R.I.P Sturgeon

[benzjamin13]

Nothing wrong with resucueing a fish. Grmanrocks had the intentions of providing this fish a better life than some idiot who would've looked at the sign that said "Sturgeon" and say, "Cool! I can grow it out and sell it's cavier and be rich!" And you know there are plenty of idiots like that out in the world! Yeah...if he did buy it, then prehaps the store would've gotten more. But, if the sales are slow, then they probably won't order anymore. We have tattooed fish, dyed fish, and altered fish out there because there is a market for them. Whether we like it or not, they're going to be around for a good long while because new aquarists don't know better and think that those are awesome fish. They don't know what those fish endured until they get more experience in the hobby. This is the same for Sturgeons. They aren't incredibly expensive, they look cool, and the possiblity of having such a monsterous fish will tempt people.

Everyone has a valid point, but I think that someone with the right intentions shouldn't be hammered espcially since he know what he was getting into. Unlike PETA, who would steal a dog form someone's yard and leave it in the woods thinking that they just saved a poor animal.

 

[ksiaquatics]

i took a step back and read this post several times in order...... and this came to mind......

the major arguments for me doing the right thing came down to:

1. i had the intention of prolonging the fish's life
2. i would have been able to keep the fish for a while beofre it outgrew my facilitys (not long enuff to be considered long term)
3. i was in the process of finding the fish a home (i had 2 possible cantidates that do indeed have the facitliys to house such a fish)


the major arguments against me were:

1. He bought the fish knowing it would die
2. He didn't have the room for the fish in the first place
3. Unless this fish went to a state run aquarium it was doomed for release or a long and slow death
4. Giving money to LFS for this fish only lines the pockets of the very people that will then sell another sturgeon to a different pet shop sine the first one sold
5. Any release of non native sturgeon would impact native sturgeon in peril


i will now proceed to rip apart the agrument that was "agianst" me rescuing the fish.....

1. i did not buy the fish knowing it would die, i bought the fish indenting to make it live, i, unlike some, was able to accept that the death of the fish was a distinct possiblity, i was not 100 precent sure the fish would die. and my mentality was that if i had nething to do with it the fish would not die (it didnt work out that way)
2. i did and do have room for the fish, i have an empty 20gall robbermaid, a empty 40 gal and an empty 125 that are all waiting to be stocked, at a momnets notice any of those tanks would be filled and filtered, waitng for the fish
3. once again not true..... the fish was not doomed for relase or death, i had 2 cantidates ready to have the fish shipped to them to be kept in their more than adequate facilitys (sterlets only get 2 feet long, honestly its not that hard to keep a 2 foot fish)
4. the shop has and will have no intention to order any more sturgeon, as i previeously stated the fish was a specieal ored that was not picked up, and the store knows me very well as a connesuier of oddballs, in fact the first thing they told me when i walked into the store is that they got peruvian flounder, freshwater stonefish, pbass, and a few sturgeon left, i then questioned them about the sturgeon to determine the situation, these people are not stupid, and i resopect them, they knew what the fish was and what it needed...
5. why would the fish ever be released, i dont recall ever mentioning an intention to realese the fish, and im with u on that 1 , a fish should never be relaese d into the wild, (unless its a private pond/lake and you have consent of the owner and fish and game to do so).

if any of those arguments had proven to be relevent, thebn yes i would have done the "wrong" and "irresponsible" thing, but they wernt and therefore, i did infact do the right thing

my point being that no i couldnt house the fish for life, and no, they shouldnt be in the aquarium trade, but i did no one but me any harm by purchasing and trying to raise the fish.....

no this board doesnt promote of buying fish you cant house, but i do venture to believe that this board does promote bieng an active citizen, by whatever way we can

my final question is this, isnt providing the best enviroments, largest tanks, and overall best accomodartions for our fish being a true ]v[ONSTER FISHKEEPER?
if so then i think that that implies taking action when a fish is in bad conditions, and atemping to rectify those condidions

]v[FK FOREVER!!!

I suppose I should have read the work up to this before commenting. If I came across as harsh, I apologize. This is what I saw in the first post of this thread and this is what really upset me:

"i knew he was gonna die when i bought him but i thought id try and give him a new lease on life, i tried my best.......................
ive never been this struk my a loss before, especially one i knew i was gonna loose........."

I hope that I didnt give the impression that I want to see any animal suffer or die. I was reacting to what appeared on its face to be an irrational and inappropriate purchase and attempt at rehabilitation. I now understand what you did, and though I certainly stick to my opinions in regards to this fish being in the hobby at all, I can at least understand why you did what you did.

