Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
If a fish is I dollar or 50 dollars, should we compromise a fishes life because of the price, Question.... does "Money" rule your fish tank........
Life Is a Life
- Thread starter Ricky 1
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
dragon14
Aquarium Advice Addict
I don't think so.
I'm confused exactly what you mean though. Your wording is a little confusing.
I'm confused exactly what you mean though. Your wording is a little confusing.
mrvincent
Aquarium Advice Addict
He means would you feel more bad about cruely killing a cheap fish or a less cheap one...
Personally, I prefer my clownfish, they cost around 25$ each. But I feel sad also when I get a 2-3$ tropical fish die.
Personally, I prefer my clownfish, they cost around 25$ each. But I feel sad also when I get a 2-3$ tropical fish die.
Last edited by a moderator:
Honestly, I treat fish more like livestock than pets. I generally don't form emotional bonds with them or give them names. I do, however, believe that it is my responsibility to give them the best life I can. That being said, I do not differentiate between them based on cost.
I would be curious how the "A life is a life" concept would hold up to feeding smaller fish to larger fish.
I would be curious how the "A life is a life" concept would hold up to feeding smaller fish to larger fish.
Last edited by a moderator:
PNWaquarist
Aquarium Advice Addict
If you don't mind my asking, why do you have them then? People raise livestock for food or money, while pets are for personal enjoyment. Unless you're breeding fish for profit, I'm not sure how they could be more like livestock to you.
A broad description would be that I enjoy watching them and their behavior. I also enjoy other aspects of the hobby.
Perhaps "livestock" is not the exact right term but it is definitely closer than "pet".
OP
OP
Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Sorry dragon14, I use the English language.........lol
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
This thread just consumed the longest post of my life.. grrr.. I'm with dalto though. Ornamental? Nah... I've found the more colorful, behaviorally complex and.. cool! fish tend to cost a little more monies. I like the fact that each tank has a different dynamic, it's like changing channels on the dusty tv. I feel all the same putting down a $5 or $30 fish.. they brought me happiness, entertained me. Heck.. i bought a $75 pleco, dude looks awesome but all he does is chill in his cave, i see him sometimes .. mainly when an algae wafer conveniently falls right in front of the entrance.. i suppose I could eliminate the cave all together and I'd see him all the time! That'd be cruel though.. I'll take it as a treat to catch a glimpse when I can
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
OP
OP
Ricky 1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I would go as far as to say, I wouldn't do a fish in cycle with a Discus or an Angel but perhaps a guppy but why, a guppy is a life and deserves the best treatment.....does it??
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm pretty much on the side of 'life is created equal', I'd say. Once I have a fish, I'm going to do my best to give it a decent life. Whether it cost me a buck or ten doesn't matter. There's no question it hurts the pocket book if a more expensive fish dies, and replacing it might be harder, but the emotional side of it is pretty much the same, no matter what fish it is.
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
I would do a fish in cycle with whatever fish I wanted to keep, since I don't hurt fish when doing fish in.
The life is a life argument is kinda hard to really hold. We feed fish to our fish. That life was used for food. We eradicate parasites and diseases on our fish, but those forms of life can be quite complex in their own right.
If we treat all fish equally how does anyone walk by a feeder tank with thousands of goldfish, some dead or dying, and then in good conscience buy fish from that store?
Sent from Peabody's rabbit hole.
The life is a life argument is kinda hard to really hold. We feed fish to our fish. That life was used for food. We eradicate parasites and diseases on our fish, but those forms of life can be quite complex in their own right.
If we treat all fish equally how does anyone walk by a feeder tank with thousands of goldfish, some dead or dying, and then in good conscience buy fish from that store?
Sent from Peabody's rabbit hole.
dragon14
Aquarium Advice Addict
dragon14
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd never cruelly kill a fish.
As for a less expensive one dying vs a cheaper one, both scenarios make me sad. The more expensive fish obviously is a bigger financial loss, but, no matter how much the fish cost or not, it saddens me. A life is lost either way.
I cried like he** when we lost our male betta. We were so attached to him. I miss him a lot.
I love our female betta and I really like the catfish, but we haven't allowed ourselves to get too attached. It's harder to get attached to some fish when you have multiple ones of the same kind, but when they die, I am still sad. A life was lost. A life I was doing my very best to care for.
If our female betta died I'd be pretty sad. We both really like her and she's got a friendly personality
As for a less expensive one dying vs a cheaper one, both scenarios make me sad. The more expensive fish obviously is a bigger financial loss, but, no matter how much the fish cost or not, it saddens me. A life is lost either way.
I cried like he** when we lost our male betta. We were so attached to him. I miss him a lot.
I love our female betta and I really like the catfish, but we haven't allowed ourselves to get too attached. It's harder to get attached to some fish when you have multiple ones of the same kind, but when they die, I am still sad. A life was lost. A life I was doing my very best to care for.
