Tropical Fish Aquariums & Equip Marine Fish & Marine Inverts Cichlids Malawi Tanganyikan Cichlids
Wanted Discus Goldfish, Koi & Ponds Retailers & Services ALL ADS By County
|
Viewed: 535 -- Replies: 47 | ||||||||
PM | All Topics | General | Cichlids | Marine | Coldwater | Tanks/Equipment | Diseases | Members | |||||||||
| Posted | colchester zoo |
| 09-12-2007 16:16 by tracyanne |
i visited the zoo yesterday with my children and i went in to the aquaria bit and i was disapointed with the marine bit there was too tanks i took some pictures but i was expecting something a bit better than what i saw .but i was surprised at the pacus they had in one of there tanks there must of been 20 in a large tank there was a catfish in there to i feel that for a zoo that was unfair keeping these 2ft + fish in a tank that looked cramped see what u think i found it cruel |
| 09-12-2007 16:27 by tracyanne |
marines
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:28 by tracyanne |
2
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:28 by tracyanne |
3
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:28 by tracyanne |
4
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:29 by tracyanne |
one tank with coral
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:30 by tracyanne |
pacus
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:30 by tracyanne |
2
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:31 by tracyanne |
2
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:32 by tracyanne |
large catfish looked like a redtail but with no colour about 2ft plus
 |
| 09-12-2007 16:33 by tracyanne |
in the marine tank with 20 regal tangs and various clowns and 3 morish idols |
| 09-12-2007 18:00 by tracyanne |
so no one has an opinion then 28 views no comment come on  |
| 09-12-2007 20:11 by dave the wath |
The average single specimen aparently needs 100 gallons, on that figure the tank looks overcrowded. Is there any info on size of tanks in the aquaria? |
| 09-12-2007 20:35 by keith t |
Judging by the pics i can see why you were dissapointed. You would expect a zoo in this day and age to put up a more of a stunning enviroment and top living conditions than what they have achieved.
Ive seen loads of pics on here alone of much superior looking marine tanks. You should of introduced them to the likes of Wayne or Ed to name a few to show them how to do it.  |
| 09-12-2007 20:52 by tracyanne |
na there wernt nothing up at size but it only looked about 12 feet long 5 feet deep it wasnt wide than 24inch it was horribe to see fish in that condition  |
| 09-12-2007 20:56 by tracyanne |
yep totally agree with u keith but the catfish was in a state bits of tail missing .its a shame maybe something should be done |
| 09-12-2007 20:57 by tracyanne |
yep totally agree with u keith but the catfish was in a state bits of tail missing .its a shame maybe something should be done |
| 09-12-2007 20:58 by tracyanne |
oops sorry it came up twice |
| 09-12-2007 21:20 by big cats |
are you sure it was only two feet from front to back very large aquariums are often way bigger than they look and may be part of a huge cetralised sytem we only see a part of, three foot red tails(it is a red tail and only the second black one i have seen ,may come with age?)are very difficult to keep show worthy .
,they age and look ragged but that said you may be right ,did you bring it up with staff? cos i think i would have if i was as concerned as you obviously are , they do appear to have fallen foul of the dreaded pacu syndrome (most public aquaria are over run with them |
| 09-12-2007 21:23 by big cats |
have had another look at your pics and am going to drop an email to the zoo asking for confirmation of the size of this aquarium and the size of the red tail |
| 09-12-2007 21:54 by tank busters |
ive seen em and tank is about 3ft wide but is filled with rocks,bout 2 yr ago they had small arros in that tank but obviously none survived,its obviouse they r not too worried about there aquatics as they r the rest of the zoo. |
| 10-12-2007 15:10 by Jessica |
I do agree the tank size for a zoo is discusting.
