1st Class Fish

[tetraman]

Trying to stamp it out would be like trying to stamp out a wildfire. It's here to stay. Also remember that all of the fish in your LFS have been shipped across the world to there, and I can promise you they didn't have their own breathable bag and heat pack.

 

[Darkmoon Bettas]

If (you live in the U.S. and) you have ever bought freshwater fish at:

• Walmart
• Petsmart
• PetCo
• Pet CLub
• any other regional chain
• 95% of local pet stores

you have bought fish that have been shipped by mail, at least twice. (Usually once by air, once by ground.)

The way the fish industry works is that mass breeders (mostly in Thailand and other parts of Asia, although there are a few in Florida and other warm parts of the U.S.) breed the fish, then ship them by mail to a wholesaler. Again, most of this shipping is done via air mail, from OVERSEAS.

The wholesalers then compile their weekly stock list and email or fax it to all their local customers, both "big box" stores and LFS's. The vast majority of the stores (and all the "big boxes") then email or fax the orderform back with what they want. The fish are then bagged up and shipped to the stores--sometimes by "proper" mail (USPS, UPS, Fed-EX), sometimes by a driver that works just for the company, who will run all the boxes to all the stores in the area.

Most marine fish get shipped THREE times, since teh vast majority of species are still wild-caught. They are collected by divers, then shipped to a central broker who has an import/export permit and handles the catches of several different companies/dive groups. The broker then ships the fish to the wholesaler, then the wholesaler ships to the store as mentioned above.

 

[CFC]

The vast majority of freshwater fish are still wild caught as well, you dont think fish farms set out hundreds of acres of breeding pools to breed fish that can just be netted from a river in their thousands do you?
The tropical fish trade brings an income to thousands of native people living along the rivers in tropical regions who would otherwise turn to farming or logging which means clearing large areas of rain forest.

If you really disagree with the shipping of fish i suggest you return all your fish to the store, drain your tank and sell it on ebay because unless you have deliberately only bought fish that you know were bred by a local hobbiest i can pretty much guarentee that your fish have been bagged, boxed and sent from a tropical country by air. Thats not to mention the travel from the collection site to the distributer, from the distributer to the airport, the airport to the wholesalers and the wholesalers to the retailer which depending on the length of journey can be by road, rail or air again. The average tropical fish seen in your lfs will have speant at least 20 hours of its life inside a poly box.

Please think before making ill informed and ill judged comments, the hobby relies on tropical farmed and wild caught imports, without them there would be no hobby.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I have bought fish from the fish store- which means fish reared on a farm in Eastern Asia, packed in small boxes and posted to a wholesaler, where they get re-packed and posted out to my lfs, where they get jammed into holding tanks, often with infected fish in them, then sold to me- that is re-packed once more and taken home to my house on the bus or in a car.
And I have bought from a UK breeder, where the fish get individually packed in large bags with extra oxygen, well padded, and sent either by special courier or (marked fragile) by 24 hour delivery directly to my home- which means they only have to be bagged once and endure one (much shorter) journey, instead of three.
Now would you care to guess which fish have arrived in my tanks in the better condition? Precisely.

I support buying from UK breeders, not because it is here to stay or because you can't stamp it out, but because it is definitely the kindest option. Added to that, I knew something about the breeder I was buying from (a very well-known name in livebearer circles) and knew that his fish would have been treated well all through their lives.

 

[Spinal]

LOL... fish are sent through mail, couriers, and other "inhumane" methods every day all over the world. Every fish you buy has been shiped at one time or the other (unless it was bred by who you bought it from).

Dogs, cats, horses and all sorts of animals are shipped. When I lived in Africa, we had our dogs shipped over from Germany. Anyone remember roosevelts panda? The one that so tragically died when he was shipped from china?

Ever travelled low-cost? I.e. ryanair, easyjet, etc? They are essentially shipping... no comforts, no space, no heating...

Michele

 

[Breeze7050]

Well, I can't help but throw my own 2 cents in. First of all this post cracked me up! It sure would be great if we could head to our backyard and pick out our own tropical fish, but we can't!!! Out by me we have a HUGE lack of mom and pop fish stores and are stuck with WalMart, PetSmart, Petco ect. All those are shipped at least twice! I would much rather spend my money on a breeder.
I just got 2 bristlenose babies in the mail a few weeks ago. This things are tiny about 1" TOPS. Everyone says how hard they are to keep around when they are that small. Well, mine were packed beatifully with heater, 2 bags, breather bags ect made it to my house just fine and have acclimated GREAT! Great job by the breeder, Im sure MUCH better than how fish get shipped to big box stores!
Just my opinon though!

