What should i do now?

[neibotlai]

i understand that people have issues with how salt water is handled by stores and collectors, and they should be. i guess i have fallen prey to that...i thought i was looking into things and researching then i listened to the guy in the store and bam i got a panther grouper...ok so i can either take him back and let them adopt him (i loose out completely, its been almost 2 weeks) or i can give this fish a life....if i choose the later then i will need some advise as to something that can live with him...as it sits, i can up grade my 90/100 gal saltwater(somewhere in that range) to a 150(or there abouts) that my fresh water fish are in .. but right now the panther is only about 3'' so im not too worried about that....yet.
i like the humu i like the foxface..we wanted to get a puffer but two really really big fish may be pushing it, or am i wrong, would a puffer be a good choice?
my understanding now is that the panther i have will not mess with plants or corals...is this true? what do others do who get "dupped" into the grouper?
honestly i am a little pissed, the guy at the store knew damn well how i was talking about stocking, and how long i had been waiting to buy fish for financial reasons, why would he sell me a fish that would eat everything...oh well i now know, not to trust the advice of a "professional". im not really into going in and saying something. is it worth questioning the only decent fish store around? i think yes and no...i dont like confrontation, and knowing when someone is told they gave bad advice.. well i picture drama...
i knew he would go after inverts like the crabs, but to be full out aggressive thats more than i was lead to believe. not to mention this fish is gonna get big upwards of 15'' on average with in home setups..so i hear. i have large fresh water fisgh that are aggressive, but i didnt spend all this money buying them rock and sand to destroy. i want this salt to look nice...
should i just eat that darn thing and start again?

 

[aquaknight]

Are the humu and foxface the only tankmates? What sized tank is everyone in now? If the plan is upgrading to a 90gal... I only mention because foxfaces are pretty active and not really cut for tanks that much smaller then a 90gal...
It sounds like you do like the panther though. It wouldn't get 15" overnight, though keeping him will make it harder down the line to get rid of him. Eventually you keep saying to yourself, a bit more time, a bit more time, then boom, you see a tankmate in his mouth...
You mention "full out aggressive," is that meaning he's being aggressive towards the other fish you have, or just mean that he's a predator and will eat other things? They are plant and coral safe.

 

[unleashed]

well the grouper will eat anything he can fit into his mouth.. so i don't recommend damsels lol.. he will grow fast but like others say not over night.. you will have time to enjoy him in the present tank..then you can decide to upgrade or sell him at a later point.. I don't think anyone in this hobby hasnt been talked into something we shouldnt have tried to keep at one time or another by the lfs.. so don't beat yourself up to hard about it.. this really is an impulse buying type of hobby no matter how hard we try to research beforehand .. if you like the fish now then i say keep him.. hell you already bought him might as well enjoy him

 

[rcreations]

If I understand right, the grouper is the only fish in the tank right now? If that's true, don't panic. It won't outgrow the tank overnight. You can enjoy the fish for quite some time, then you can opt to sell it to another person in your area or upgrade the tank. As to what other fish to buy... anything that the grouper can't eat. A humu and a foxface would be ok, as long as they are bigger than the grouper. In other words they don't fit in its mouth.

 

[neibotlai]

right on everyone i can appreciate all that. i do like him, just dont want to be limited completely. impulse buying ....ahhh the joys
i "had" a three stripe, though he has gone missing, noway the panther ate him, but stressed, that's a maybe. i never saw any fights, thats an assumption. i have a 5'' goby , im really not too worried about him, he has lots of places to hide, about 60 or 70 lbs of LR and 3'' of LS all in the 90 gal.
other than that nothing else swimming.
im thinking i want the foxface and some trigger...maybe a small eel of some sort. we are looking for color, and not having to go 400gals.
what of corals and strange growing things?

 

[erifish3]

I have a 9 inch panther grouper in a 100g and he's doing fine. Doesn't mess with hermits, starfish, or anything for that matter. He's in there with a p. puffer half his size and a 2 inch damsel with no problems.

 

[neibotlai]

right on, thats what i like to hear. does he still have the brilliant spots? cause im also reading that they get "ugly" as they age. though ugly is in the eye of the beholder

 

[it's chuck]

The thing I don't like outside of them getting huge is their head stop growing about halfway through and their body keeps growing

 

[aquaknight]

Here is a large, probably over 2 feet, adult.

 

[neibotlai]

ZOINKS!!!!! thats huge!!WOW....well at least he is still pretty...i can see why they call em hump back groupers for sure, thanks for sharing that...man thats just wild...