobody will take it?

Lot's of stores will take unwanted fish (not all though). You can sell them (or giv 'em away) on ebay or aquabid or through aquarists classified or similar in different countries, or "sale & wanted"at PC

It's always difficult if you can't some person or fish-shop that will take it. Richard makes some suggestions on

There are "fish rescue" places that take unwanted fish. For example, the forum member TheFishGuy runs one such place http://www.monsterfishrescue.com/

The other option is "humane euthanasia" - or put it more bluntly, kill it... For large fish, this is probably best done by a vet that specialize in fish, and can give it a "lethal injection", since most of the effective medications for this sort of purpose are controlled (prescription or equivalent).

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Mats

Firstly, I'd like to distinguise between large and small unwanted fish. Small ones I use as feeders. easy and usefull.

Large ones I'd separate in 2 categories: Unwanted because of something in the fish - for instanse an operculum grew too large, or is missing. I kill these (myself, using a knife)

Fishes which are OK themselves, but I can't house properly (or, should I house them properly, I would have soter , but similar, problems). I try to find a good place for them, or else I kill them.

An example, I have a 40 cm male Petenia - a fish eating cichlid. The fish is fine, but I want to find a good place for it, as I no longer have a sufficiently large tank (over 2 meter) for it - these tanks are all for fishes I rather not combine with it.

Either I find someone - within 10 days (it has been offered) with a 8 feet tank, or I prepare it for a barbecue

I once had a breeding pair of Gold Severums I had raised from babies. A situation came up that I was moving and couldn't take them. I ended up donating them to my city's public aquarium, where they got a fabulous home for life.

Other than that, I always research before buying fish so I don't end up with something that will outgrow my tanks. IF I get any fish I decide later I didn't really want - tough. I keep them anyway.

For those who disliked my above posting, the Petenia is given to a fish shop. This shop, Tillmann in Duisburg, is well kniown in keepers of American Cichlids, and therefore, I would assume it will be rehoused in a fortnight

beats the BBQ, doesn't it?