Is chivalry dead?

[bikhu]

Hi All,

So my question is this... Should one rescue fish in distress at a local fish store? I know that Brew has an incredible fish that he rescued at a LFS but I also know that he went through a tremendous amount of work to do so. At the LFS here there are 3 4-5 inch cobalts that were beautiful when they arrived. Great color, blood red eyes , very very round but now are nearly entirely peppered. Can hardly tell they are the same fish and they are very timid. What would make this happen and is there anything that could be done to rescue them?
Or... being that I am such a newbie is it best to just let them be and hope someone with more knowledge, time and money arrive at the scene?

Thaks for the input..
Peter

[Carol_Roberts]

Leave them there - let them be. You can't rescue every sick discus or every puppy at the pound. Why make them your problem and risk bringing a disease home to your other fish?

It's not a lack of caring on your part, rather it is good common sense.

Carol :heart1:

[brewmaster15]

I agree with Carol! :)

-al

[bikhu]

Thanks for repkying so quickly and definitively. I will surely follow your advice. What would cause this to happen do you suppose?

[BlueTurquoise]

Hi Peter, it's me again!

Well to answer that question you have to understand how the aquarium business works from their point of view. I'm not saying this happens in every LFS as I have seen genuine LFS that do a fantastic job with their fish. Most of them are themselves enthusiasts and are int he game for the hobby more than the business. Sadly, too often do I see LFS that just don't care, ignorant of the situation or just plain don't have time to care.

Please don't think that this i the situation that your LFS is at but...

They move fish in and out all the time, and young, inexperienced workers are hired for $x per hour to serve customers and work the till. Many times (sadly) these guys aren't interested at all in the hobby, are just very inexpereinced or the LFS is just too busy to take care of each individual fish or fish species. To many it is just a job and the fish are of little consequence which is ironic as that "is" their main business. Any Tom, Dick or Harry off the street can probably look after a guppie or two, goldfish can practically live in toxic waste water, and many other tropicals are very easy to take care of. Discus on the other hand are slightly different from the norm and require specific needs. And it is these needs that are not being looked after that cuases them to catch diseases and eventually become a poor quality fish.

Firstly to be healthy and strong Discus need several feedings a day of very nutricious food, Many other fish survive on pelleted food once a day or less. What happens is that's exactly the routine that the discus are subjected to, either becuase of lack of knowledge or whatever.

Then there is the tank mates problem. Many discus are put in with other tank mates and I highly doubt that any of these fish ever recieve any sort of quarantine at all when they first arrive. What happens is then the discus (and all the tank mates for that matter) start to pass on their diseases and parrasites to eachother. Simply the LFS's standpoint is that these fish are probably not going to stay in their tanks for that long (ie sold off in the next ew weeks) so sadly, they just don't care, or just have too little time to care. Even if they do care, they still would not look after one particular fish out of 20 that is not looking so well.

So as you can see ther are many reasons why discus can become poor quality and very ill in LFS's. It's not their fualt or anyones fault but just a lack of high level TLC that only a hobbyist or enthusiast can give to them.

Hope I have not offended anyone... but that is the truth.
Chong

[redlines]

To answer your question. YES

IMO it is not worth the risk nor do I have space for anything less than near perfect.

The Discus Hobby is expensive enough to risk contaminating my fish with those from a LFS is unthinkable, at least not without extensive QT and I do not have the time or space for it.

The Discus Hobby is expensive enough so why not just get the BEST fish that you can since the real cost is the ROOM & BOARD!

In short do not rescue fish from the LFS unless you find something EXCEPTIONAL & in GREAT HEALTH for a GREAT PRICE.

Andy

Peter, You said the fish were cobalts??? Then you say they were peppered up????? I am confused as only the pigeonblood is referred to as being peppered and cobalt are not pigeons.

I agree with the others. No reason to take chances with sick fish. Oftentimes , medications can mount up to more than the value of the fish---but the reason not to do it is the possibility of spreading disease. Joe :'(

[allan_mark76]

Leave them there...what would you rather risk:
A. the LFS Discus health
or
B. the possability of the LFS Discus killing off all your preexisting Discus.

LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE.

a-