The Ethics Of Keeping Fish As Pets.

[Brette]

I'm an animal lover, as I'm sure many of you are and I'm feeling quite bad about having killed about 10 fish last week, mostly due to my own stupidity I think. They became sick, many died, and one went down the drain accidentally who was perfectly fine when i was trying to transfer them out of the aquarium where the water was horrible. I feel the worst about that one.

I can't help but feel that these animals are just out little play things to tinker with and kill while we try to get water chemistry under control in an effort to mimic their natural habitat. How many fish suffer because of our lack of experience? It's not like we're all experts. Everytime we screw up, a fish either suffers or dies. It's kind of bumming me out. I know there are much bigger things in this world to be upset about but i can't help feeling crappy about this. I also eat fish on a regular basis so I'm a huge hypocrite for feeling sorry for the ones I had in my care. sigh.

Thoughts?

 

[mike os]

read first, get plenty of data.......

 

[tenohfive]

Pets get bred to be kept as pets. If you don't buy them, someone who knows a hell of a lot less than you do and is more likely to kill them through ignorance will buy them.

Do your research and don't be afraid to ask for advice. Beyond that if you have losses you just have to deal with it.

 

[Mikaila31]

A fish is a fish When I first started out I felt bad about every fish that died(there where a lot). Now how much it cost me, how much I like it, and weather its rare or not determins weather or not I'm upset when it dies.

Like those free guppy and endler fry that always hitch hike home with you in the bag. They may be a little baby fish with futures ahead of them. But they are not fish I really care about, I'm not going to go to the trouble of growing them out. Its future it entirely determined on how well they can avoid being eaten by other fish. If one gets eaten by a gourami literly 5sec after its released into the tank, oh well. If one lives and grows into an adult, oh well.

Now if its a new species, cost me $20 and was adorable, then yeah i'd probably be upset.

 

[calum]

after 18 mouths you should know what to do

 

[Brette]

after 18 mouths you should know what to do

what? mouths? do you mean months?

If you're referring to my start date here, I joined that long ago when I started a little 3 gallon at work with some very easy fish. I had never encountered a bacterial infection in that tank. In the one I started recently, a 25 gallon at home, I had a bad outbreak of columnaris and didn't know how to deal with it. I was a bacterial infection newbie.

Now I'm not because I've dealt with it. But I wish I didn't have to sacrifice 10 fish for what i know now.

 

[jourdy288]

I see how you feel, the best way to prevent cruelty to fish, though, is to know how it starts, usually with negligence and not knowing how to care for a fish. Moral of the story: make sure you know how to care for a fish before buying it!

 

[Brette]

Moral of the story: make sure you know how to care for a fish before buying it!

Yeah. Although even after having kept fish for years, I've realized that I really don't know much. Honestly I think i've just been lucky up until last week. I've had aquariums for the better part of my life but have never had any trouble.

Ironically i bought salmon to cook this weekend.

 

[n3ont3tra]

after 18 mouths you should know what to do

How does this progress the thread at all?



Brette - The way I look at it, keeping fish helps to educate people. Whenever anybody comes to my house, they always ask, what is that fish, why is it doing that?, etc. It spreads interest and then the newbies learn about fish... so basically it's all about learning.

 

[jourdy288]

Ironically i bought salmon to cook this weekend.

 

[Syphoniera]

Brette -
on the one hand, stuff happens, and people don't - and sometimes can't - deal correctly with it in time to spare a fish suffering and even death.
And columnaris can be a nightmare even to the experienced, with a virulent new form now appearing more widely.
But the fact that you recognise and have aired questions regarding the ethics of fishkeeping is in itself reassuring that you care in a thinking fashion about the health and happiness of animals in your care.
While fish are not often regarded in the same light as pets which are mammals, only a psychopath totally lacks empathy for others.
Your humanity is showing, and I for one am happy to see it.

Edit - Just noticed: apparently I forgot about my other hand, lol, unless it's a case of one hand not knowing what the other's doing...

 

[jourdy288]

Your humanity is showing, and I for one am happy to see it.

I agree.

 

[kniesh]

I too feel really guilty when a fish dies. I became a vegeterian for the main reason, that killing animals is wrong in my eyes. So I really do hate to see anything die uneccasserily. The way to look at it is, you really care about the fish, and try your best to keep it as comfortable as possible. If that fish dies, then yes, you can feel bad, but at least you will learn from it and take that onto the care you show your next fish. This isn't the case with everyone, so you buying the fish is probably a good thing. I know if I were going to be kept as a pet, I would take my chances with someone who cared rather than someone who just wanted me for show.

It boils down to the fact that these fish will be sold anyway, always feel comfortable with the fact you will give them the best care you can

 

[LauraFrog]

^ Exactly. If you decide that keeping species x in captivity is cruel, somebody else will still buy them. The trade isn't going to stop because one person says that they aren't going to buy fish.

Birds in cages, however, I take a different stand on. Most people have never seen budgerigars in the wild. I have. They are Australian natives. Given the chance they form vast flocks with a range of several hundred kilometres. They are extremely intelligent, social animals and to keep them in tiny cages with just enough room to stretch their wings is, in my opinion, gross animal cruelty. I'm okay with parrots that have perches and can fly around the house, and choose to stay because they like their owner. The same with cats, dogs and other animals. Herps and fish I personally feel are not intelligent enough to be upset about being kept in tanks provided they have enough room and are kept in a decent simulation of their natural environment. I also think that for fish raised in tanks all their lives, they probably don't understand that there is any other way to live. They don't really get that there is a world outside the tank, and so provided the environment INSIDE the tank is suitable and the tank itself large enough, I don't think it's cruel to keep them. This doesn't apply to large cichlids, which are intelligent enough to understand that they are confined, and to hate it if they are kept in tanks that are too small, too bare or too empty.

 

[Brette]

Thanks for your perspectives everyone. They are interesting to read and I agree with a lot of them.

I guess one thing i should probably keep in mind, is that given the chance, if they had mouths big enough, my fish wouldn't hesitate to eat each other. lol It's not any excuse to not treat them well, but might keep me from feeling so awful about the 10 fish who perished in my aquarium last week.