macman7010
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Here is the text of the letter I sent to peta's headquarters
______________________________________________________
To whom it may concern:
I recently read the article "Fish in Tanks, No Thanks" on your media center's website. I happen to be
a member of both the Peta Street Team and Peta America, and have taken part in a variety of activities
funded by Peta and helped with many of your online works. Oddly enough though in this particular case
I am going to have to play the role of "Devil's Advocate" since in conjunction with being a proud member
of Peta I am also a long time aquarist. Since age 5 I have been fascinated by a variety of underwater
life, and since that time many years ago have kept a variety of fish species in captive enviroments.
I want first to applaud your wonderful efforts at making people aware of "proper fish husbandry skills."
These skills help all generations of aquarium keepers to be mindful of thier charges and allow our captive
animals to lead a life that may not be as wonderful as that of free swimming fish but that is fullfilled
non the less. Being a writer for one of the U.S.'s larger fish magazines and being an active member of
the aquarium community has allowed me an insight into the level of care and dedication that many aquarium
keepers take in maintaining thier aqua scapes.
Did you know that today there is a popular trend in aquarium keeping called the bio-type aquarium, or
natural aquarium. These are aquariums that are set-up to mimic the fish kept wihin them's habitat as
closely as possible to what is found in nature. Some aquarists go as far to keep only plants, wood,
substrate and other fish that would be found together in natural waters. Water chemistry and foods are even planned
to match animals own enviroments closely. There are even countless magazine articles and books that
instruct hobbysits on how to set-up one of these unique and exciting aquatic habitats.
One poignant part of your article targets reef aquaria and the capture of marine life from the sea for
the aquarium trade. This is a hot bed or argument among reef aquarium keepers and I would honestly recommend
Peta members join Reef Central's responsible reef keeping community to learn more about aquarist's stance
on this issue. I personally along with other saltwater aquarists have strived to support research and
cultivation of both captive bred or raised and aqua-cultured marine creatures. We do this by buying
aqua cultured marine animals, from live rock for aqua-scaping to clown fish to corals. Great strives are
being and have been made allowing the hobby's impact on natural enviroments to go down a great bit.
Are all the animals I keep in my reef aquarium captive raised - sadly not. Many marine fish go through
a planktonic stage making them nearly impossible to breed and raise in captivity. Although any fish that
I do keep that are not captive raised are MAC certified fish. The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) is making
wonderful strives to better captive methods and train even the most remote and exotic of people on how
to capture marine life for the aquarium trade. Really Cyanide collection is quickly becoming an arciac relic
of the past and while it has damaged reef populations around the globe things are getting much better. You
must understand it is not in the hobbyist's best interest to purchase animals collected using Cyanide since
soon after entering our tanks they perish and die. Again, becoming more active in the culture surronding Reef
keeping would really serve to educate Peta members on this issue - because in truth many of us aquarists are
the very people standing up the rights of the reef. It is no secret that people that have a close tie with something
will often stand up for it when it is being abused.
I want to close my letter with the story of my old Betta, who after seven years recently passed away but will
not be forgotten. You may or may not know but in the wild Betta's often live in very dirty, oxygen deprived waters
in South East Asia. Bettas have been found in waters low in dissolved oxygen, high in dissolved nutrients and
as shallow and temporary as a water filled foot print. My betta lived in an 80 gallon aquarium that recieved
daily water changes. He was fed a diet of high protien foods that caused his coloration to become so exquiste that my
non-fish educated friends thought he must have come from the ocean. This fish lived in a planted tank that was far
larger and cleaner than most natural enviroments Bettas are found in. He was loved, treated with kindness, and outlived
the natural life span of his species by many years.
As an organization you must understand that the mistakes of a few (bad pet shops, poor aquarium retailers,
irresponsible hobbyists, etc, etc) do not condemn the actions of all. The aquarium culture I know and am
actively involved in makes strides to better the lives of our captive animals and make thier world in our home
as close to thier natural homes as possible. I will continue to support your efforts as always and if you would
like to start standing with aquarium keepers instead of against them by teaching responsible hobbyist methods
I would love to help in anyway I can.
Sincerely.
