Are we really treating our fish right?

gutted

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2012
1,019
4
68
I watched the documentary Blackfish awhile back and if you haven't seen it give it a watch. Basically its about how SeaWorld keeps their orcas in toxic living conditions. It got me thinking about how well we treat our fish.

I've seen a breeder who keeps his pairs of German blue rams in a 5 gal tank for life. There's a guy who breeds red terrors in what looks like a 29/30 gal. There are FH breeders who breed large FHs in divided 55/40. That's only 24”/18" of living space. These are breeders who always have tons of fry for sale on a regular basis.

Yes their water may be pristine, they eat the best food but what quality of life do those fish have? Their living quarters reminds me of puppy mills or even in the olden days when tigers an other large animals were kept in cages not much larger than themselves. All they do is pace back and forth.

Which brings me to bare bottom / no decorations in a tank. I'm sure fish need some kind of "enrichment" in their life. Which is why tigers, lions, bears, etc have toys, have to look for their food or some other kind of activity. Something to keep the mind going. It's fairly common to hear of people who have wet pets, fish that live solo in a tank, which are personable and usually aggressive (glass bangers). I wonder if this is a product of living in solitary confinement with nothing to interact with.

I'm not trying to attack anyones way of fish keeping but rather just have an educated discussion about the subject.


Sent from my SGH-T999 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

skjl47

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 16, 2011
4,397
3,777
179
Tennessee
Hello; This topic, (are fish better or worse off in tanks compared to the wild?), has been bandied about on the forum. There are at least two basic points of view. One is that in nature fish generally have huge amounts of space to live in, while in a tank they can be in too small an enclosure.

The other side is that the fish in a tank may live longer, never go hungry, never face predation and such.

I grant that fish feel distress from physical causes like parasites, ammonia burn, sudden water parameter changes and such. I am not convinced they have phobias about their living spaces. This may be our imposing our way of feeling onto other non human beings (anthrophormorphism? -my spelling)

I fall on the side of fish in tanks with good water and care are well off enough not to worry about modest space. To be clear, I am not in favor of dense stocking in aquariums. Fish in a smallish tank is a different issue than too many fish in any sized tank.
 

Jag586

Piranha
MFK Member
May 28, 2012
1,234
36
81
st clair shores
You can make this argument with any pet birds locked in a cage dogs small back yard blah blah blah it all comes down to the care given yes there are guys who keep fish x in a 20 gallon then there's those of us that keep that same fish in a 100

I know I keep care of my fish the best I can with good food, lots of wc etc...


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

ballinouttacntrol

Polypterus
MFK Member
Aug 20, 2009
4,731
139
96
Eugene, Or
I watched the documentary Blackfish awhile back and if you haven't seen it give it a watch. Basically its about how SeaWorld keeps their orcas in ****ty living conditions. It got me thinking about how well we treat our fish.

I've seen a breeder who keeps his pairs of German blue rams in a 5 gal tank for life. There's a guy who breeds red terrors in what looks like a 29/30 gal. There are FH breeders who breed large FHs in divided 55/40. That's only 24”/18" of living space. These are breeders who always have tons of fry for sale on a regular basis.

Yes their water may be pristine, they eat the best food but what quality of life do those fish have? Their living quarters reminds me of puppy mills or even in the olden days when tigers an other large animals were kept in cages not much larger than themselves. All they do is pace back and forth.

Which brings me to bare bottom / no decorations in a tank. I'm sure fish need some kind of "enrichment" in their life. Which is why tigers, lions, bears, etc have toys, have to look for their food or some other kind of activity. Something to keep the mind going. It's fairly common to hear of people who have wet pets, fish that live solo in a tank, which are personable and usually aggressive (glass bangers). I wonder if this is a product of living in solitary confinement with nothing to interact with.

I'm not trying to attack anyones way of fish keeping but rather just have an educated discussion about the subject.


Sent from my SGH-T999 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Shall we expect a going outta hobby sale soon?


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2014
1,375
58
66
Wisconsin
I dunno I take care of mine. Good food, lots of water changes, reasonable stock levels. I spend lots of money on this hobby.

My only "exception" is my Oscar in a 75, I'm planning an upgrade to a 6ft tank, but the fish was a rescue and I have provided him better care and living conditions than the fish has had its entire life. I want to provide a larger home for my oscar, but I still know mine has a better home than 99% of captive oscars.

The whole thing is a moot point really. Fish live in thousands if not millions of gallons of water in the wild. So yeah you know putting one in a hundred gallon glass box is different. If you keep fish you have to understand and be ok with this.

I used to keep natives. I looked at the bodies of water they came from. Hot summers, winters so cold some lakes froze out, competition for food, predators, fishermen, pollution, and I realized mine didn't have it so bad.







Sent from my SCH-R950 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

spiff44

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Dec 20, 2007
924
68
561
Midwest
You forgot about visual stimulus. Some of my fish seem to like watching movies with me and watch when I game. They're always looking over my shoulder...


Of course if you watch any reality crap that's on TV.. that might corrupt their little minds.
 

wild bill

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 4, 2010
1,386
182
66
three hills,ab. canada
sites.google.com
I'll say it again we are being brain washed by the groups who don't want animals owned. The human mind is very easy to persuade stop watching these programs and enjoy the hobby. If we don't we will lose this hobby and the bunny hugger's will win.
 

gutted

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2012
1,019
4
68
I think you guys are misunderstanding my point.


I'll say it again we are being brain washed by the groups who don't want animals owned. The human mind is very easy to persuade stop watching these programs and enjoy the hobby. If we don't we will lose this hobby and the bunny hugger's will win.
Lol really?


What about the millions of Sardines and Smelt caught for bait fish, Each and every one of those fish have feelings too. Are you concerned about them or only fish kept in fish tanks
Food vs pets. 2 totally different things buddy.


Sent from my SGH-T999 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store