Bad Owners/breeders??

Ok, so I recently purchased a Tropheus Duboisi from a pet store that said he got it from florida.... I thought it was kinda weird that it was already changing its color but still very very small.... later that week i found a good local breeder and purchased many duboisi.... So these fish were bigger than mine, healthier, more active, and the color hadnt changed!! Now how can that be if the one I got was smaller?!

I have come to the conclusion that the breeder in florida had purposly starved his fish, and kept them in very small inclosures so that it would stunt the growth... this way he could ship them easier.... HORRIBLE!!! if you have a different idea then please share.... I will post pictures when I get some time

I can tell you that you are more then likely correct in your assumption. As an ex petshop employee and a very long time fish keeper I can tell you that fish shop want fish that are around the 2 inch mark, and breeders don't want fish that are too big. So what happens is when fry are born they are put on a strict diet to make them grow as fast as possible, untill they reach a target size. Once this size is reached they slow down there feeding by a huge amount. An example would be feeding 2 or 3 times a day and doing water changes every other day untill the fish is target size and then slowing down to feeding 1 or 2 times a week and doing water changes every other week. The reason for this is to have as many fish available to the consumer (petshops) as possible all the time and having them at the most desierable size also. And with all that said let's say the shops don't want that type of fish now. Well then they sit in those breeders facility for months on only little amounts of food. So they don't grow much if at all but they still age and mature in most cases. Now the pet store decides to get them because now the breeder has cut there price in half so they can just get rid of them to free up the tank for whatever they have next.

Also there are several places now that don't breed there own fish but buy there fish from asian countries that breed them in big man made ponds. So no longer can they evn tell you how old there fish are at all. All they are is a supplier at this point. They get the fish in and house them untill a shop wants them.

All of this is why on almost every fish profile you see there is the suggestion to make sure to purchase from a reputable breeder or supplier. This is a fight that is going in the favor of us the hobbyist, and the reason for that is we will pay 2 or 3 or even more dollars a fish to make sure we get a healthy fish with a birthdate that is disease and parasite free. Ther are many sources for this type of info and one of the best sources is internet forums (other hobbyists). In meeting places like this we can discus diffrent people or company's we have ordered from and share our experiances positive and negitive. Also its great to go in with people on big orders of fish so you can get them for cheap and split shipping costs (this is why I am most stoked about thelocal forum). I kinda feel like I'm unloading here, to me this is a really sensitive subject, as over the years (judging by the picture I have of my first fish tank I think I was ten) I have been keeping fish for 17 years and have gotten my fair share of "bad fish". Anyway that's all I'm going to say on it now.

That is a ton of great information.... I loved the explanation, the details were awesome! Im pretty knowledgable, but you touched on a bunch of stuff I was unaware about... I do have another question since you sound very exp. on the subject.... even though my store fish is so small, but he's obviously older than my new guys, will he be breeding sooner??? or does stunting them have an effect on that???

That is completely up to what type of fish it is. And I have not looked into that. All I know is some fish will become sexually mature without the size and some won't. Sorry I'm pretty good for answers but I'm not going to feed you bs. Sorry.

Well now that we have WFB, we won't have to purchase from non-reputable petstores and breeders. We can get good, quality fish from our own people! But i know what you guys are saying, i've had that happen to me too

this guy doesn't look very normal
I got him about two weeks ago....not going back to that store again

sail fin pleco
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I saw an add on craigslist for a man who was trying to give away 5 cichlids for free. He was on the verge of flushing them because everyone wanted to come get them but flaked. I emailed him and 20 minutes later I had a one gallon bowl with two 6" jack dempseys, 3" convict, and two 7" plecos. He had kept them all in a 30 gallon, never turned the light off, and had an automatic feeder feed them the entire time they were in the tank.

Within 2 days of having the fish the extremely skittish jacks had 200 fry and finally came out of hiding. We have since rehomed them all, but I wouldnt trust that man with a sea monkey.

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