Why are these being sold????

[BirdieBoo]

I agree the tone has a lot to do with it, it is annoying to see someone ignore advice and then want to get bailed out and I understand why people would be irritated but genuine newcomers should be treated differently. And ego is an issue at times but that's the case everywhere, especially the Internet.
I don't like bans, here in australia more and more things get banned everyday we call it "the nanny state" it's generally because 1fool does something stupid and the govt decides the rest of us need to be protected.
As for our crazy fish laws, as @RD said we have lots of invasive species, not just fish causing problems and diseases affecting crops and farming so there is a reason for strict bio security but on the aquarium side it's just too inconsistent to make sense eg. Koi carp are illegal in my state but common goldfish aren't. I can drive 3 hours to another state and fill my car with koi and sell them for triple what I payed because they are now the forbidden fruit and everyone wants what they can't have,

Off topic but what state banned Koi?

 

[BIG-G]

Off topic but what state banned Koi?

I’m not aware of koi being out right banned. But I could be wrong I just haven’t read or heard of a ban.
Their are regulations being introduced and put into effect that require a permitting process in some locations.
This is not a federal thing it’s a state and local government thing.
So it pays to check before you just build a pond depending on you local ordinances.

 

[CarpCharacin]

Off topic but what state banned Koi?

There are some states that have banned common carp, which are the same species as Koi, but most of the bans exclude ornamental Koi.

 

[RD.]

With a location of Sydney listed, I suspect that BirdieBoo is enquiring about the state in AU, where the ban is supposedly in place.

 

[Ogertron3000]

Off topic but what state banned Koi?

They are banned here in victoria, I go to albury for work every few months and see they are available there so you should be o.k in NSW.
You can still get them on the black market here in various backyard aquarium shops though but they are expensive due to the legal situation.

 

[islandguy11]

Not to resurrect a dead horse or anything, but came across this new story today. Absurd as it may sound many Thais release fish into temple ponds to make merit and improve their karma -- they don't think even for a moment about the possible ecological consequences...and this dunce released an Arapaima, which local officials are hunting for now...

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/...azonian-predator-fish-freed-by-karma-seekers/

 

[Ogertron3000]

Not to resurrect a dead horse or anything, but came across this new story today. Absurd as it may sound many Thais release fish into temple ponds to make merit and improve their karma -- they don't think even for a moment about the possible ecological consequences...and this dunce released an Arapaima, which local officials are hunting for now...

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/...azonian-predator-fish-freed-by-karma-seekers/

Reports of the horses death have been greatly exaggerated!

That's a strange fish to release, are they common there?
You should try to track it down and catch it for yourself and then post about it in this thread, starting the whole debate off again and the horse will live forever!

 

[BIG-G]

With a location of Sydney listed, I suspect that BirdieBoo is enquiring about the state in AU, where the ban is supposedly in place.

Ahh yes. I forget sometimes that MFK is international. My bad

 

[BirdieBoo]

They are banned here in victoria, I go to albury for work every few months and see they are available there so you should be o.k in NSW.
You can still get them on the black market here in various backyard aquarium shops though but they are expensive due to the legal situation.

No way!?! Ugh our gov get it so wrong sometimes. I was just wondering coz they are sold so openly here in NSW. It’s always a couple of drongos who act like galahs and end up setting off a bunch of new crazy laws.
Time to start a Koi farm

As for the dead horse... I feel it’s the responsibility of the seller to educate the potential customer. Any decent IFS should advise you on suitability, diet, requirements and size etc.
Of course in the end it’s totally down to the customer to do the right thing and walk away from a fish they can’t provide a quality life for.

 

[islandguy11]

Reports of the horses death have been greatly exaggerated!

That's a strange fish to release, are they common there?
You should try to track it down and catch it for yourself and then post about it in this thread, starting the whole debate off again and the horse will live forever!

No I they're not common at all; I suppose you could find/get them from Chatuchak aquarium market in Bangkok if you really wanted to but I've personally never seen them on sale there. But that place is pretty far from where I live, sounds like a challenge for that River Monsters guy lol.