Nipped fins? It happens, its NOT an indication of mistreated fish, fish take chunks out of eachother, however the look of the size of that tank is. Though it may be worth thinking this is zoo is trying its best to help people AND fish who are guilty of overcrowding. Do they have any upgrade plans?? Fish hobby is largely to blame, sorry but I would rather see them in this condition than in some teenager five foot tank. Sure I'm going to get flamed for this, but it's my opinion and won't be changing. Pacus have absolutely no place in captivity. For that matter, neither do red tailed cats, various arrowanas etc. But yes, I would expect better from a zoo. |
| 10-12-2007 16:54 by Bogwoodbruce |
Thats not a RTC looks moe like a channel cat. |
| 10-12-2007 17:01 by Natalie |
It has been brought to our attention that there is concern about the ‘Red Tail’ catfish that you saw here at Colchester Zoo recently. It is not actually a Red Tail Catfish but a Colombian Shark Cat (Exonematichthys Seemanni) and the aquarium that it lives in is actually 7metres long, 2 metres high and 1 metre 10 wide. This particular fish came to the collection by donation from a private collector who unfortunately could no longer provide a home for it. We took the Colombian Shark Cat in as a young animal as the only other option was euthanasia. We have tried continuously to re-locate the fish to another collection, whether it be to another zoo or aquarium but no-one has had the facilities or desire to take it on. The Shark Cat has always lived very happily with 9 –not 20! – Pacu. Until recently they have lived very happily together in a more than adequate aquarium, but unfortunately about 10 days ago one of the Pacu started to attack the shark cat. We are moving the Colombian Shark Cat to a smaller aquarium in an off show area but there have been no incidents up until more recent events. We have witnessed further aggression between the shark cat and this Pacu today and this has led us into making a final decision to remove the fish to an off-exhibit aquarium.
The aquaria in the Aquatic house are of an excellent quality and a good size, with advanced filtration systems ensuring a very high level of water quality. However, the Aquatic house is an area that is due for re-generation and will be re-built during the winter of 2008. There are obviously a great deal of day to day running costs with a zoo as large as Colchester Zoo (around £20,000 a day!) and each area and project that we take on costs a great deal of money to build or improve. Please also bear in mind that we receive no external funding. Therefore we have to prioritise and change things as required. Furthermore Colchester Zoo is recognised as being one of the finest Zoos in Europe due to a constant programme of development and recently received a glowing report from its annual zoo inspection which is carried out in all zoological institutions to ensure that the level of animal welfare is kept to a high standard, in which the report stated that Colchester Zoo is made up of most impressive enclosures that are at the forefront of modern Zoo design. |
| 10-12-2007 17:03 by |
It has been brought to our attention that there is concern about the ‘Red Tail’ catfish that you saw here at Colchester Zoo recently. It is not actually a Red Tail Catfish but a Colombian Shark Cat (Exonematichthys Seemanni) and the aquarium that it lives in is actually 7metres long, 2 metres high and 1 metre 10 wide. This particular fish came to the collection by donation from a private collector who unfortunately could no longer provide a home for it. We took the Colombian Shark Cat in as a young animal as the only other option was euthanasia. We have tried continuously to re-locate the fish to another collection, whether it be to another zoo or aquarium but no-one has had the facilities or desire to take it on. The Shark Cat has always lived very happily with 9 –not 20! – Pacu. Until recently they have lived very happily together in a more than adequate aquarium, but unfortunately about 10 days ago one of the Pacu started to attack the shark cat. We are moving the Colombian Shark Cat to a smaller aquarium in an off show area but there have been no incidents up until more recent events. We have witnessed further aggression between the shark cat and this Pacu today and this has led us into making a final decision to remove the fish to an off-exhibit aquarium.
The aquaria in the Aquatic house are of an excellent quality and a good size, with advanced filtration systems ensuring a very high level of water quality. However, the Aquatic house is an area that is due for re-generation and will be re-built during the winter of 2008. There are obviously a great deal of day to day running costs with a zoo as large as Colchester Zoo (around £20,000 a day!) and each area and project that we take on costs a great deal of money to build or improve. Please also bear in mind that we receive no external funding. Therefore we have to prioritise and change things as required. Furthermore Colchester Zoo is recognised as being one of the finest Zoos in Europe due to a constant programme of development and recently received a glowing report from its annual zoo inspection which is carried out in all zoological institutions to ensure that the level of animal welfare is kept to a high standard, in which the report stated that Colchester Zoo is made up of most impressive enclosures that are at the forefront of modern Zoo design.  |
| 10-12-2007 17:06 by |
It has been brought to our attention that there is concern about the ‘Red Tail’ catfish that you saw here at Colchester Zoo recently. It is not actually a Red Tail Catfish but a Colombian Shark Cat (Exonematichthys Seemanni) and the aquarium that it lives in is actually 7metres long, 2 metres high and 1 metre 10 wide. This particular fish came to the collection by donation from a private collector who unfortunately could no longer provide a home for it. We took the Colombian Shark Cat in as a young animal as the only other option was euthanasia. We have tried continuously to re-locate the fish to another collection, whether it be to another zoo or aquarium but no-one has had the facilities or desire to take it on. The Shark Cat has always lived very happily with 9 –not 20! – Pacu. Until recently they have lived very happily together in a more than adequate aquarium, but unfortunately about 10 days ago one of the Pacu started to attack the shark cat. We are moving the Colombian Shark Cat to a smaller aquarium in an off show area but there have been no incidents up until more recent events. We have witnessed further aggression between the shark cat and this Pacu today and this has led us into making a final decision to remove the fish to an off-exhibit aquarium.
