Is Fishkeeping Right

[Luke & Penny]

Is bird Keeping ethical?
Is reptile Keeping ethical?
Is not being a vegetarian ethical

I Keep reptiles along with my fish, Some people say its not right some say it is, I agree with your question and it is a very good point but how do you define whats right and whats wrong especially when theres such a fine line.
Im new to fishkeeping but have kept reptiles for a long time now, many many years back it was condemmed by a lot more people than today but since we have these creatures in our loving care much more has been learnt about these species and also a lot of species now do not have a fear of becoming endangered as they always have their wild instincts no matter what captive bred care you you give them so unlike dogs or cats reptiles along with fish would fit back into the wild quite easily if the need arisen due to low levels and the risk of extinction from the wild.
IMO as long as your providing a worthwhile habitat and life for these creatures and not being cruel in any way then theres no harm done.
Saying that some people would argue when defining cruel.

 

[Walt]

Ethical? sure...
My fish are treated like kings...
All they are missing is cable tv...

They wouldnt be treated this well in the wild... B)

 

[WILDER]

 

[paulc855]

maybe it is ethically wrong to remove fish from the wild but if that is so then surely there must be enough fish keepers now with many varied species that we can provide captive bred fish from our own aquariums to our lfs or am i just being to new and naive to the hobby.

 

[consp]

I feel fish keeping is a great learning experience. It can also shelp people to understand the value of life.

I beleive as long as you keep your fish in a nice spacious environmet, that is as natural as possible with a regular supply of food than keeping fish is fine. The majourity of fish you buy from the tropical section will be captive bred anyway so taking them home will be the best home they've ever lived in. Of course it doesn't compare to the wild but if you released then there they may not survive...

Long pretty tails. Abnormally bright colours. Albino strains that are more comon than their natural coloured counterparts. A lot of fish you see in shops you'd NEVER see in the wild... I suppose that is the most unethical part of fish keeping... Creating a "new" variety of fish. One that would never have exsisted or would have scarely exsisted if humans hadn't of brought them in and inbred them until they got their perfect strain.

Thats just my opinion though. Other people live to see how they can change their fishes offspring to get one step closer to their perfect creation. I understand why people would get so much enjoyment out of doing so but personally it just isn't for me.

I keep an albino Severum but I really wish I hadn't brought him now. I regret condoning the "ALBINOISE EVERYTHING" craze that has swept the fish keeping world but when I brought him I didn't have the same opinion as I do now. It isn't that I don't like how they look, because I do, It is the fact that breeders meddle so much to get a larger profit. If you manage to breed a different colour variety of one kind of fish you can class one as "Red whateverfish" and the other as "blue whateverfish" and get just as many sales from them both. Some people will buy more fish than they want just because they want "all of the colours".

I disagree with a lot of things related to the fish trade such as dyed fish, "deformed fish" (eg: fancy goldfish), GM fish, some breeding methods, but apart from those (which are easy to avoid should you wish) then I think fish keeping is all well and good. Just my opinion though.

If you were to mention that fish keeping isn't ethcal but fish are already in shops so buying them makes no difference ou are wrong. Every single sale of any kind of fish shows that you condone the fish trade. By choosing your fish and paying the shop clerk you have lowered their stock level on that particular fish. Obviously a sale means the public want that particular species so the shop clerk will order more in to replace the ones that havfe been sold and it's an ongoing cycle. Public demand, baby.

 

[Synirr]

I gotta be honest, I'm not too concerned about the ethics of it, as long as we're not endangering wild populations. My fish are all perfectly healthy, and seem happy... they certainly aren't suffering, and I'm not convinced they're intelligent enough to be able to miss the wild. Most of my fish are tank bred anyway, so I know they don't mind

 

[Labyrinth]

Fish will always be sold as it is a large business, but think of it like this:

At your lfs, most of the fish are in a simple, very small size tanks with many other tank mates, and in some cases,they are next door to a fish that they know would very much like to eat them, or having a two year old child scare the poop out of them by knocking on the glass (Watch 'Finding Nemo' to see what its like)

Isn’t it much better, for you to buy some of these fish and house them in a clean, healthy, large tank that at leased resembles a small faction of there natural environment. Where they will be well looked after, fed and have a disease free, happy life with tankmates.

And of course we get to watch this happy life, they now have!!! Everybody wins!!

Another point, wild caught fish are already out of there natural environment whether you like it or not and they will be in your lfs in the sorts of condition as above, you buying them will mean they have a happier life, as if there not sold they will go in the bin.

Of course not all lfs are like this and some take care of there inhabitants, but the majority they don’t

Lab
We love fish and want to look after them otherwise we wouldn’t keep them, right!!

 

[DragonLass]

I love my fish as much as anyone. But as much as we like to attribute human emotions to them at times, remember they are FISH. They are great creatures, but they don't THINK in the same manner we do, they work off a bunch of hard wired instincts - to eat, to mate and survive. Basically their purpose in life is to perpetuate their species.
So keeping a fish well fed in a clean environment is really doing the fish a favor. If fish were able to have a sense of happiness, then I am sure they would be.

