What to do with fish I don't want?

[dgelz]

Getting ready to start moving things in the new 150g in a couple weeks. Most of the inhabitants of my old tank are going to make the move...except...a pair of 4 striped damsels. Love em, but there's no way I'm putting them in the new tank. What do most guys do in this situation?

 

[Politiceaux]

Give them to a LFS

 

[OrionN]

Put them in the sump if the LFS don't want them. Why did you get them in the first place.

 

[Betta132]

Put them in a decent environment such as a large sump, or give them to the LFS. They can also go in a refugium. Just don't kill them... The people on here generally frown upon that.

 

[lagatbezan]

See if there is a local board here for where you are and then give them away. I'm sure someone would take the little devils.

 

[dgelz]

Thanks, reefers.
A couple answers: 1. these were the first fish I bought, back when I trusted LFS sales people. "These are the perfect fish for your tank!"
2. My sump in this new build is insane...it's around 100g but will be filled with around 60g I could possibly keep them in there, but not sure what kind of life that would yield.
3. I would never kill a fish.

 

[Rea17]

Sumps can make a decent temporary living area while you find them homes, but it isn't a good place for them permanently. Refugiums work well depending on space and lighting schedule.

You can take them to the LFS as others have stated or sell/trade/give them away on Craigslist as well.

 

[ca1ore]

these were the first fish I bought, back when I trusted LFS sales people. "These are the perfect fish for your tank!"

Aw heck, we've all been there at some point - even if the memory fades .... I ended up with an almost 3 inch three-stripe that was absolutely terrorizing the rest of my fish population. I actually had to hook the thing to get it out. No lasting harm, however, and my LFS took it.

 

[footballdude2k3]

The sump might be the best place to keep some of your fish, if you have a refuge with chaeto, and lots of critters in there, they can hunt and have places to hide. One of my friends was given a few mandarins that were on their way out, he has a 150 full as a refugium, he sees them once in awhile now, all of them are fat and happy.

 

[OrionN]

LFS always push these damsels, and the Domino damsels on new reefers. Many fell for the dominoes because they are more attractive as babies.

I would return them to the LFS-a breeding pair

 

[dgelz]

I'll return them to the store...do you get credit for these or just give them up?

 

[Betta132]

Depends on your LFS. Some will give you a few bucks credit, some won't. Ask if you can swap them for a few hermits, maybe, or something else that costs a few bucks.

As for bad LFS advice... I ended up with a domino damselfish, a flame angelfish, an inch-deep sandbed, and one fragment of live rock in an 8g tank that had only been set up for a week.

 

[dgelz]

I dont get it. In my situation, I not only was sold things I shouldn't have bought, but the guy straight up ripped me off, too. First zoa I bought...a single polyp of sunny d...guy charged me $75 for it, as well as used the following psychology: "Wow! Great eye, bud; you've got expensive taste!"
But here's the deal...stupid naive me eventually got wise and realized I'd been screwed. As a result, I will never set food in his fish store again (even if my tank was in peril). I've spent thousands upon thousands of $$$ since that first sunny d purchase...and he didn't get a dime of it. Now he just seems like an idiot running a fish store.

 

[OrionN]

Get as much as you can but many of the LFS will act like they are doing you a favor to taken these fish back. make sure they don't just feed them to his anemone or moray as soon as you walk ou the door.

 

[SDguy]

A breeding pair of damsels might be a nice addition to an aggressive FO set-up.