You mean the truth? Sorry, like to offer that from time to time.
I never encourage people to keep animals in an area smaller than they would need in the wild. And for the record, I don't agree with a lot of the fish tanks that people keep them in.
I agree with the "larger in captivity" for a lot of species of various animals. Fish isn't one of them. I spend a LOT of time with fish in the wild and in captivity to make sure we are doing the best we can when we have them in our care.
You have failed to understand me, this is not about which of us is right or wrong.
It is absolutely the truth, you are correct about that. However, your assertion that it is somehow to noble to confine an animal to an artificial environment with no chance of fulfilling it's biological imperatives, yet grow to adult size, is wrong. Stunting a fishes growth is "wrong". Preventing it from breeding is "wrong". In fact, captivity of any organism for our own selffish amusement is "wrong" if you are concerned with what's best for the animal.
Your spacious public aquarium tanks are still prisons, not matter how lavish they seem. You are encouraging the captivity of
Arapaima gigas in public aquariums, yet have the animals completed their life cycle and bred? If not, then they are not being given the space ( or chemistry, privacy, etc) that they "need". You have failed to do what is "best" for the animal.
This is not a personal attack Zoodiver, I apologize if it seems that way, but we as aquarists must understand the moral complexity of keeping captive yet undomesticated wild animals. We do this for our own personal education and amusement. Even a public aquarium keeps animals for the pleasure of the public. Yes, captive breeding programs for certain species exist, but the focus of the
displays is just that, display.
Propogation is the sole purpose of all living organisms, it supercedes all other considerations, including life. Many species die in the act, or even the attempt, of breeding. If your animals are not breeding, then you are not providing what they need. This is what seperates captive from domestic animals.
We all compromise the life/health/behaviour of our fish to fit into our own lives, it is the inescapable truth of the aquarium hobby.
