Fish stock list

[FireUnderwater]

You came to a forum asking for advice from more experienced reefers and you got it. I'm sorry if concerns over animal welfare on a forum dedicated to the betterment of the hobby didn't align with your expectations.

As for why the Tang police "come out of the woodwork", it is because we are among those more experienced reefers.

At the end of the day it is everyone's job in this hobby to advocate for the specimens in our charge. You're going to do what you want to do, regardless; but I want you to know that you are only serving to contribute to that "cruel" image.

Best of luck to you on your reefing journey.

Was just browsing, and I will say if someone is genuinely concerned about animal welfare then you shouldn’t be involved in this hobby unless you’re an exclusive captive-bred reefer. Roughly 10% of fish die before making it to the US, and another 30-60% (depending on coast) die within a few days of arriving at your LFS.
Relatively speaking, this is a cruel hobby. There’s no sugar coating it. We all participate in essentially a vanity project because we like some aspect of it. Whether it’s pretty colors on fish and corals or running a science experiment.

 

[Fish Styx]

Was just browsing, and I will say if someone is genuinely concerned about animal welfare then you shouldn’t be involved in this hobby unless you’re an exclusive captive-bred reefer. Roughly 10% of fish die before making it to the US, and another 30-60% (depending on coast) die within a few days of arriving at your LFS.
Relatively speaking, this is a cruel hobby. There’s no sugar coating it. We all participate in essentially a vanity project because we like some aspect of it. Whether it’s pretty colors on fish and corals or running a science experiment.

Ahh, so since you're gonna do it anyway, you might as well go all in, right? I'm gonna go out for a steak tonight, but instead of ensuring that the animal is killed humanely, I'll put in a special request ahead of time to ensure that it is slowly bludgeoned to death with a steel pipe.

 

[FireUnderwater]

I'm respectfully going to agree with Fish Styx on this one. Never been a fan of buying fish that will eventually outgrow a tank. If you are going to get fish for a tank, it should be fish that, at their maximum size, will still be ok in your tank. Maybe that isn't the best logic to have, but I have seen too many people who will get a baby fish of X species and say, "Oh, I will upgrade the tank or just give the fish away," then never do that action. Resulting in the fish being in a tank that is too small or in a poor environment.

I see that frequently. A lot of people who do have the “upgrade the tank or give the fish away” plan never actually do or never actually set up a plan to do so. I have an Achilles, Blue, Purple, and Tomini and multiple other “eventually large” fish in my 135. (However, I’m also prepping my house for my upgrade to a 310 total gallon system). But I also have multiple back-out plans for every single fish in my system. From my clowns/gramma/fire fish to my Bonded Blue Throats and the Achilles.

If you’re getting fish that will outgrow whatever tank size you have, and you don’t have atleast 3 different options for what to do whenever they do, then it’s time to full stop.

 

[FireUnderwater]

Ahh, so since you're gonna do it anyway, you might as well go all in, right? I'm gonna go out for a steak tonight, but instead of ensuring that the animal is killed humanely, I'll put in a special request ahead of time to ensure that it is slowly bludgeoned to death with a steel pipe.

I’m not saying disregard all common sense for animal husbandry. But a 2-5” Blue Tang is just fine in a 5 foot tank which realistically is around a 2 year time frame for most people, potentially even longer based on other stocking/feeding schedule/flow. As you said, people are going to do whatever they want to do. Everyone wants a “Dory”, it’s been one of the main draws to the hobby since Finding Nemo was released.

I’ve only actually seen the “Tang Police” effect have success maybe a small handful of times. 99% of the time, the warnings just get blown off. A better solution, that would have an actual impact would be to offer methods they could use to have a Blue Tang or whatever XYZ fish they want. Make sure they have LFS that are more than happy to take whatever fish they want and/or have the capacity to take XYZ fish. Make sure they have an established network of local reefers that would also be willing to rehome large specimens. Make sure they have a game plan for an upgrade or two if they want to keep the fish for its full lifecycle.

That will have a much bigger impact on them as it puts into the scope of “Hey you “CAN” do this, but be prepared for a large amount of work in the future to make this possible.”