SIZE MATTERS

Avoid These Fish in an Aquarium

- Sunil Dcosta

How many times have we brought a wrong fish for the aquarium? How many times did we face this disappointment of having the fish outgrown the tank? Lastly, the pain of giving away the pet to the aquarium store for "FREE" or exchange. How many of us were not guided by the aquarium store? If you have faced this situation, then read this article.

I get these types of queries quite often "What should I do with the fish that I brought a year back? It's grown and now it cannot even move properly in my 3 ft tank. It looks stressed. Its body shape has changed due to the shape of the tank. I had this same problem in my 6.2 ft tank. I had the Aligator gar. When it was small it looked beautiful. Imagine, I had 6.2 ft in length tank with a depth of 1 foot and a height of 2 ft (6.2ft x 1ft x 2ft), but I had a problem with the Alligator gar getting deformed. The mistake I had made was providing him with less depth to turn and move around. It was not about the length or the height. I felt sorry for it and sadly, I had to give it away." That experience has made me write this article for all beginners or hobbyists looking to purchase these magnificent monsters for home aquaria. Truly, 'size matters' when deciding which species of fish to bring home and why?

It's easy to be excited when an individual step into an aquarium shop. Some shopkeepers have good collections of monster fish. What most of them don't tell you is the maintenance part of these species and most importantly the growth pattern of these aquarium fish. Let's look at the fish which a beginner 'aquarium pet owner' should avoid for lack of space.