 

[Inchworm]

There is another reason to catch and introduce wild fish into the hobby trade, and that is to preserve the species. In some parts of the world the environment is changing due to industrial encroachment, and without the intervention of fishkeepers on the hobbyist level, they are likely to be lost entirely.

For a number of years the C. weitzmanis was thought to be extinct, but a small number were recently found in a previously unexplored area of Peru. They were discovered when a road was cut through the jungle to open an area to gold mining. Now these fish are being brought out in small numbers and a few fishkeepers around the world have been lucky enough to be able to buy them. Some are being lost in the process, sure, but if they will breed in captivity, the entire species will be able to continue to survive. If they are not rescued, they will all perish when the debris from mining operations pollutes their stream.

Here are the ones I have:

That picture was taken a week or so after their arrival and they had not completely recovered from their trip from Oregon. They are being treated with tetracycline now and I am optimistic they will make a full recovery.

If I am lucky. they might give me some eggs. If not, they will at least live out their days in a happy and safe home in my tanks.

 

[consp]

There is another reason to catch and introduce wild fish into the hobby trade, and that is to preserve the species. In some parts of the world the environment is changing due to industrial encroachment, and without the intervention of fishkeepers on the hobbyist level, they are likely to be lost entirely.

For a number of years the C. weitzmanis was thought to be extinct, but a small number were recently found in a previously unexplored area of Peru. They were discovered when a road was cut through the jungle to open an area to gold mining. Now these fish are being brought out in small numbers and a few fishkeepers around the world have been lucky enough to be able to buy them. Some are being lost in the process, sure, but if they will breed in captivity, the entire species will be able to continue to survive. If they are not rescued, they will all perish when the debris from mining operations pollutes their stream.

Here are the ones I have:

That picture was taken a week or so after their arrival and they had not completely recovered from their trip from Oregon. They are being treated with tetracycline now and I am optimistic they will make a full recovery.

If I am lucky. they might give me some eggs. If not, they will at least live out their days in a happy and safe home in my tanks.

That is one great aspect of fish keeping... Being able to up the numbers of soon to be exstinct fish so they never dissapear from the earths surface. It just a shame we're the ones (The human race... not fish keepers) that are usually the one to blame for their decrease in numbers in the first place.

Good luck Inchworm, I hope you're able to get some eggs out of your trio

 

[Inchworm]

Thanks, consp

The good news is that I know someone who just found a few eggs in his tank. So far, only 3 fry hatched, and raising them is always tricky, but at least it is a positive sign. They will breed in an aquarium environment, so at least they will have a chance to survive even if it is not in their native waters.

 

[Ethos]

so at least they will have a chance to survive even if it is not in their native waters.

All these problems wouldn't arise if we could just leave some areas of the world, untouched?
What happens when the whole world gets developed? I'm not no tree hugger, and I'm not no democrat. And seeing I still can't vote yet means I'm not a Republican either. Although, I do have strong oppinions.
My point is, there is a line where Tree huggers and...well, non-tree huggers meet.
We should stop and re-devolop areas we've already destroied in natures eye.

 

[prankster705]

I think fish keeping is all right as long as you respect the fish, and give em a god home.

 

[UBigBobby]

IMO thinking fishkeeping is unethical is radical left wing, and I hate PETA...so no to me it's not.

To say this would be to say that keeping any pet is unethical. And keeping a dog or cat we can all agree is surely not wrong. The vast majority of fish in the trade are made for fishkeeping, and bred in captivity. So if you like the agrument that "they miss the wild", or "its unnatural" remember that for them...its not. it's perfectly natural, and they don't know the wild. All the know is the tank life, so its not like having someone lock you in a room all your life. Comparing it to such is a very poor argument. On the issue or boredom...fish most likely don't get bored...its instinct to swim around and look for food...which is what they do. Fish sleep and look for food. And if they were in the wild they'd just sleep and look for food. Same deal.

I can go on and on. No its not unethical.

 

[UBigBobby]

Funny thing is, me and my dad just had a discussion about PETA this morning.
I think we should stop fishing-for-prophet for our porpuses.
I know that if we stoped taking hundreds of fish from the environment, and started breeding them, the cost of fish would go up, yes.
But I think it'd be good. Think of the world before 1500. The "New World" was so crammed pack full of animals, and so many species that today are almost exstinked....
We'll never be there again, but we can try. We could start with fish.

The stock of fish in the environment is not depleting...so overfishing is not a major problem right now.

Also, the whole "think of the world before 1500" argument is a sham IMO. Very few species are TRULY endangered. The majority of species on the endangered species list aren't even truly endangered, and often times are MORE plentiful than BEFORE "humans destroyed everything". Plus species have, and always will die off for various reasons. THAT is natural and THAT is nature. to try and stop that is UNETHICAL if anything. Animals that humans have been responsible for their demise we should protect...but ones that are dying off for toher reasons...should be left alone. Right now American forest are denser and richer than than were 50 years ago.

Just remember that to live life the way we want to...there have to be some sacrifices made. Everyone want to save the whales and be all animal and environment friendly...but no one wants to give up anything to do it.


PS...i really hate PETA.