Ethics in fishkeeping
- Thread starter pepe
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Personally i would rather keep native caught fish(mainly american native fish). You do not support fish bred from fish farms that may mistreat animals.
To be fair, it isn't entirely stubborn fishkeepers' fault. At the root of the problem are the importers and fish farmers. If more and more people began to be more responsible and not buy Aros, RTC, Pacu etc, due to unsuitable tanks, there would be someone else to buy them. The ugly side of the hobby we see is mostly the fault of the people who make them available for purchase. Any idiot can walk into a fish store and buy a Pacu. This industry is already established and I don't see much anyone can do to regulate it. Look at animal abuse, they give light sentences for only the most severe abuse. The fish industry brings in money and no one wants to mess with that. How can you possibly police and punish people? It would require lots of manpower and money.
I just wanted to throw this out there. But the point I got from the OP what so many have missed was that it does not matter the size of tank you have, simply what you choose to stock it with. It isn't a battle of who has the biggest tank and the holier than thou attitude. The OP said he couldn't believe how many people own Aros and RTC that have small tanks for them. These people know the size these fish get but no one is gonna tell them they can't have an RTC. And guess what happens? Those fish get dumped on others when they can not care for them any longer. I guess some people are better planners and more responsible, which is why they would rather avoid this type of stocking. But like I say the root of the problem is the fish farmers and importers. This process will be never ending as long as they are available for irresponsible people to get their hands on them.
I just wanted to throw this out there. But the point I got from the OP what so many have missed was that it does not matter the size of tank you have, simply what you choose to stock it with. It isn't a battle of who has the biggest tank and the holier than thou attitude. The OP said he couldn't believe how many people own Aros and RTC that have small tanks for them. These people know the size these fish get but no one is gonna tell them they can't have an RTC. And guess what happens? Those fish get dumped on others when they can not care for them any longer. I guess some people are better planners and more responsible, which is why they would rather avoid this type of stocking. But like I say the root of the problem is the fish farmers and importers. This process will be never ending as long as they are available for irresponsible people to get their hands on them.
I feel like this is only passing the blame. The industry is there to make money and if monsters bring money, then breed them/catch them. Its supply and demand. The supply of monsters does not create the unethical situations. There are people who can properly care for the fish, so I believe the fish should be available. The fact that they are so common does not mean the suppliers are dumping excess fish into the market. They are making money and supply so many of those fish because so many people make the wrong choices when stocking. I dont see many people who own pimas, even on this site and I for one have never seen one for sale in a pet store. There are many people that do own rtc and pacu, and they are in many if not most lfs. Dont blame the industry, blame the consumers who keep the demand high by making poor choices
It is both the consumer and the industries fault. Where do the large fish go when people can't care for them? People keep buying them they keep importing/exporting them. But if they weren't there no one would buy them and then no one would have to take care of fish that irresponsible keepers dump. But this is beside the point of this thread. You are one of the people contributing to this thread going off topic. This thread is about people who know better but still put large fish in tanks that aren't suitable for life. And I know some of you guys are gonna throw that "fishkeeping as whole is selfish so you are selfish too!" Like many have said, fish keeping is a reality and an established industry so that can't be changed. But what can be changed is more responsible fish keepers. Seriously you guys with overstocked tanks can you provide for these fish for life on your own? Can they live comfortable in their tanks for life (10,20,30 years)? Are you not going to get bored or simply don't want the responsibility anymore? These are questions people have to ask themselves, but many do not, and then someone has to take care of dumped animals. It is always the responsible cleaning up the mess of the irresponsible. This is what this thread is all about.
Shenanigans, another analogy is people having children. Should people keep having children even if they can't take care of them properly? What happens to those children? Why do you think some people don't have kids or only 1 child? Should idiots be allowed to have 4,5,6 children and the govt or other people be responsible to raise them? It is the same damn thing, except, ahhhh these are just stupid fish who cares about fish. This also leads to fish being released into the wild. And how is a fish farmer or importer/exporter not at fault either? Lets say there was an agency out there promoting people to have tons of children with no finances or housing to raise them. But like I said these are just stupid fish. I really wish there were laws out there that gave prison sentences to idiots who do this with both animals and children.
To be fair, you brought that point into the thread. If we had more responsible keepers than the fish wouldnt be imported to this extent. they are there to make money, not to police the hobby and make sure the fish they sent out only go to responsible homes. I apologize if ive gone off topic in trying to explain my opinion on how it is our hobby that must be responsible and take responsibility for our actions. Stay on topic and dont introduce off topic themes
Importers are not simply promoting for us to buy all species, we choose which ones to keep buying and they supply them. I dont think irresponsible parents should have children but we cant force them not to just like we cant stop bad hobbyists from buying fish they cant house. Now I think this is getting way off topic and a far stretch of an anology. Now lets talk about fish keeping ethics
Fish and humans are two different things. You eat fish not humans. So is live feeding goldfish/shinners inhumane to your fish? They suffer by first being dumped into an aquarium without acclamation. Then swallowed spit out and then swallowed again while alive.
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