Golden trevally/"Pilot fish" (Gnathanodon speciosus)

[WheatToast]

Every once in a while, I come across juvenile golden trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus) (often erroneously referred to as pilot fish, which refers to Naucrates ductor) being offered by LFS's and online aquarium stores and I am forced to wonder, "what is a fish that grows to 47 inches long doing in the home aquarium trade?!"
I am curious to know what your experiences have been with these fish (if any) and what people do with them once they become too large (Do they get rehomed? Sent to the public aquarium? Euthanized? Released into the wild carrying nonnative pathogens? What happens when they outgrow even the largest of hobbyist tanks? Why do I have so many questions?). It is just too disturbing for me to not think about all the time, considering how these fish are so popular that they are being captive-bred for the hobby.

Juveniles:

Adults:

 

[Slocke]

Manning the beginner stocking thread I met a person who wanted a true schooling fish and would not be talked out. He had a big tank at around 300 gallons but obviously nowhere near big enough for even one let alone a school. I think his plan was to grow them for a while and then eat them when they got too big. Then repeat…

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Would be cool to keep a group of these in a 20' round pond or something. Throw in an emperor snapper, a couple groupers, and maybe a blacktip, and you have the coolest home aquarium setup in town.

 

[kevgib67]

They are a very attractive fish as juveniles but agreed, should not be in market for sale.

 

[WheatToast]

Would be cool to keep a group of these in a 20' round pond or something. Throw in an emperor snapper, a couple groupers, and maybe a blacktip, and you have the coolest home aquarium setup in town.

@dkegflorida has "the coolest home aquarium setup in town."
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-22-400-outdoor-shark-tank-and-tide-pool.948474/

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

I think his plan was to grow them for a while and then eat them when they got too big. Then repeat…

I think this is an entirely valid strategy. Don't think trevallies are too expensive, but then again I haven't seen them in an lfs for a few months now.