The aquaria in the Aquatic house are of an excellent quality and a good size, with advanced filtration systems ensuring a very high level of water quality. However, the Aquatic house is an area that is due for re-generation and will be re-built during the winter of 2008. There are obviously a great deal of day to day running costs with a zoo as large as Colchester Zoo (around £20,000 a day!) and each area and project that we take on costs a great deal of money to build or improve. Please also bear in mind that we receive no external funding. Therefore we have to prioritise and change things as required. Furthermore Colchester Zoo is recognised as being one of the finest Zoos in Europe due to a constant programme of development and recently received a glowing report from its annual zoo inspection which is carried out in all zoological institutions to ensure that the level of animal welfare is kept to a high standard, in which the report stated that Colchester Zoo is made up of most impressive enclosures that are at the forefront of modern Zoo design. |
| 10-12-2007 17:17 by Jake Casson |
Thought it looked like a shark cat, head/ mouth to big for channel bruce. See, there is a explaination for everything.
Pacu's are good eating, I remember seeing that huge-fernly-wittinstall bloke eating one that got too big for someones tank. Great idea |
| 10-12-2007 17:27 by big cats |
i was just about to post the reply i got from colchester zoo and it appears they have posted a copy and strangely jake i agree with you pacu are good eating and there is usually an answer or reason for things |
| 10-12-2007 18:07 by Jake Casson |
Thank you, see I do talk sense sometimes. |
| 10-12-2007 18:08 by tracyanne |
the fish were still in bad conditionand there health i dont care what anyone says fish that big shouldnt be kept together in small conditions |
| 10-12-2007 18:12 by tracyanne |
if there in the process of sorting out the aquatic part of the zoo,wouldnt it be better to close this attraction off until it is done and everything is back up to scratch,rather than seeing fish in a poor way. |
| 10-12-2007 18:17 by tracyanne |
its ok them saying they have good filtration but thats no substitute for a large aquaruim. |
| 10-12-2007 18:20 by tracyanne |
that tank dont look 7 meters long,as that would make it 21foot,it dont look 21 ft to me does it too anyone else. |
| 10-12-2007 23:19 by WAYNE |
id still say it was a better attraction than your tropical pond how big was that and what fish did you have in it????? |
| 11-12-2007 08:30 by tracyanne |
as usaul wayne we r not on about thepond but the zoo |
| 11-12-2007 08:46 by tracyanne |
by the way u what u got a fish bowl now and were on about real fish keepers on here not pratts who wanna be . u have to keep having ya little dig dont ya you are just pathetic . like your big london aquarium |
| 11-12-2007 14:23 by big cats |
i just got a nice clear pic of the catfish, i have to be honest he looks as if he has ample room to turn and i had a red tailed cat that was more badly damaged than that after one arguement with a tigershovelnose that lasted less than thirty seconds, sometimes as fishkeepers we cannot plan for everything |
| 11-12-2007 16:22 by tracyanne |
if ya say so if u look into the picture of the pacus then there cramped u can see by the baking of rocks theres not enough room . i know u cant plan but why dont they move fish its commom sense |
| 11-12-2007 17:05 by Jake Casson |
Looks fine to me, my tank is worst |
| 11-12-2007 17:11 by tracyanne |
everyone has there own opinion |
| 12-12-2007 15:09 by Jessica |
Echooo ooo ooo.
I don't think the tank is big enough for the pacus AT ALL. I agree on that part. Any money issues don't wash with me; don't have enough money, don't keep the fish, simple as. Be better to euthanize the fish. However, IF they are upgrading, and just generally trying to help the public out, then I don't see why not. Tracyanne it doesn't matter if your on about the tank and not your pond, you have no right to talk IF you are more guilty than them of overcrowding (zoo or not). However, I don't know your situation with fish, I am simply commenting on the reply you issued hence the big IF, before I get flamed. About the reply from Natalie, Yes, we are commenting on the tank size, not how much filteration you have, so why not address the question asked rather than something totally different. |
| 12-12-2007 15:11 by Jessica |
And tracey theres no need for the name calling at all on a public forum. Wayne was stating his opinion, which he is more than right to, just because he's not agreeing with you no need to get neurotic and call some one a pratt about it. |
| 12-12-2007 15:46 by Alan |
Considering a pacu is capable of eating brazil nuts and an adult could crush a finger quite easily I don't think that catfish looks to bad in fact from the pictures I can actually see no injuries.
