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Ever sell/rehome fish you have had for a long time?

I am in the process of selling some pond size goldfish that I have had for 5-10 years(or so). Don't really have the space for them anymore and really need the room to spread out my koi. So I made the difficult decision to sell some of them. I am going to keep a 250G tank for some that are like part of the furniture, but the rest must go. I think i have scared off a couple of potential buyers by grilling them with questions about their setups and asking for water samples. At any rate I am picky about where my fish go, I want them to survive.

Steve

Tough choices and I can empathize; you are not the only one on this forum to have strong endearment to your fish. Asking for setups and water samples is similar to seeing that "your puppies go to a good home" and maybe that is the best way to weed out potential owners who just aren't up to keeping koi. So I get it

I had several instances that I gave away my rare livebearers that were getting too big and too numerous. I just asked that the new owner pay for shipping and that they keep good care of the fish, since they were endangered. Sadly, I later found out that most owners keep them for a few months and then pass them on, most likely without the same care and commitment. I don't know else to rehome except with the knowledge that I did my best to ensure their care.

I ca understand you on that one Steve although when I was getting new homes for some of my Betta Babies I looked for the best homes I could then hoped for the best. My one consolation was that they have relatively short lives 1 to 4 years 6 yrs if extremely lucky. I did have a few that made 3-4 years old.

It's not so bad with run of the mill orange goldfish, some of my person Koi would be a totally different story. If for some reason I had to sell Tigger, that would be like selling one of my kids. We have had a large number of pets over the years and it's always tough when one of them dies. That's one of the great things about Koi, they live forever.

I had a wealthy pond owner come by a couple of years ago to purchase a couple of higher end Koi. These were $500 each and she didn't even blink an eye. I had these fish for a couple of years, but unfortunately the following week she came back and said one had died. She was more then willing to plank down another $500 for a replacement but I was very cautious about that and have been ever since.

Steve

Some people have more money than brains it seems like. Those are the ones you wish you had added another digit higher in the price on your fish.

I know, I am late chiming in, but - although it would be very hard for me to rehome my babies...if I had to rehome...I would grill, drill, hammer away at potential caregivers to ensure they get the care they deserve! Anyone who knows and loves fish would be content to answer these types of questions - that is how you know they are suitable caregivers!

Interesting thread. When I moved my gold Medakas into their winter home in the basement, I found that I had a number of very small ones that had been spawned while the adults had been in the pond for the summer. A neighbour had often commented that she liked them, and she has a medium-sized tank in her home that has always seemed to be healthy and well-taken-care-of, so I gladly gave her a half-dozen of the small ones. These were not "fry" but they were only about 1/2 - 5\8 inch in size, and very healthy and active.

Too active, apparently. When next I saw her and asked her about them, she blithely informed me that they had been too "hyper" for her taste, so she had given them to her daughter. I don't know the daughter and have no idea of her ability to keep those, or any, fish. Frankly, at this point I am just a little too steamed to even ask about them.