Jeremy Gosnell
Peta America Member
______________________________________________________
To whom it may concern:
I recently read the article "Fish in Tanks, No Thanks" on your media center's website. I happen to be
a member of both the Peta Street Team and Peta America, and have taken part in a variety of activities
funded by Peta and helped with many of your online works. Oddly enough though in this particular case
I am going to have to play the role of "Devil's Advocate" since in conjunction with being a proud member
of Peta I am also a long time aquarist. Since age 5 I have been fascinated by a variety of underwater
life, and since that time many years ago have kept a variety of fish species in captive enviroments.
I want first to applaud your wonderful efforts at making people aware of "proper fish husbandry skills."
These skills help all generations of aquarium keepers to be mindful of thier charges and allow our captive
animals to lead a life that may not be as wonderful as that of free swimming fish but that is fullfilled
non the less. Being a writer for one of the U.S.'s larger fish magazines and being an active member of
the aquarium community has allowed me an insight into the level of care and dedication that many aquarium
keepers take in maintaining thier aqua scapes.
Did you know that today there is a popular trend in aquarium keeping called the bio-type aquarium, or
natural aquarium. These are aquariums that are set-up to mimic the fish kept wihin them's habitat as
closely as possible to what is found in nature. Some aquarists go as far to keep only plants, wood,
substrate and other fish that would be found together in natural waters. Water chemistry and foods are even planned
to match animals own enviroments closely. There are even countless magazine articles and books that
instruct hobbysits on how to set-up one of these unique and exciting aquatic habitats.
One poignant part of your article targets reef aquaria and the capture of marine life from the sea for
the aquarium trade. This is a hot bed or argument among reef aquarium keepers and I would honestly recommend
Peta members join Reef Central's responsible reef keeping community to learn more about aquarist's stance
on this issue. I personally along with other saltwater aquarists have strived to support research and
cultivation of both captive bred or raised and aqua-cultured marine creatures. We do this by buying
aqua cultured marine animals, from live rock for aqua-scaping to clown fish to corals. Great strives are
being and have been made allowing the hobby's impact on natural enviroments to go down a great bit.
Are all the animals I keep in my reef aquarium captive raised - sadly not. Many marine fish go through
a planktonic stage making them nearly impossible to breed and raise in captivity. Although any fish that
I do keep that are not captive raised are MAC certified fish. The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) is making
wonderful strives to better captive methods and train even the most remote and exotic of people on how
to capture marine life for the aquarium trade. Really Cyanide collection is quickly becoming an arciac relic
of the past and while it has damaged reef populations around the globe things are getting much better. You
must understand it is not in the hobbyist's best interest to purchase animals collected using Cyanide since
soon after entering our tanks they perish and die. Again, becoming more active in the culture surronding Reef
keeping would really serve to educate Peta members on this issue - because in truth many of us aquarists are
the very people standing up the rights of the reef. It is no secret that people that have a close tie with something
will often stand up for it when it is being abused.
I want to close my letter with the story of my old Betta, who after seven years recently passed away but will
not be forgotten. You may or may not know but in the wild Betta's often live in very dirty, oxygen deprived waters
in South East Asia. Bettas have been found in waters low in dissolved oxygen, high in dissolved nutrients and
as shallow and temporary as a water filled foot print. My betta lived in an 80 gallon aquarium that recieved
daily water changes. He was fed a diet of high protien foods that caused his coloration to become so exquiste that my
non-fish educated friends thought he must have come from the ocean. This fish lived in a planted tank that was far
larger and cleaner than most natural enviroments Bettas are found in. He was loved, treated with kindness, and outlived
the natural life span of his species by many years.
As an organization you must understand that the mistakes of a few (bad pet shops, poor aquarium retailers,
irresponsible hobbyists, etc, etc) do not condemn the actions of all. The aquarium culture I know and am
actively involved in makes strides to better the lives of our captive animals and make thier world in our home
as close to thier natural homes as possible. I will continue to support your efforts as always and if you would
like to start standing with aquarium keepers instead of against them by teaching responsible hobbyist methods
I would love to help in anyway I can.
Sincerely.
Jeremy Gosnell
Peta America Member