 

[Piltdownpaul]

What a pity that some people cant just accept that other people have a different view to others for different reasons and because of this feel they have to convert you to their opinion or else you are some degenerate. But then thats life.................

It is the case that they are shipped by air mail etc overseas but this is a NECESSITY. Their are plenty of shops etc which can be utilized-why not collect,pick your fish and bring it home yourself,it isnt rocket science.

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

I'm sorry.. but that is utter rubbish.

Fish arrive to your LFS by post 95% of the time, and it doesnt seem to stress the fish to any great deal if they are properly packaged, and cared for when they arrive at their destination.

I for one, will continue to send and recieve fish through the post.

 

[Betta5]

LOKO17 yes people are shipped but do they turn up at a door in a box NO!!! and i dont buy fish from shops i get my friend to breed whatever ones i want!!!

 

[omen666]

I ship cats out of the country on a plane, carefully planned and very safe and no stress involved. They arrive very happy to their new owners and are playing and tearing up the house normally in an hour or so after arrival...and whats the difference in me driving a fish from my local pet shop in a bag , and the courier doing it?

I suppose you thought all those fish in the shops just swam up through the pipes???

 

[dwarfgourami]

What a pity that some people cant just accept that other people have a different view to others for different reasons and because of this feel they have to convert you to their opinion or else you are some degenerate. But then thats life.................

It is the case that they are shipped by air mail etc overseas but this is a NECESSITY. Their are plenty of shops etc which can be utilized-why not collect,pick your fish and bring it home yourself,it isnt rocket science.

But I still don't understand what the advantages are- in the vast majority of cases, the shops do not breed their own fish, so those fish have to be mailed, as you say. What is the advantage for the fish in first being posted to the shop and then taken on a further journey to your house- compared to being sent straight to your house?? I am not trying to make you feel like a degenerate- I would genuinely like to know why you feel three journeys (assuming they go through a wholesaler) are preferable to one? If you can explain exactly why fish fare better when collected from the shop, I would be very happy to listen. I certainly want to do the best for my fish- I thought I was, by ordering from a reputable breeder in my own country (short journey and only one) instead of buying fish from the lfs, where they have been posted for much longer distances and had several journeys instead of one. But if I was wrong, please explain why.

.

 

[iroc]

ppl you all need to relax


if the thread starter and any others that do not want to send or recive fish in the mail then fine DON'T, if you feel what you are doing is fine then continue.

I personaly havn't gotten any fish from the mail becuase I have found everything I want localy, if that wasn't possible I'm sure I would get some from a good online shop. This whole thread is rather silly if you don't agree then move on, your not gonna convice ppl you will never meet through the web, if they are set in their ways...........

 

[omen666]

I think people have taken it personally including myself. It's just not necessary to post something like this and not expect people to go off on you lol

It's like saying had you rather eat a chicken that was shot or a chicken that had it's head cut off ...regardless which you prefer wasn't it dead either way? Like my granny used to say " If you don't know wheter to scratch ur watch or wind your butt then don't do either " lol

 

[wuvmybetta]

I'm most certainly guilty of this. I've shipped thousands ...literally. You'd be amazed at how well they travel. Think of the betta show circuit- a lot of fish travel three days to go to show, stay at the show three days, then they go back home on another three day trip. It's crazy but they're amazingly tough.

 

[Crossfc]

This thread is getting a bit ugly but logically speaking there is no merit to original posters argument since his fish was already shipped in a box once. The original poster is saying consumers should not have their fish shipped to their doorsteps to reduce the stress of the fish by whatever travel time it takes to get from your LFS back home.

I just don't see the point. Is the difference that great between a courier delivering it to your doorstep and you getting it personally? The fish in both cases will be bagged. They will rock about in your car or the truck. Heck, It is probably more comfortable in the pitch blackness of that cardboard box than your backseat of your car with the sun blasting in from the windows while it sloshes and rocks about.