TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) – After Disney-Pixars’ Finding Nemo, the sale of clownfish increased dramatically.
Inland Aquatics General Manager Ian Russell says that clownfish are much easier to care for than the Hepatus tang…aka “Dory”.
“Sales went up a lot, but the thing with clowns [clownfish], is they’re really is easy to keep,” said Russell. “If someone’s first setting up a marine or saltwater tank, that would be one of the fish I recommend.”
Russell says he hasn’t seen a spike in Hepatus tang sales since the theatrical release of Disney-Pixars’ Finding Dory. Which is all the better given the time it takes to condition the fish before it can be considered for sale, which Russell does for up to a month. Raising a tang is not for beginners, and managers at Inland Aquatics have no problem telling people to buy something else.
“We’re the first people that will tell you, you need to think of something else,” explained Russell. “Start out with this set-up, with this fish as opposed to just jumping right into something like a tang. Which is prone to getting different diseases if it’s not acclimated correctly or the set-up is not correct.”
The Hepatus tang is not easily bred in captivity if at all. Russell says that Inland Aquatic tangs are responsibly collected from the wild in an effort to maintain the population.
Another summer blockbuster also has the fish shop managers concerned.
“Over the past week, we’ve had five or six phone calls and they’re all the same,” said Russell. “‘Do you carry turtles?’ No we don’t. ‘Where can i get four turtles?’. So at that point you know it points to Ninja Turtles right away.”
Russell urges beginner fish owners to start with freshwater fish like betas and tetras rather than sensitive species.