Punching Holes In Fins To Reduce Aggression?

[RD.]

No doubt that Don has collected & imported some quality fish over the years, but that doesn't give him a free ride when it comes to responsible fish keeping. I would like to think that someone of his stature in the cichlid hobby would act a little more responsible than sharing "secrets" of how to keep fish in what is IMO an irresponsible manner. Again, this is just MHO but I saw his comments as nothing more than a way to promote his fish to hobbyists that clearly have no business keeping them.

As previously mentioned in this discussion, if some shmuck started a thread on MFK sharing his hole punching "secret" to keeping large aggro CA species in a 100 gallon tank he would have gotten burned at the stake, IMO the fact that it was Don Conkel makes it even worse. A wet behind the ears idjit who doesn't know what the hell he's doing is one thing, but people in the industry such as Don should if anything be held to a much higher standard than the average hobbyist. A big fail on this one, Don.

 

[mshill90]

Just FYI, if you keep a lot of cichlids, I'd bet there's a conkel fish somewhere in their blood line in at least one of your fish. Do you need more fish for your random hybrid "projects" BTW?

All of my cichlids, minus 2 have come from Rapps.. so I highly doubt there is Conkel fish in there.. The 2 that aren't from Rapps... A Jag from Petsmart, and a FH from Taiwan.

And I never said I wouldn't own a fish that came from him.. I said I would never buy a fish from him.. I would never support him at all. If I buy a fish from a hobbyist, and it happens to be from Conkel, I'm still not supporting him.

Stop being a jerk to me really.. it's getting old, and rather pathetic.

Everyone else put their input on this thread, yet you're getting on my case. Knock it off. I'm tired of it.

 

[BadFishPa]

If anyone else tried or even suggested this, it would be considered sick, ignorant, rude and god knows what else. Funny how it suddenly seems "interesting" for some just because it comes from "don conkel" lol
Just another sick act done to an animal for the greed of making more profits..On top of this the guy is abrasive to talk to,clearly he has enough money now not to care about new customers..Maby if people stop buying from him awile and hit him in his deep pockets he will become more sensative to how he treats others..There plenty of great fish breeders who still care about there fish and customers...

 

[baldtaxguy]

Just another sick act done to an animal for the greed of making more profits

What others?

 

[chefjamesscott]

so would this equate to the same as electric nail gun and a dude wife beater ????

Really if you have to do body modification you need to get a bigger tank with a divider in it!

 

[Gruff Master]

If anyone else tried or even suggested this, it would be considered sick, ignorant, rude and god knows what else. Funny how it suddenly seems "interesting" for some just because it comes from "don conkel" lol
Just another sick act done to an animal for the greed of making more profits..On top of this the guy is abrasive to talk to,clearly he has enough money now not to care about new customers..Maby if people stop buying from him awile and hit him in his deep pockets he will become more sensative to how he treats others..There plenty of great fish breeders who still care about there fish and customers...

Did you just copy and paste Cacichlids original comment?

It's interesting in the sense that the largest breeder of CA cichlids in the world (that I'm aware of) is talking about it. Its precisely who is saying it that makes it interesting, and leads to a general discussion of the topic and the behind the scenes practices fish go through before they arrive in our tanks (from all suppliers and breeders, not just conkel). I think lots of topics are interesting I don't necessarily agree with or would do at home.

I agree. I doubt that this practice would ever be attempted by most of us. The fact that someone with Conkel's experience and knowledge would do or suggest such a thing makes it interesting and surprising. It doesn't mean that those "interested" agree with him or would actually do it. I can understand his theory without necessarily wanting to try it, which I won't. I admit that I completely lost the statement that this was intended for breeding Dovii in 100 gal tanks. I don't think any fish should be forced to live and breed in inadequate housing. I'm quite sure that there are many hidden practices in this hobby and pet trade that many of us would find shocking, appalling, and even interesting. The only thing that we can do is to keep our fish the best way that we possibly can without incorporating the practices that offend or upset us.

 

[balton777]

He was probably caring just like us when he originally got into the hobby, but somewhere along the line fish stopped being living breathing pets and became a commodity.

 

[aclockworkorange]

All of my cichlids, minus 2 have come from Rapps.. so I highly doubt there is Conkel fish in there.. The 2 that aren't from Rapps... A Jag from Petsmart, and a FH from Taiwan.

And I never said I wouldn't own a fish that came from him.. I said I would never buy a fish from him.. I would never support him at all. If I buy a fish from a hobbyist, and it happens to be from Conkel, I'm still not supporting him.

Stop being a jerk to me really.. it's getting old, and rather pathetic.

Everyone else put their input on this thread, yet you're getting on my case. Knock it off. I'm tired of it.

LOL, if you don't want me to reply to you, don't post on MY thread.

Great points made by (almost) everyone. When I found the video, I knew that it made me go through a range of emotions and thoughts on the subject. Glad I shared it with MFK, obviously it had the same effect on you all.

 

[aclockworkorange]

He was probably caring just like us when he originally got into the hobby, but somewhere along the line fish stopped being living breathing pets and became a commodity.

This is precisely one of the reasons I stopped working in the industry on the retail/wholesale side. Everyone I met who had been in the business 10-20+ years at one time absolutely loved fish, but now for most it had just become about money and they don't even enjoy the hobby anymore.

 

[bluetuna]

All about the money, when it comes to breeding.

But here is my question: Would this change your opinion of buying fish from a person who practiced such things?

good point ,