Ethics of Reef Keeping: The Unwritten Rules

[keddre]

I often see circular debates, on and off the forum about things that, while not stated directly in the question, get into the ethics of what you think are right and wrong. I thought it might be interesting to bring these questions up. I don't know the best way to go about these, but polls are always nice.

Sooo, first question: Would you introduce a baby fish that you know will outgrow your tank, if you plan to rehome it later? A.K.A, the "can I get a tang if it's a baby" question.

 

[leahfiish]

Personally I don't like it or think it's a good idea.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

While I know some folks would disagree, I don't think it's entirely unethical to house a small fish in a tank that it will eventually outgrow, that being said you as the owner need to ensure that a suitable home is ready for the fish once it has grown up some and it is a welcoming environment, i.e. doesn't contain fish that are going to attack newcomers.

My LFS sometimes gets baby blue hippo tangs in that are probably 1-2" long, I could easily see putting such a fish in a 55 gallon or so aquarium until it is 3-4 inches long and then putting it in it's final tank. The smaller aquarium will allow you to keep an active eye on the fish easily and make sure it is growing adequately and getting enough to eat. In a suitable sized tank for blue hippo tang, it may take a while to find a 1-2" fish among the rocks and it may be even harder to get food to the little fish before bigger fish would come in and scare it off. In the end, we as hobbyists need to do what's best for the fish and putting it in a smaller tank at first, if and only if it is a really small size to begin with, may be the best way initially to ensure it is getting adequate care.

 

[mort]

I don't get why people would want to get a fish, grow it up and then move it on. For me there are plenty of interesting species that every size tank can keep.
It's a little different it you actually have a bigger tank or one definitely on the way (not a planned upgrade that probably won't happen). Growing up fish in smaller tanks can benefit them as it gives them time to acclimate fully before having to compete with much larger fish or allows you to feed more heavily in the case of high metabolism juviniles.

The average tank over here is much smaller than in America, yet we see just as many monster species. This is where I think the wholesalers lack imagination. In general our houses and tanks are getting smaller and nano tanks coming into the fold, so why aren't more smaller species available. I'm not a tang guy but love wrasse. Lots of the halichoeres wrasse I'd love to see which would make excellent tank inhabitants, simply aren't seen in the trade. It's the same with cardinals and many other species. So for me the argument about size appropriate tanks for fish is one that could partly be solved by exploring other species and not being so blinkered on tangs or large angelfish which for most outgrow what we have.

 

[ThunderGoose]

Great comments from nautical_nathaniel and mort. I'm right there - if you already have a future home starting a small fish is a small tank can be a good idea. BUT most people who purchase fish are not well informed reefers. They'll buy a "Dory" and not understand how big or how fast it will grow. At least in the reefing community lots of people have large tanks and there is a decent chance you'd be able to re-home a fish that outgrows your tank.

It's worse in freshwater where large tanks are rare and some of the fish that I see for sale will get to be several feet long (red tail catfish anyone?) and it's hard to find a new home for a freshwater fish that outgrows a 55 (and there are a lot of them available in the trade!).

 

[Douglas Wattier]

If it is just for the purpose of having the fish as a baby then no. But if you are rehoming it from a rescue, or some other type of similar situation then I would say its ok.

 

[XNavyDiver]

I had to answer no. My answer is based solely from my reality. I have no plans of getting a larger tank. I envy those with multiple tanks that allow them to use their smaller tanks as "grow out" tanks for such fish like tangs. If I had multiple tanks and one that could ultimately house mature tangs, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Why not? It makes sense. House your juvenile specimens in smaller tanks to assure they're getting fed until they're ready to be homed with some of the big boys.

 

[Legal Reefer]

I agree. While tangs are not my favorite or even on my want list I saw one in our local chain fish store in what has to be a ten gallon tank if that. There was nothing I could do for him having a 7.5 gallon nano myself. If I had my 40 gal breeder set up I would have possibly tried to rescue him, and surely would have seen another in his place when they received their next shipment of fish. Based on the condition of their tanks, and the employees knowledge of fish keeping in general I'm pretty sure the tang and many other fish died in this store.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I should probably clarify that my basis for my answer was that you as the hobbyist will have a tank ready for the fish when it grows up some, not trying to rely on local hobbyists for which you will use to rehome the fish. That's not always going to be an option since A. you may not find anyone with the right sized tank and B. Even if you know of someone with the proper tank, they may not want it. Your fish, your responsibility.

 

[Nburg's Reef]

Normally no. In the case of: I have an upgrade planned! I was in this same "I have an upgrade planned!" but I ended up investing in scuba gear rather than upgrading. Stuff happens, and upgrades rarely happen. Also, those that say they'll just trade it in when it big... how big is big? Will the store take it? is there enough people in your area to take it on the forums? You could probably get away with it if you are on top of it and honest about when the time is right, but it may cause unneeded stress. Mosy big fish will out grow smaller tanks in a matter of months, which is barely enough time to let it feel settled and comfortable.

I only see it ethical if you have another large tank running that you will transfer it to... like using the small tank to grow it out and then transfer it when its large enough to hold it's own.