I have seen a catfish before that was biten by a large pacu it had a huge chunk missing out of its back which never grew back. If you read the reply carefully it sounds as though the cat and the pacu were in the same tank, "It is not actually a Red Tail Catfish but a Colombian Shark Cat (Exonematichthys Seemanni) and the aquarium that it lives in is actually 7metres long, 2 metres high and 1 metre 10 wide." "The Shark Cat has always lived very happily with 9 –not 20! – Pacu. Until recently they have lived very happily together in a more than adequate aquarium, but unfortunately about 10 days ago one of the Pacu started to attack the shark cat." I pressume when you saw the shark cat it was in the same tank as the pacu Size wise the tank is: 7 metres long or 273" or 22.8 feet so lets say 22 foot long by 2 metres high or 78" or 6.5 feet high by 1.1 metres wide or 42.9" or 3.5 foot wide ish That give total imp gallons of 22 x 6.5 x 3.5 x 6.25 3,128 gallons roughly. Following the rough guide of 1" to a gallon this tank could house 3,128" of fish. Say each pacu is 2 foot that is 9 x 24 = 216" plus the silver cat can't recall the size of it so say 4 foot to be on the safe side so 48". Add that all up you get 264" of fish in that tank. Now it would be better if the tank was wider but the volume of water is more than adequate for all of these fish and following the rule mentioned above of 100 gallons per pacu you could in theory now the shark cat has been rehoused keep 130 Pacu in there clearly the 100 gallon rule is poo! I better rule is the 6 times rule basically the tank needs to be 6 times longer than the fish and 3 times wider than the fish is long. By this rule the tank is to small however the volume of water is more than adequate for these fish to be kept in good clean water. I would also argue that whilst the width isn't ideal it equally is not less than the length of anyone fish so therefore I do not think the zoos pacu tank is cruel by any means. I do agree the tanks don't look great but to me that is irrelevant my concern is how the fish appear the pacu from what I can see through the blur look healthy. The big cat is clearly a long term resident an achievement in itself for some!!! It also appears healthy despite the torn fins you mention but as someone else has said this is again common on large fish. Yes the marine tanks look a little grubby but clearly the water quality must be pretty good if there were 3 moorish idols in there and the number of tangs clearly demonstrates the fact that quarantine and water quality are more than adequate at such a high stocking density. Sorry to ramble but I can't stand it when people jump to conclusions about set ups on the basis of first impressions things need to be looked at more closely you need to look for signs of stress in the fish overall set up dimensions and volume! As well as those species stocked and the health of more sensitive specimens. From what I can see of the pictures I would conclude the aquarium as grossly out of date and in need of modernisation but not in anyway cruel, all fish appear to be in very good health. |
| 12-12-2007 22:55 by Linda Chenapa |
I have actualy been there. Yes it is a bit gruby but not as bad as some fish shope that I have been into.Ditto to a lot of what Alan said. Did you complain while you were there Tracey? I find that if you complain while others are about, it has more affect than moaning about it afterwards. On several occasions I have spoken very loudly to shop keepers about the state of their fish/tanks. I usualy wait until there are other customers in the shop and then start! At this point, Nigel normaly tries to hide!
|
| 15-12-2007 16:59 by tracyanne |
well thanks for all ya input but stop the wise cracks thou . wayne was having a pop at tankbusters pond so i had a go back as no ones takes the mickey out of my family . just a quick note some ppl on here think they know more about fish than some but everyone is learning no ones perfect |
| 18-12-2007 10:56 by Alan |
I've been keeping fish for over 25 years I can certainly vouch for the fact you never stop learning in this hobby its one of the main reasons I never get bored of it. |
| 19-12-2007 10:17 by Jessica |
tracy who here thinks they know it all?
Wow. You started a thread about Colchester Zoo, where did 'know it alls' come into this... Neurotic  |
| 19-12-2007 20:41 by tracyanne |
 |
 |
|
NEW REPLIES ARE NOW CLOSED ON THIS FORUM
We invite you to join the NEW Aquarist Classifieds Fishkeeping Forum HERE
Your contributions to this forum are greatly appreciated.
This forum will be retained in archive status for reference.
Adverts
Previous
Fish Biz
Sitemap
Links
All
Sponsor
Clubs
Webmaster
Our Sponsors
ShopAds
Visits
Enquire About Banners
| ||||
