Animal Cruelty/stunted Growth

[snazy]

Just came across this article, very interesting stuff, part of it and the full article below:

http/www.seriouslyfish.com/stunted-growth-means-stunted-lives/

We’re not so sure, and reckon ‘big’ fishes are often exposed to conditions or practises that could be considered stressors, and some of them may not be immediately obvious. These include:

• Hunger due to underfeeding, inappropriate feeding regime, competitive behaviour due to the presence of dominant individuals, or insufficient knowledge of the aquarist regarding nutritional requirements of young ‘big’ fish.
• Malnutrition. Even if the diet is correctly-balanced nutritional deficiences can arise, especially in juveniles which naturally grow at a faster rate than adults. This is likely a major cause of stunting and associated skeletal deformities in aquarium ‘big’ fish, as is the use of ‘feeder’ goldfish in the diet of predatory species. We’ll be covering this in more detail soon.
• Fear and distress caused by presence of predatory or dominant fish, repeated handling, sudden changes in lighting, etc.
• Poor water quality and environmental conditions, in particular low dissolved oxygen, inappropriate or fluctuating pH, inappropriate temperature, high levels of carbon dioxide, excessive suspended solids, and high levels of nitrogenous waste products such as ammonia and nitrite. Another principle reason for stunting and poor growth in these species under captive conditions.
• Confinement stress and inability to swim in a natural way; this being especially acute in those ‘big’ fishes which are naturally migratory or move over long distances in nature. More on this in a future article.
• Over-stocking and/or over-crowding.
• Lack of environmental stimulation has not been well-studied in fishes, but may be more significant than is traditionally accepted (Southgate, 2010), especially in those maintained in completely bare set-ups.

 

[Chad]

Excellent bullet points. I've said it on here a few times that there really is much more to stocking than meets the eye. It's one of the single most important issues we deal with. And as your list above points out it can lead to other issues such as poor water quality, stress, etc. I think the more we learn as a hobby the more careful we will become and the more popular biotopes will become.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I re-home a guppy once with stunted growth. All the good care and feeding didn't make up for what she didn't have from the start. She was about half the size you'd expect the average guppy to be.

 

[ColR1948]

Something I read earlier, now don't bite my head off I'm just repeating what I read and wondered IF there was anything in it :

One guy said if he bought fish from a breeder who did 50% water changes every other day and he did his water changes every week then the fish would get stressed because they were used to the 50% every other day.
Or if it reversed say you bought fish from a breeder who did 20% changes every week and you did 50% every other day would that stress the fish and may be even lead to death?

Interesting thought what are your opinions on something like that?

 

[bikerfish]

Hi very interesting artical , comments , also what about overcrowding in the tanks at lfs shops ? then bad advice given at shops , so you go home happy with your new fish only to find they are not suitable for your tank only to be caught again and then back to the lfs , If not all have been caught out with that before you learn to research before you buy

cathy

 

[ColR1948]

Totally agree with you biker, I know a bit of research would be better but the times we and my self have heard where someone has asked in the lfs and they have given wrong advice just to make a sale or they didn't know themselves.

I have seen it a good few times where someone has bought a fish not knowing how big it will grow and the lfs hasn't told them either or even asked how bit their tank is.

 

[Chad]

I understand overcrowding at shops and breeders since the fish normally don't spend too long in those tanks. The idea there is to get them out to new homes. I do agree that LFS's have an obligation to education their customers. I have found, however, that they don't always know themselves. Most do, but many in the chain stores only know what they learn in the store training sessions.

 

[snazy]

Yeah, with some exceptions, you really can't expect a shop assistant in the LFS to be highly educated in fish keeping. The wrong advise is unintentional sometimes and as you've already noticed everyone seems to have a different opinion about how and what's best.

I for example don't bother asking too many questions in the LFS and blame no one but myself. If you go to a shop and buy salt instead of sugar and the shop assistant tells you they can both be used for cooking, are you going to blame him after you put two cups of salt into your cake?

 

[Chad]

If you go to a shop and buy salt instead of sugar and the shop assistant tells you they can both be used for cooking, are you going to blame him after you put two cups of salt into your cake?

Brilliant.

 

[ColR1948]

What if you a making a salt cake or a sodium chocolate cake (just kidding)

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I've come to really appreciate the pet shop workers who told me not to buy particular fish for my tank and told me why. That definitely made me more likely to go there again. For example, at one place I was told not to buy an oto cat as the water in our area is unsuitable and even they can't keep them alive that long... and to keep them alive a person would actually have to get special water as tap water is unsuitable.

 

[ColR1948]

Yes not ALL shops are the same some do have knowledgeable staff but a lot don't, but like you say if you have found a good one it is worth it to stick with it.