If our female betta died I'd be pretty sad. We both really like her and she's got a friendly personality
guppielover
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2014
- Messages
- 51
I personally treat my 3-5 dollar fish as same as the expensive ones because i believe that theyre living creatures so i feel the same way when any of my fish dies
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
dragon14
Aquarium Advice Addict
trennamw
Aquarium Advice Addict
I used to take it very very hard when I lost a fish. The first time I had a sick but not dead betta I called all over the city till I found a bet that treated fish. He told me I needed to euthanize it. I couldn't do it. So I put my $2 betta in a yogurt cup and took him to the vet, whom I paid $11 to euthanize the fish for me.
Several bettas later I feel badly about how little I knew, the first 10 or so I've had in the past 15 years.
Still. I don't think of them like family, I don't call myself a pet parent. Closer to live stock like Dalto said. It's a life I took responsibility for, and I should do my best.
I would do a fish in cycle now that I understand it, but only with fish that can deal and very very slowly with lots of water changes so the levels aren't toxic. I wouldn't do fish in with a fish I didn't intend to keep.
An expensive fish isn't more of a life than a cheap fish, but with an expensive fish you lose the life and the money.
Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.
Several bettas later I feel badly about how little I knew, the first 10 or so I've had in the past 15 years.
Still. I don't think of them like family, I don't call myself a pet parent. Closer to live stock like Dalto said. It's a life I took responsibility for, and I should do my best.
I would do a fish in cycle now that I understand it, but only with fish that can deal and very very slowly with lots of water changes so the levels aren't toxic. I wouldn't do fish in with a fish I didn't intend to keep.
An expensive fish isn't more of a life than a cheap fish, but with an expensive fish you lose the life and the money.
Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.
jgranata13
Aquarium Advice Regular
I disagree with the concept that losing a more expensive fish is a bigger financial loss... The money is lost once you pay for the fish. Assuming you're not planning on breeding it or selling it, it has no more monetary value once you buy it - the only value is sentimental/intrinsic/etc.
The fact that some people put more effort into caring for a more expensive fish "because it was more expensive" makes no sense to me because, like I said, the money's already been lost. It's not like spending money to keep it alive is going to be financially beneficial to you in the long run.
The way I see it, it really only makes sense to spend money based on how attached you are to the fish. Even if I have a dying clarion angel that I spent $5000 on, I would only funnel in a ton of money if I was really emotionally attached to it; not because it was $5000. And if I didn't care about a fish, why would I spend any more money than just what I think the fish's own life is worth (which I don't think is based on it's price) to keep it alive when having it around longer is of no value to me whatsoever? (That's just an example to prove my point; obviously I care about my fish - otherwise I wouldn't have signed on to care for them in the first place.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think you should value your fish by how much you paid for them.
Joseph Granata
The fact that some people put more effort into caring for a more expensive fish "because it was more expensive" makes no sense to me because, like I said, the money's already been lost. It's not like spending money to keep it alive is going to be financially beneficial to you in the long run.
The way I see it, it really only makes sense to spend money based on how attached you are to the fish. Even if I have a dying clarion angel that I spent $5000 on, I would only funnel in a ton of money if I was really emotionally attached to it; not because it was $5000. And if I didn't care about a fish, why would I spend any more money than just what I think the fish's own life is worth (which I don't think is based on it's price) to keep it alive when having it around longer is of no value to me whatsoever? (That's just an example to prove my point; obviously I care about my fish - otherwise I wouldn't have signed on to care for them in the first place.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think you should value your fish by how much you paid for them.
Joseph Granata
Coyne
Aquarium Advice Addict
Its getting crowded up on that soapbox. 
trennamw
Aquarium Advice Addict
If you really want to split hairs ...
When you buy a fish, the money has been exchanged for a tangible item of value. You have equity, so to speak. Money that gets lost - say, dropped on the street - is gone with nothing of tangible value in its place.
I equally care for and would be equally sad to lose fish of any price point.
But if you had a fish die and dropped $50 on the street one day, wouldn't you be more disappointed than if you had a fish die and dropped $1 on the street?
Also the loss of a fish often requires the replacement of the fish, for the well being of the shoal.
I think its fair to critique people who treat cheap fish as disposable, or don't care for them well. But not people who feel greater disappointment if an expensive fish is lost.
It's also natural for people to add up everything they invested (time effort and money) when something they tried to do didn't work out.
Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.
When you buy a fish, the money has been exchanged for a tangible item of value. You have equity, so to speak. Money that gets lost - say, dropped on the street - is gone with nothing of tangible value in its place.
I equally care for and would be equally sad to lose fish of any price point.
But if you had a fish die and dropped $50 on the street one day, wouldn't you be more disappointed than if you had a fish die and dropped $1 on the street?
Also the loss of a fish often requires the replacement of the fish, for the well being of the shoal.
I think its fair to critique people who treat cheap fish as disposable, or don't care for them well. But not people who feel greater disappointment if an expensive fish is lost.
It's also natural for people to add up everything they invested (time effort and money) when something they tried to do didn't work out.
Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.
Similar threads