 

[hart24601]

It seems like in the salt world the idea of "growing out" a fish is not nearly as common as in the FW world. I grew out 18 discus in a smaller tank, 40b until they were 4" long before putting in my 180 so I could do W/C more effectively. Likewise I have grown out fish in smaller tanks so they can exist with other large fish that would probably eat them until they got some size on them.

From the context of your original question no I don't like that. In a reef it's so hard to catch anything plus by the time it looks "too big" there may have been stunting or damage to the fish.

In theory it sees ok, but I have a hard time imagining it working out ok in most cases. Plus then back to QT with new fish...

 

[VR28man]

Normally no. In the case of: I have an upgrade planned! I was in this same "I have an upgrade planned!" but I ended up investing in scuba gear rather than upgrading. Stuff happens, and upgrades rarely happen. Also, those that say they'll just trade it in when it big... how big is big? Will the store take it? is there enough people in your area to take it on the forums? You could probably get away with it if you are on top of it and honest about when the time is right, but it may cause unneeded stress. Mosy big fish will out grow smaller tanks in a matter of months, which is barely enough time to let it feel settled and comfortable.

I only see it ethical if you have another large tank running that you will transfer it to... like using the small tank to grow it out and then transfer it when its large enough to hold it's own.

This.

All kind of things happen; only go the "grow out" way if you really have a tank there ready to use that just needs a bit more setup/cycling time (~6 months, I'm beginning to believe is the proper length of time for cycling).

hart24601 raises a good point: grow out tanks are preferred for many freshwater enthusiasts. Some of the formulae you see among discus fans are quite interesting: crowd 'em in a smallish bare bottom tank, load them up with high protein foods, and change a lot of the water very very frequently. Variations on that formula appear to be what works for champion discus; but I see no reason to do that for a yellow tang (or, say, damselfish, who are actually related to cichlids).

 

[VR28man]

Normally no. In the case of: I have an upgrade planned! I was in this same "I have an upgrade planned!" but I ended up investing in scuba gear rather than upgrading. Stuff happens, and upgrades rarely happen. Also, those that say they'll just trade it in when it big... how big is big? Will the store take it? is there enough people in your area to take it on the forums? You could probably get away with it if you are on top of it and honest about when the time is right, but it may cause unneeded stress. Mosy big fish will out grow smaller tanks in a matter of months, which is barely enough time to let it feel settled and comfortable.

I only see it ethical if you have another large tank running that you will transfer it to... like using the small tank to grow it out and then transfer it when its large enough to hold it's own.

This. All kind of things happen; only go the "grow out" way if you really have a tank there ready to use, or that just needs a bit more setup/cycling (6 months, I'm beginning to believe is the proper length of time).

hart24601 raises a good point: grow out tanks are preferred for many freshwater enthusiasts. Some of the formulae you see among discus fans are quite interesting: crowd 'em in a smallish bare bottom tank, load them up with high protein foods, and change a lot of the water very very frequently. Variations on that formula appear to be what works for champion discus; but I see no reason to do that for hobbyist purchasing a yellow tang (or, say, damselfish, who are actually related to cichlids) from your LFS/LA.

It would be very different if you were doing captive breeding, but that's a completely different story.

 

[JoeIII]

In my experience, it depends on the rest of the tank. If you have never attempted to remove a fish from an established system and you think you'll just "get that fish out" once it grows up you may be in for a surprise. If there is extensive rockwork and coral growing in, are you really ready to tear apart your entire reef to remove that fish?

I've kept tangs in 40B frag tanks and moved them to a larger system when they started to grow up, but it is far easier to pull a few frag racks to catch a fish than possibly 100 LB of rock/coral.

 

[Daltrey]

Only if I was purchasing a larger tank with it.

Walks into lfs

Me
"I would like to buy that cute lil blue hippo tang please"

LFS owner
"That's a great choice"

Me
"Plus I would like to buy that 300 gallon 8 foot tank for when it outgrows my 10 gallon tank next week"

LFS owner
"Another great choice"

 

[Tiger-Paws]

Please explain what is Ethics outside of what is Legal and Illegal?

 

[4FordFamily]

I’ve done it many times but I either rehomed to larger tanks or moved the fish to one of my larger tanks.

Some fish grow too fast and stress too much making this pretty unethical, however. So “it depends”

 

[DSC reef]

I’ve done it many times but I either rehomed to larger tanks or moved the fish to one of my larger tanks.

Some fish grow too fast and stress too much making this pretty unethical, however. So “it depends”

Same here and I agree.

 

[Ghxst]

I received a pair of clowns that were tiny and kept in a very small breeding tank, maybe a few gallons from the breeder. Once they got into my tank they seemed to grow well enough for a few years but not too much. They never got large and always had beyond normal aggression issues. 6 years in they died months apart while all my other fish of the same age were and still are fine. I can only think that the small tank had something to do with thier dwarfing and early death. I wouldn’t chance it.

 

[ReefingwithO]

I don't mind getting fish that are too small that I eventually re-home. I've done it a couple of times. I live in Brooklyn, NY where there is no shortage of reefers willing to take a healthy fish that has been living in another tank for a while.

I have a 75 gallon tank, In the last 18 months I've re-homed a purple tang, yellow tang and a tomini tang. I also have a LFS thats willing to give me decent credit for certain fish.