I made up this letter to give to my LFS because I was very angry about what I saw today there. Later on I will also send a letter to them about bettas in cups. Ive deleted my name and number from bottom.
Hello,
As I was in your store on 6/26/12, I noticed dyed and tattooed fish for sale. Specifically, I saw tattooed platinum mollies(Pocelia Sphenops) and dyed Blood Parrot Cichlids. Blood Parrots are already highly hybridized and have many genetic deformities, such as the inability to close their mouths. The dyeing and tattooing of fish is extremely cruel and many consumers of these fish do not realize their true requirements, so these fish often live out their days in small aquariums that are improperly cared for. I highly recommend you to visit deathbydyeing.org to find out the details of this cruel and inhumane process. To give you a short overview of one of the most common ways that companies dye fish, they place the fish in an acid bath to remove the slime coat. Then, the fish(es) are placed in a container holding the desired color. This adheres to their skin but is temporary and wears off quickly. When the fish are removed from the dye vat, they are placed in a solution that irritates their skin, causing a new slime coat to be grown. Up to 80% of these fish die and the ones that survive often have many health problems and medical problems. To tattoo the fish, commonly a low gauge needle is used to inject color under the skin of the fish. This is done multiple times and is the equivalent of being injected over and over with a pencil size needle. As you may realize, these processes are incredibly inhumane and disgust me to a large degree. As you can see, on the deathbydyeing.org site they have a list of responsible dealers that refuse to sell dyed fish. I would greatly enjoy seeing ******* on that list. Please stop selling these fish. The only way we can stop the cruelty is to stop the market.
Respectfully,
Hello,
As I was in your store on 6/26/12, I noticed dyed and tattooed fish for sale. Specifically, I saw tattooed platinum mollies(Pocelia Sphenops) and dyed Blood Parrot Cichlids. Blood Parrots are already highly hybridized and have many genetic deformities, such as the inability to close their mouths. The dyeing and tattooing of fish is extremely cruel and many consumers of these fish do not realize their true requirements, so these fish often live out their days in small aquariums that are improperly cared for. I highly recommend you to visit deathbydyeing.org to find out the details of this cruel and inhumane process. To give you a short overview of one of the most common ways that companies dye fish, they place the fish in an acid bath to remove the slime coat. Then, the fish(es) are placed in a container holding the desired color. This adheres to their skin but is temporary and wears off quickly. When the fish are removed from the dye vat, they are placed in a solution that irritates their skin, causing a new slime coat to be grown. Up to 80% of these fish die and the ones that survive often have many health problems and medical problems. To tattoo the fish, commonly a low gauge needle is used to inject color under the skin of the fish. This is done multiple times and is the equivalent of being injected over and over with a pencil size needle. As you may realize, these processes are incredibly inhumane and disgust me to a large degree. As you can see, on the deathbydyeing.org site they have a list of responsible dealers that refuse to sell dyed fish. I would greatly enjoy seeing ******* on that list. Please stop selling these fish. The only way we can stop the cruelty is to stop the market.
Respectfully,
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