an interesting view on "painted" fish

i went to an aquatics store today i had not yet been to, and like almost all i have seen, they carried painted fish.

So, i spoke up about my disappointment with this and they guy said to me

"while i agree that painting fish is wrong, I am glad I can at least give them a good home for a while, and hopefully place them in a good home. These fish will die if we don't stock them in a warehouse under far less happy conditions. Besides, if it opens the eyes of someone to the hobby in which they will broaden their horizons and look to more naturally beautiful fish, then we did our job. the costumers love them, and if we don't sell them, either they will die in a warehouse completely uncared for or soemone else will sell them. We don't condone it, but we are a business."

I guess in a way he is right. And I can see his point. I am glad they do not morally agree at least, but do try to give the best life for these fish they can.

[JohnPaul]

Actually, I disagree quite strongly. The problem with that argument is that, it is BECAUSE of the fact that pet stores buy painted glassfish (and, in turn, consumers buy them) that there is a market for them in the first place.

If pet stores refused to buy them, then the people who do the "painting" would stop doing the painting, and there would be no issue of fish sitting in warehouses waiting to die.

It's kinda like saying, "Personally I'm against using pesticides on fresh fruit, but since all this pesticide-laden fruit is sitting here in the grocery store in front of me, I might as well buy it or else it will just go to waste." Or, to draw the analogy closer to the pet-store owner, if you (theoretically) owned your own small grocery store, you can't very well say, "I'm morally opposed to spraying fruits with pesticides," while at the same time stocking all of your shelves with pesticide-laden fruit. You end up just sounding like a hypocrite (because, of course, that is exactly what you would be).

Same thing with a pet store that, on one hand, says they are against the practice of "painting" these fish, while all the while buying & selling them, and thus continuing to reinforce the practice.

You can't have it both ways. If you are against the practice, demonstrate it by the actions you take and the decisions you make. Otherwise, all the words coming out of your mouth are nothing but a bunch of B.S.

[SCFatz]

Peanut...JP nailed it with his last paragraph imo.

The person you spoke with might very well believe the position...but it does not make the position any more valid.

i know that people feel strongly about this issue. and i am sorry for poening a can of worms.personally, i would never buy a painted fish. I think it is henious.

[fish_4_all]

Well, I see it this way. I won't buy them because I think they are ugly and unnatural. Do I think it unethical, yes. Is it wrong, yes. Is a shop selling them to stay in business because if they don't their customer base will go where they can find them wrong, only if you think they shoudn't be in business. Did the person I voted for to become Governor win because they were the right choice, no. The other one won because they were democrat. Before anyone comments, I do not vote by party and have nothing against any party!

By the way, I hate the fact that massive amounts of manufactured and unnatural pesticides are on the fruit I buy and I wish I could buy organic fruit and vegetables. Actually I can, except my family would get them once or twice a month and have to settle for grazing for their vegetable because I can't afford to buy them. I want to buy extra lean ground beef to feed my family that was naturally grown on the farm without steroids, but my family would eat meat 5 days a month.

I also think that all aquatic fish in the market now should be captive bred and not taken from their natural haibitat but I would have some really empty tanks if that were true.

Ethically you will say I am a hypocrit. The fact is someone will do it and getting the world to quit buying it because we think it is unethical is a little harder than we sometimes think otherwise PETA would have us eating grass and soy for every meal.

Oh and don't think that I am just one that sits back and takes it because my State and Federal Representatives and senators and govorner know my email very well. They may not decide with me but they do listen. I guess you could say I am part of the problem because I email them so much to try and get things changed that they don't have time to do it. After all, if our elected officials have to spend all their time listening to us little folks wine about what we want they aren't going to get much done are they?

Hypocrit?!?!?!?!? You decide. After all, the fact we think it is unethical, and I will bet there are alot here that don't think so is just that, an opinion. Get proof and submit it to congress and I am sure some elected official will use it as a leverage point and pass a bill making it illegal. Until then, I say keep voicing your opinion, I know I will.

Sorry, no more ranting for me this month. I think I used up my quota in this post.

im not real familiar with the painted fish thing. how do you know if a fish has been painted? does petsmart sell them? thats where i usualy buy fish at. but if i walk up to the lfs tanks and see a colorful fish, does that mean it has been painted? will it say on the lable that "this is a painted fish". i need educated a tad bit.

[Alshain]

Petsmart does not sell them, neither does Petco, and believe it or not neither does Wal-Mart. usually only local stores do. My petland sells them, I don't buy them. In the case of Petland, they actually have a line that says "Color will fade" below the pricetag which make it easy.

In most cases painted fish are glass tetras or skirt tetras with unusual colors. Just don't buy fish that look un-naturally colored. There are a few that look unnatural however but are natural. Some glowlight tetras are hot pink for example.

Here is a good article on painted fish.
http://www.firsttankguide.net/painted.php

[DonnBallenger]

wal-mart does sell painted fish, at least around here.

personally, i would never buy one, but i guess so long as there is a demand for them they'll keep on selling them. you can't educate everyone and you can't expect everyone to subscribe to the same ideas as yourself.

the best we can hope to do is educate people about the hobby and let them make their own decisions. i've been frequenting a local fish shop and had gotten some great advice and good deals from them. however, yesterday when i went to browse for some new tank decorations two college kids were in there buying a whole setup to decorate their dorm. the guy who was selling the stuff let them leave there with two 10 gallon tanks with all the trim and two bags that contained 3 red belly pacus and 4 irridescent sharks.....i almost hit the roof. i asked the guy why in he** he would allow people to stock an uncycled tank with fish and secondly how he could sell them fish that would so obviously quickly outgrow the tiny tanks. his reply: this ain't the college. if they wanted an education about how to care for fish they'd be on that website you're always talking about. i'm just here to make money.

[Burks]

Originally Posted by Alshain

Petsmart does not sell them, neither does Petco, and believe it or not neither does Wal-Mart. usually only local stores do. My petland sells them, I don't buy them.

Wal-Mart most certainly does!

So does Petland and Pets Supplies Plus. They sell other varities, not just the painted glassfish.

[Alshain]

Well, I've never seen them at my Wal-Mart. But then again, I don't really buy fish at Wal-Mart.