Painted Fish

[richiestang_78]

So I was surifng around the internet and stumbled across an article about Fish Painting. Thats where dyes are injected into the fish to give it color, why would anyone want this? Not only does it seem foolish but probably not too good for the fish.

I mean the genetically engineered glow in the dark danios seemed bad enough but this is just flat out dumb.

 

[Zagz]

It is a cruel and horrible practice. It has been discussed many times here at AA. The theory is that the fish will seem prettier to buyers. But buyers don't always know which fish are dyed and don't know the process. IMO it is a barbaric practice.

 

[SCFatz]

Ran across two dyed fish for the first time this weekend.

It looked as bad as it did obvious.

 

[Viperboy]

the genetically enhanced glow in the dark ones i believe are actually good or something and do not harm the fish ... so ive read ... someone back me up who knows more

Ray

 

[trotty]

Dont like em' apart from the fact they look fake. it's crewl!

 

[Hovoc]

l.ocal walmart has something called rainbow sherbet tetras, are these painted? the colors too a bit too pastel to really be real.

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah the painted ones are cruel.. Not sure about the Glow in teh Dark ones since form my understanding they have genes from irrdecent fish in the. They also require a black light to actually glow.

 

[Antimoine]

I worked at a pet shop a few years ago where we frequently received those dyed fishes....
Most were transparent fished with added blue or red dye in the fins and tail.... The thing is that after a while they loose the color and you have a translucid fish.

And yes those were huge sellers especially to people beginning.
They were very strong fishes, we lost only a few compared to other tanks..

As fot the glowing fishes, I have 3 glow in the dark danios,
more info on glofish.com .

 

[SCFatz]

Thats exactly what I saw Antimoine...glass fish with ink injected around the spine and tail.One red ink and the other black.

Dispite the many reasons to not like it...it looked rather bad.I'd never buy one even if I didn't know it was artificial.

 

[Devilishturtles]

l.ocal walmart has something called rainbow sherbet tetras, are these painted? the colors too a bit too pastel to really be real.

aka Mixed Fruit Tetras. Yes, they are dyed. Yes, their colors fade over time.

 

[Hovoc]

shame the sherberts are dyed (they called them sherberts there) they are quite pretty

also our lfs had the glofish, and the employee working there today said they werent natural, so im assuming they are injected as well?

 

[Elmware2000]

Not all dyed fish are injected but the process of dying them are just as bad. Some are dipped in chemicals which strip their coatings which protect them in some way. Then they are dipped in the dyes. Others are either injected straight in or multiple times to create spots.

There was some site called death by dyeing with lots of info on the practise.

 

[severum mama]

Glofish aren't injected or painted. They are genetically altered. I can't remember exactly what they were used for, but they started out being used in some sort of experiments and then made it into the pet trade.

As far as dyed fish, the process actually makes them much weaker and more susceptible to disease, with an overall shortened lifespan. It is estimated that as many as 80% don't even survive the process. It's common in tetras, some gouramis, glass catfish, parrot cichlids, and also some other species, I'm sure. If a fish looks neon colored, or pastel, or otherwise unnatural in color, it probably is. As for parrot cichlids, the easiest way to avoid dyed ones is to buy gray juvies, as sometimes they are even dyed orange to mimic their adult coloration. It's more interesting anyway to watch them change color on their own.

 

[Hovoc]

so are the glofish morally acceptable to buy? according to the glofish site, they are now bred that way due do the experiments done many generations ago

 

[severum mama]

I really think that's up to you. Glofish don't suffer physically from being modified as do dyed or painted fish. If you find that morally acceptable, then go for it. I personally wouldn't buy them because there are so many natural species that I would like to try keeping. Then again, I own parrot cichlids, and many here would be morally opposed to that. They also don't suffer physically from being hybrid fish, although some folks say they have problems swimming and eating due to their curved spine and the fact that most of the time their mouths don't fully close. I've never found this to be the case with anyone who has actually owned them. Would I buy hybrid or modified fish again? No, for the same reason I mentioned above. But those guys were the first cichlids I ever bought, and the first one even survived all my nOOb mistakes when none of my other fish did. I bought them before I considered the ethical ramifications of hybrid fish and I now owe it to them to care for them. At least you're considering the ethics of modified fish first.

 

[Hovoc]

i dunno, maybe my thinking is off, i would personally never buy a painted/injeected fish knowing what i know now. but if the glofish are really the byproduct of some experments that occured years and years ago, and are born with this glow color that doesnt bother then, then what really is the harm?