Fishkeeping ethics

[bruinsbro1997]

I am just going to fall back to the old golden rule:

Treat one another as you would treat yourself.

 

[jetajockey]

I am just going to fall back to the old golden rule:

Treat one another as you would treat yourself.

Care to elaborate? That only really applies to other people. I'm not going to treat my dinner on the same level as I would treat my family, for example.

I think using fish as feeders is completely humane. With some species its mandatory, even. I don't see it any different than hatching a batch of baby brine shrimp for fry food.

I don't like the way they keep feeders in the pet store, and have never bought one, nor do I ever plan to.

Everyone draws the line wherever they are most comfortable. I don't know anyone who has a moral issue with dumping their leftover BBS/eggs down the drain after feeding (mind you there are hundreds, if not thousands of live bbs in there), yet if you did that with a single fish then it would be a no-no.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I believe you should treat everything (so long as it's living) with as much respect as you can manage. I don't think I should treat sushi as my equal but I don't think I should make my fish seem like nothing more than food.

As for feeders, I mean goldfish and minnows commonly sold. I don't believe in the way they keep them and when people buy them to feed their fish I often question who they would buy sick lethargic fish to feed to a perfectly healthy fish.

 

[jetajockey]

I was at petsmart earlier and looked briefly in their feeder tank, it didn't look too bad. The fish seemed pretty healthy even though they are crammed in like sardines. I've seen them at pet supermarket though in the past and they looked horrid, they were in a freestanding 55 instead of one of the tanks on the central system.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I always think about feeder fish and the horrible image of Petco is brought up into my mine. Last time I was there the feeders were cannibalistic...they were eating esh other and dead bodies were floating everywhere. I was turned off from goldfish as feeders that point on.

Speaking of Petco, someone should seriously write them a letter regarding their fishkeeping ethics.

 

[Love2Fish]

I basically feel like a lot of other people here. I draw the line between pets and not pets. I mean, if I am fishing I use catch and release when I am not planning on harvesting them. If I do plan on keeping them its a bonk on the head for a quick death and into the cooler. As for petco, our "local" one is good with fish. The worst pet store around here is the one with the rarest types of fish. Go figure

 

[slitherbomb]

I saw an idiot lfs that kept 2 coral banded sharks and 1 wobbygong shark in the smallest container. My petco and petsmart are good though.

 

[Love2Fish]

I saw an idiot lfs that kept 2 coral banded sharks and 1 wobbygong shark in the smallest container. My petco and petsmart are good though.

The LFS I mentioned had a bunch of fish including 2-3 blue tangs in a 10 gallon tank

 

[bruinsbro1997]

The LFS I mentioned had a bunch of fish including 2-3 blue tangs in a 10 gallon tank

Well...you can't really put all the blame on the LFS. Sometimes people just won't take the fish and that's the biggest tank possible they can provide for it ATM. My Petco has to have their tang in a 29 gallon biocube because well, no one wants it.

 

[slitherbomb]

The LFS I mentioned had a bunch of fish including 2-3 blue tangs in a 10 gallon tank

That's crazy! I hate stores like that. Thank god I have a really good lfs that keeps everything nice and tidy! They give me discounts too lol. They also seem to have a fully grown Goliath grouper in a big container. It's really cool.

 

[DragonFish71]

My ethics are these:

I try to keep the best possible environment for each tank.

I take it personally when something goes wrong. Like a water change gone bad due to additives from the water company.

Sick fish get euthanized then buried in the garden. (If I can't cure them)

I have nothing against fishing, I just won't touch them to get them off the hooks. (Yeah, I can be girlie)

I have nothing against hunting for food. I've even skinned a moose.

I have issues with animal abuse. MAJOR issues. I have gone after someone with a baseball bat that I took from him after he hit his puppy with it for peeing on a linoleum floor. Did I mention I have animal abuse issues?

 

[slitherbomb]

My ethics are these:

I try to keep the best possible environment for each tank.

I take it personally when something goes wrong. Like a water change gone bad due to additives from the water company.

Sick fish get euthanized then buried in the garden. (If I can't cure them)

I have nothing against fishing, I just won't touch them to get them off the hooks. (Yeah, I can be girlie)

I have nothing against hunting for food. I've even skinned a moose.

I have issues with animal abuse. MAJOR issues. I have gone after someone with a baseball bat that I took from him after he hit his puppy with it for peeing on a linoleum floor. Did I mention I have animal abuse issues?

Wait, you skinned a moose but won't touch a fish? Lol

 

[roundar]

Would you consider it animal abuse if I hunted puppies and skinned them?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Would you consider it animal abuse if I hunted puppies and skinned them?

Depends on the person...those fur coats those rich people wear? They don't give a thought about where they come from...The people wearing overalls and boots? They've never worn them because it's either too expensive or they know where it came from...

 

[roundar]

The point is that there is no difference. We create these imaginary lines to justify our perception of reality.

 

[ALS]

hmmm much food for thought. I want to purchase an Aquarium for my grandchildren to enjoy when they come to my house and am learning from this site as well as a few others. these post have given me good ideas for talks with my grandchildren as we watch our pet fish as they swim about.

thanks all!