The Ethics Of Keeping Fish As Pets.

[pippoodle]

i always feel guilty when a fish dies though most fish that have died have died through shock or desease a few hours after being purchased
One however was happily swimming in front of the filter then i turned it on (was off for feeding ) and he went straight full pelt into an ornament and was dead in an hour due to internal bleeding
I have now moved the ornament and always check the little bliters arent anywhere near the front of the filter when i turn it back on .

Now we have the children we open the cupboard where the water meter is an press a magic button so that the fish can be sent straight up the tube to fishy heaven , before i had the children i used to bury them

I think there is nothing to be ashamed of caring about a fish

 

[Angie_B]

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.

I agree with Syphoniera, your humanity is showing and the fact that you care for whether the fish have passed means that you will pay extra care and attention to them to assure they are safe and happy and if I was a fish in a shop waiting to be bought, i'd rather be owned by someone who cares.

I can't imagine anyone who takes up fish keeping as a hobby has not had fatalities, got it wrong somewhere. Fish often come with diseases already present as I have found out recently with my Danios.

 

[Syphoniera]

^ 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.

I so totally agree with your points, and am especially glad you brought up the point about birds in tiny cages.
I knew someone years back who had his large bedroom closet converted into a 'bird-cage' for his small bird.
Some other friends had a parrot and a Cockatiel, full run of the basement (warm, clean and dry, easy-wash cement flooring) most of the time; when upstairs, restrained during times when outside doors would be most likely to be opened, but often not.
I think people who love birds enough to have them often do try, and very often succeed, in providing a reasonably happy, healthy environment.

It's a question of knowledge and empathy - providing the answers every time

And I think you can say say the same of fishkeepers.

 

[markandhisfish]

i also lost a lot of fish starting up do to a mix of lack of research poor advice and impatience/ignorance. i know how you feel it made me dispondant and i beat myself up about it but as somebody on here said to me as they were helping me sort out the mess is not to be too hard on yourself we have all made basic mistakes at some point . and you learn from it and become a better fish keeper for it . and its not as if you were being deliberately cruel either so keep your chin up learn from your mistakes and enjoy your fish .

all the best

mark

 

[Ace Of Spades]

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.

+1