New Blue Tang Question

I'm definitely at fault here and I'll be the first to admit that. However the owner of the LFS shouldn't have blatantly lied to me knowing my setup. That's wrong. So we're both in the wrong here. I wouldn't expect a cash refund here although I'll ask. And honestly I don't want to do business with this guy any longer because of this.

Thankfully I'm in the process of transferring this guy to a fellow RC member who generously offered a frag or two in exchange. I wasn't asking for anything and he offered on his own. Talk about two completely different individuals. So here we have a the good guy and the bad guy.

Looks like this should work out well in the end.
 
mattyg18 said:
I'm definitely at fault here and I'll be the first to admit that. However the owner of the LFS shouldn't have blatantly lied to me knowing my setup. That's wrong. So we're both in the wrong here. I wouldn't expect a cash refund here although I'll ask. And honestly I don't want to do business with this guy any longer because of this.

Thankfully I'm in the process of transferring this guy to a fellow RC member who generously offered a frag or two in exchange. I wasn't asking for anything and he offered on his own. Talk about two completely different individuals. So here we have a the good guy and the bad guy.

Looks like this should work out well in the end.
Click to expand...

That's how I remember this hobby!
Well done, sir.
 
A bit of a dissenting opinion, but these fish stores intentionally stock baby blue tangs to satisfy the demand of people wanting to put the fish in smaller tanks. You see the same thing with yellow tangs and clown fish. Tons and tons of those three fish and a relatively smaller selection of anything else.

I always operate under the do your own research policy with the hobby. If you see something you like, pull out your phone and at the minimum look at liveaquaria which is usually the first search result for any fish name. I usually also look up results on this forum, eg "Blue tang reef central" etc.

I also look at it as one of these situations where the handful of responsible hobbyists are unlikely able to change the buying habits of the random people who throw together a saltwater tank.

With that mindset, I'd rather see the 2.5" tang in the tank of someone who will do their best to care for it than have it sit with 20 others in a tiny holding tank until it dies at the store -- or have it thrown in a biocube with 2 clown fish and have it neglected by a 7 year old. Plenty of people have kept tangs for years in tanks under 120g. Is it ideal? Maybe not, but it is likely better than the alternative for the fish. And yes, I can understand the logic that you are just helping the cycle continue. I wouldn't buy one myself unless I had a huge tank.
 
I'm at a crossroad. Help...so I've found a fellow RC'r to take this guy and he offered me a couple of frags in return which was very generous. I was planning on taking him over there today and spent a good hour trying to get him out of my tank. I couldn't do it. Now he's swimming around all of a sudden. I really don't want to take my tank apart.

What do I do now??
 
I actually agree with Bent, too many hobbyists impulse buy, it not just the reef hobby, it's commonly seen in my other hobby of collecting tarantulas, new people come on those discussion boards all the time saying "I just bought a colbalt blue tarantula, I'm new to this what are it's care requirements? Can I hold it ?" Oh brother! Again, I'll always blame the hobbyist for not making appropriate choices, after all, in this day in age we all pretty much carry a small computer on ourselves at all times. LFS are in trouble economically with all the online pressure, many are simply out there to stay afloat, that means SELL, SELL, SELL. Like Bent said, it's up to the hobbyist's discretion to know if the animal is right for you or not.
 
Let's give credit where it's due.
The OP made a mistake many of us have made. He learned from it and is trying to do the right thing. It is up to us to do our research on the fish we want to purchase.
I agree that it's sad that so many LFS will sell fish to someone they know does not have the proper tank / equipment to care for it, but they are in business and from that standpoint a sale is a sale. I vote with my wallet and don't support those places.

OP I hope you manage to get him out of your tank and rehome him. If not today, soon.
 
kmbyrnes said:
Let's give credit where it's due.
The OP made a mistake many of us have made. He learned from it and is trying to do the right thing. It is up to us to do our research on the fish we want to purchase.
I agree that it's sad that so many LFS will sell fish to someone they know does not have the proper tank / equipment to care for it, but they are in business and from that standpoint a sale is a sale. I vote with my wallet and don't support those places.

OP I hope you manage to get him out of your tank and rehome him. If not today, soon.
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to take away from that, just making a point.
 
Thanks for all of the reinforcement fellas. I'm stilll in a jam though.

Now that i've found a new home for this little fellow it seems he doesn't want to leave. I can't get this sucker out of my tank. I feel terrible because now when i get anywhere close to the tank he takes off under the rock and hides. I really don't want to tear my tank apart. I've got a lot of corals all over and it would be a royal PITA to do that.

I read they have these fish traps but i'm not sure that would work either.

Help???
 
Honestly, I know you've already given it away basically... but I don't think there's anything wrong with growing him out a little bit in your tank and passing him on eventually if you don't upgrade. Chances are, and I can tell you have some sense about ya, that you will upgrade to larger tank. You have the patience (you used QT) to do well in the hobby and I'd vote that you upgrade in a year or two. That tang is not going to outgrow your tank in that time IPO. Keep it and if you don't upgrade, sell or trade him for more at that time. If it makes ya feel better to do this, then do whatever ya feel.

Just my two cents.

Good luck!
 
I actually did think about it and my wife wants to keep him (for what that's worth). But it still doesn't solve my problem. It just drags it out. Will he be easier to catch in a year or so when he's larger? I'll also most likeky have less room in my tank in another year to catch him. I read somewhere last night that their growth is stunted in a smaller tank. Is that accurate?
 
not sure if they're stunting... I think that's myth though... they'll get stressed and die when they get too big for the tank is more accurate probably. I can't help with the trapping thing man... I've had issues myself. If you get him eating well, start feeding him closer and closer to a trap until he's to the point of going in voluntarily... HTH and good luck!
 
Your going to have to take the rock out of any tank you want To catch a fish out of. It's just the way it is.

Just bite the bullet and get it done.
 
Sounds like a rainy day project then. Maybe this Sunday. Were supposed to get blasted with rain and wind. Talk about learning your lesson the hard way....
 
Before you tear your rock work out, see if you can borrow a fish trap from someone local. They are not guaranteed to work. It can be a time consuming process. I have had to trap two fish on separate occasions. Each time, every darn fish that I didn't want swam into the trap for food. Each time took about 45 minutes of waiting for the right fish.
 
Sounds crazy but try chicken wire. I've used it with great success. Just cut a few pieces to size and slowly section off the tank until you can get him in a corner then net him out. Even fish that can fit thru the holes usually won't. It's more of a visual barrier.

By the way I applaud you for doing the right thing.
 
I was able to borrow a trap from a fellow RC'r and gonna give that a shot. I tried some egg crate but i've got so much rock in there, and i've got one of those acrylic tanks with the cut out on top (sot its not totally open) and its real difficult to maneuver in there. As soon as he saw the egg crate come near him he took off. Probably the same with chicken wire.

If the trap doesn't work my last resort is to tear apart the tank. Keeping my fingers crossed this trap works.
 
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