deformed and damaged fish...

[Magnum Man]

coincidentally the 2 fish I'm talking about at the start in this thread, are both silver dollars, and both came to me this way... not sure if it's farming practices, or lack of culling...
one a common silver dollar, had a big "lub" on it's side... I've had this fish for like 3-4 years, and it was here when I had a tank going through fish TB ) not in the same aquarium, but I was concerned... now years later... I'm pretty sure it was a healed wound... fish 2 is a tiger silver dollar, and it has a deformed lower tail section... both of these fish have been here for years, and have grown to adulthood... the tiger was both expensive, and hard to get, when I bought it. both were mail ordered, so there was disappointment upon arrival... I also have had a common congo tetra female, that had deformed gill flaps that was here for a few years... curious of what you would think of both receiving deformed fish, and the culling of them, when they would / could live a full life???

I'll be setting up my 250 gallon this year ( for sure ) now that I'm retiring, and with it being a show tank, I'd prefer not to have any deformed fish in that tank...

do you think the amount of deformed fish being sold has increased ( I never saw them 20 years ago ) or have I just been unlucky, or is it the fault of the buy them sight unseen???

let me be clear, I haven't been breeding fish, and have given my "misfits" the same care as the rest, but the big tank is for company viewing , so I'm after good representatives... any fish ordered for that tank, that aren't "perfect" will go into one of my private tanks, and receive the same care...

a touchy subject for sure, but at what point should fish be culled, and not sold to the general public???

 

[gwand]

The seller should have a place on their website for the sale of lame and sickly fish. There are enough good doers out there who will purchase and care for such fish. Think of the number of forum members who purchase sickly Bettas at death’s door pining away in a small plastic container. I would euthanize them but they love em up. No seller should sell a crippled or lame fish to an unexpecting buyer. That is unethical and bad for business. I would demand a refund.

 

[GaryE]

Sight unseen purchases must be tempting for unethical sellers. Either they consciously unload fish they'd never sell if customers could see them, or they hire people who count but don't evaluate.

Only once have I ever bought deformed fish. The seller informed all he had from his Czech shipment were Pelvicachromis kribensis Lobe with damaged pectoral fins, which he thought could be the result of shipping ammonia. He offered me the fish for next to nothing if I took the 10 he had, as he knew I bred the fish. He said they were worse than worthless to him, as they could harm his reputation. I took the 10 fish and while the fins never grew back, the damage wasn't genetic and the young were fine.

That was fair from the seller, who took a loss but rehomed fish he had no market for. He was up front and honest. If I were sent deformed fish by a seller who covered up, I'd demand my money back, and if I didn't get it, I'd make sure all the fishkeepers I knew were aware.

If you buy 100 cardinals and a few are injured, that's hard to avoid. But large, individual fish? Any good seller knows what he has. They should be examined before sale.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have had a rule since day one in the hobby. The instant I acquire any fish it becomes my responsibility. I am not one who will let a fish which is suffering not to be euthanized. But any fish which is damaged or deformed that is not suffering beyond being picked on by tank mates, will be moved to a place where is can live out is life in comfort. This may even necessitate my having to set up a new tank for this.

The same applies to treating injured or sick fish. I have paid under $1 for some fish and $1,000 for some as well. I spend the same amount of effort and money to treat them both equally should they need it. But I also realize that I am able to do things this way in terms of being able to afford it. I also realize that this is my way of doing things but it may not be possible for others to do this. We all have to do the best we can when it comes to caring for out fish, but we can not all spend the same amount of time and money doing so. As long as we are doing the best we can, that is all we can do.