Great Article for New Aquarium Owners!

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abw0004

abw0004

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9 Reasons Why Fish Are Really Sad 'Pets' | Companion Animals| Living | PETA

I do not know if I am allowed to post this article but I thought every new aquarium owner needed to read this. Be careful what you put in your tank and where you get your fish from. I do not believe that you should not have fish as pets, but I do believe that you need to get your fish from reputable stores that aquire fish from sustainable sources. I also believe in not overstocking or putting fish in too small of aquariums.
 
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Very balanced article considering the source. If it serves to improve conditions for aquarium fish, then you sir, are my hero :)


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Unfortunately, PETA is a questionable organization when it comes to fish keeping. For example, in one of warehouses I worked in, we were reported to PETA for our euthanizing practice. Their solution was to put the fish into boiling water. Our vet on staff was appalled at this solution when there are less drastic means to achieve painless death.

The article is also slightly off count on a few issues. Yes, many marine fish are still caught from wild stock however, there are also many species now available that have been tank bred, the Banggai Cardinal being one of them. ( This may be a regurge of an old article of theirs) So you as a hobbyist have the ability to buy captive raised fish albeit at a higher cost.
Their discussion of Bettas and their needs is unfounded by more than 150 years of the fish being domesticated.
Same with their argument on Goldfish. The majority of the goldfish available today have no resemblance to their wild ancestry. Considering that the many varieties of them are all man made creations, breeding them in tubs is really not a very clear argument. What if the tub held 100 gallons of water? Would that still make it a less desirable spawning tank than say, a 50 gal glass aquarium? Most breeders of goldfish don;t house their breeders in these tubs. They use a "tub" to spawn the fish then return them to a larger domicile tank as they mostly breed once a year.

While I disagree with many of PETA's arguments and tactics, I will concur that proper housing, filtering, feeding, husbandry, etc is essential to maintaining a happy pet fish with the expectation of them living a complete lifetime. Fish keeping is actually a good way to learn about environmental issues the planet is faced with. The same thing that goes on in our tanks goes on in the wild habitat. Someone knowing how to keep fish properly may be the next great environmentalist that saves the waters. So I would take PETA's arguments with a grain of salt. Their way is not how I would follow.

I'll step down from my soapbox now. ;)
 
You re always very well spoken, Andy. We re lucky to have you here on the forum.


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Rodeo one said:
You re always very well spoken, Andy. We re lucky to have you here on the forum.
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I'm just trying to be the voice of experience. I have been involved in every aspect of the tropical fish industry in my 50 years of fish keeping so I have a bit of insight that some may not like to hear or some may frown upon me sharing but I will not be bullied by organizations that don;t have their facts straight and unfortunately (IMO), PETA has too loud a voice on opinion but too soft a voice on facts. My fish are far from unhappy. Shame on them for saying otherwise. :banghead::banghead:

I'm happy to help anyone who needs it. This is a fantastic hobby and has opened many doors for me. I only hope I can pass it on. (y)
 
You helped me a lot when I was starting out. It meant a lot to me.


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I have enjoyed animals all my life. It's a common sense thing, PETA on the other hand makes my blood boil. To each their own I guess.
 
PETA only writes articles like this to make themselves sound reasonable to reasonable readers. In fact, PETA is against pet ownership of any kind, and would gladly eliminate our hobby altogether if given the chance. The organization is utterly hypocritical in many ways- perhaps most disturbing of all is that they lead people to think that they rescue companion animals. PETA operates no shelter, makes no attempt to adopt out the animals they "rescue" (as they are opposed to pet ownership), and kills over 90% of the animals they "save"- about 2000 dogs and cats per year.

This organization has no business saying ANYTHING about our hobby.
 
Didn't read the article, didn't need to, it's from PETA. :rolleyes:

I am so relieved to see that folks here are aware of the hypocritical farce that is PETA.
 
severum mama said:
PETA only writes articles like this to make themselves sound reasonable to reasonable readers. In fact, PETA is against pet ownership of any kind, and would gladly eliminate our hobby altogether if given the chance. The organization is utterly hypocritical in many ways- perhaps most disturbing of all is that they lead people to think that they rescue companion animals. PETA operates no shelter, makes no attempt to adopt out the animals they "rescue" (as they are opposed to pet ownership), and kills over 90% of the animals they "save"- about 2000 dogs and cats per year.

This organization has no business saying ANYTHING about our hobby.
Click to expand...

You just made me mad.. Peta is karma write off for the over funded and over privellaged..

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PB_Smith said:
Didn't read the article, didn't need to, it's from PETA. :rolleyes:

I am so relieved to see that folks here are aware of the hypocritical farce that is PETA.
Click to expand...

As someone who works with REAL rescues, pulling from shelters, I agree and I only wish more people were aware... there are clearly still plenty of people giving them money. Can you imagine what it would be like if all that money were actually used to help animals, rather than spent on lobbying and marketing?
 
severum mama said:
As someone who works with REAL rescues, pulling from shelters, I agree and I only wish more people were aware... there are clearly still plenty of people giving them money. Can you imagine what it would be like if all that money were actually used to help animals, rather than spent on lobbying and marketing?
Click to expand...

Seriously.. sad that my gf and I giving old blankets and litter boxes to our frequented shelter makes such a big difference. By all rights those blankets should be useless due to the abundance of donations and funding they get from all the bleeding heart commercials and organizations out there that literally do nothing to help anyone but themselves. It's sickening.. now I'm really mad..

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kwest said:
:D Thanks to all of you for great input.

I do have a lot of rocks, drift wood and java fern in my tank as well as salt so I think I need to check into the kh and gh of the water. I started using RO water because the previous owner didn't mind algae - lots of it - and I've slowly been getting rid of it by using RO water. I cleaned the walls and equipment when I brought it home (6 months ago), but the plants continued to grow the black stuff. However, algae is manageable now so could be that I need to stop the RO. The ph is a little low - 7.8, but I don't think thats the main problem since these fish were raised in these conditions. I know I must have a bully since I found a gash on a fish so my next step is to move a few into the smaller tank, check the kh/gh, maybe use the cichlid salt or cichlid essential elements and add a powerhead.

I really like this site and wish you great success in reaching a greater audience.

Kim
Click to expand...

No such thing as over-privileged.

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