 

[cichlid savage]

I think you had good intentions trying to rescue a suffering fish. As I understand it you were going to nurse it back to health and search for a proper home. Kudos to you for trying to do the right thing. How many times have we seen Jags RD's or arro in 55 gal tanks and the owners thinking they are fine. Do what YOUR concious leads you to do and forget about the opinions of others.

 

[ammerman19]

ggod job trying to save the fish. Sorry it didn't work out

 

[teleost]

i took a step back and read this post several times in order...... and this came to mind......

the major arguments for me doing the right thing came down to:

1. i had the intention of prolonging the fish's life
2. i would have been able to keep the fish for a while beofre it outgrew my facilitys (not long enuff to be considered long term)
3. i was in the process of finding the fish a home (i had 2 possible cantidates that do indeed have the facitliys to house such a fish)


the major arguments against me were:

1. He bought the fish knowing it would die
2. He didn't have the room for the fish in the first place
3. Unless this fish went to a state run aquarium it was doomed for release or a long and slow death
4. Giving money to LFS for this fish only lines the pockets of the very people that will then sell another sturgeon to a different pet shop sine the first one sold
5. Any release of non native sturgeon would impact native sturgeon in peril


i will now proceed to rip apart the agrument that was "agianst" me rescuing the fish.....

1. i did not buy the fish knowing it would die, i bought the fish indenting to make it live, i, unlike some, was able to accept that the death of the fish was a distinct possiblity, i was not 100 precent sure the fish would die. and my mentality was that if i had nething to do with it the fish would not die (it didnt work out that way)
2. i did and do have room for the fish, i have an empty 20gall robbermaid, a empty 40 gal and an empty 125 that are all waiting to be stocked, at a momnets notice any of those tanks would be filled and filtered, waitng for the fish
3. once again not true..... the fish was not doomed for relase or death, i had 2 cantidates ready to have the fish shipped to them to be kept in their more than adequate facilitys (sterlets only get 2 feet long, honestly its not that hard to keep a 2 foot fish)
4. the shop has and will have no intention to order any more sturgeon, as i previeously stated the fish was a specieal ored that was not picked up, and the store knows me very well as a connesuier of oddballs, in fact the first thing they told me when i walked into the store is that they got peruvian flounder, freshwater stonefish, pbass, and a few sturgeon left, i then questioned them about the sturgeon to determine the situation, these people are not stupid, and i resopect them, they knew what the fish was and what it needed...
5. why would the fish ever be released, i dont recall ever mentioning an intention to realese the fish, and im with u on that 1 , a fish should never be relaese d into the wild, (unless its a private pond/lake and you have consent of the owner and fish and game to do so).

if any of those arguments had proven to be relevent, thebn yes i would have done the "wrong" and "irresponsible" thing, but they wernt and therefore, i did infact do the right thing

my point being that no i couldnt house the fish for life, and no, they shouldnt be in the aquarium trade, but i did no one but me any harm by purchasing and trying to raise the fish.....

no this board doesnt promote of buying fish you cant house, but i do venture to believe that this board does promote bieng an active citizen, by whatever way we can

my final question is this, isnt providing the best enviroments, largest tanks, and overall best accomodartions for our fish being a true ]v[ONSTER FISHKEEPER?
if so then i think that that implies taking action when a fish is in bad conditions, and atemping to rectify those condidions

]v[FK FOREVER!!!

Nothing personal but you said in the very first post:

i knew he was gonna die when i bought him but i thought id try and give him a new lease on life, i tried my best.......................
ive never been this struk my a loss before, especially one i knew i was gonna loose.........

You just happen to have 180 gallons of cycled tanks ready for the sturgeon to grow? I must have you all wrong, I'm sorry for speaking so harshly. I never thought any message of mine would be taken so personally. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

I must stand by my guns on the failure to understand the importance of not buying fish that should not be housed in aquariums. I don't care what size tank you have, Sturgeon have long known to be in trouble throughout the world and equally difficult for even public aquariums to keep. When you buy a fish (even a sick fish you feel must be rescued) like this, it only pushes the money back up the people that sell them for a living. I'm not sure how you know the pet shop owner will never purchase another sturgeon unless you own the shop. What changed his mind in the past week? I'd be willing to bet I could buy a dozen from him in the next month if I put a deposit down.

Again nothing personal but this IS a forum where open ideas are discussed. Sure I'm upset the sturgeon is dead (one less in the wild now) but I'm even more upset the fish was purchased in the first place.