I am officially BROKE, and ? about ethics in captive fish.

fdiddy · #1 12-10-2008, 05:48 PM

If your hubby has spent a lot of time building the tank and everything, i think, IMO that it is more rewarding to watch your fish grow and develop. It is known that fish do not get as large in captivity and maybe you'd feel better about putting a smaller naso in and watchng him grow rather than buying one that is clearly too large to have grown in a tank. I know that i LOVE watching my fish change colours and grow and i would say that i have more of an attachment to those fish than i do for a few of the fish that i bought full sized already... mind you my tank is not nearly as large as yours and my full sized fish consist of a maroon clown and a blue-sided wrasse..

my2rotties · #2 12-10-2008, 05:53 PM

I have to agree with you whole heartedly. My husband feels the same way, but we really feel sorry for the fish as well. Watching him hardly be able to turn around in a display tank is hard bear. If I was rich I would want to buy them all and let them go back into the wild. I am a bleeding heart, what can I say.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdiddy

If your hubby has spent a lot of time building the tank and everything, i think, IMO that it is more rewarding to watch your fish grow and develop. It is known that fish do not get as large in captivity and maybe you'd feel better about putting a smaller naso in and watchng him grow rather than buying one that is clearly too large to have grown in a tank. I know that i LOVE watching my fish change colours and grow and i would say that i have more of an attachment to those fish than i do for a few of the fish that i bought full sized already... mind you my tank is not nearly as large as yours and my full sized fish consist of a maroon clown and a blue-sided wrasse..

ShrimSkin · #3 12-10-2008, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by my2rotties

I have to agree with you whole heartedly. My husband feels the same way, but we really feel sorry for the fish as well. Watching him hardly be able to turn around in a display tank is hard bear. If I was rich I would want to buy them all and let them go back into the wild. I am a bleeding heart, what can I say.

Well, I think you have a very good point. But someone will buy that Naso, if not you someone will. At least you know that it will be taken care of correctly and your tank is more suitable for it then probably 90% of the tanks out there.

lastlight · #4 12-10-2008, 06:06 PM

There's no price on that Naso at Oceans and I've never asked. It has however been there for months so sometimes someone else *doesn't* come along and buy it.

my2rotties · #5 12-10-2008, 06:30 PM

I'm going to phone and ask shortly and let you know. I know these people have to pay the bills, but it worries me that they will sell a fish to almost anybody and don;t think of the animal's well being. Then people like me buy them and they die, and we are out the money and have a lot of heart break.

We have many bills to pay and I think VERY hard about things we buy... do we need it and the like. You get what you pay for, but when I bought the skimmer and pump last week, I felt sick to my stomach. However it is needed and it was for the well being of my animals. At this point we are in too deep to walk away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lastlight

There's no price on that Naso at Oceans and I've never asked. It has however been there for months so sometimes someone else *doesn't* come along and buy it.

Der_Iron_Chef · #6 12-10-2008, 06:34 PM

I feel your pain! I mistakenly (in my early days of reefkeeping) bought a Hippo Tang for my 55G. I ended up giving it over to a new (and much bigger) home, but it still made me feel bad for the poor thing.

Now I have to exercise some real control in what fish I DO put in my 55G. Yes, it is a selfish hobby, to an extent, but that selfishness should only extend so far.

I think you can find an equally beautiful, active and engaging fish (even another type of tang) that will thrive in your 260!

superduperwesman · #7 12-10-2008, 06:36 PM

I think you might be in the wrong hobby?? Maybe try something with inanimate objects

GreenSpottedPuffer · #8 12-10-2008, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superduperwesman

I think you might be in the wrong hobby?? Maybe try something with inanimate objects

Was that in reference to my pacing comments?

I have found a solution...proper sized tanks! Like I said, Untamed's tangs were not pacing in his 400G and my nano fish do not pace in my 130G.

Its all relative. I just don't have a big enough tank for most tangs.

phillybean · #9 12-11-2008, 03:04 PM

Here is another way to look at it...

Is life in the Ocean that great? Sure they have the swimming room, but they also deal with bigger fish that want to eat them, they have to hunt (work) for their food. The reef (their homes) are disappearing (even with-out collection). Global warming and pollution are causing poor water conditions.

In a proper tank, the average fish will live longer than they would in the wild. Sadly, too many people have improper tank.

That said, I feel that fish over a certain size should not be collected.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #10 12-11-2008, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phillybean

Here is another way to look at it...

Is life in the Ocean that great? Sure they have the swimming room, but they also deal with bigger fish that want to eat them, they have to hunt (work) for their food. The reef (their homes) are disappearing (even with-out collection). Global warming and pollution are causing poor water conditions.

In a proper tank, the average fish will live longer than they would in the wild. Sadly, too many people have improper tank.

That said, I feel that fish over a certain size should not be collected.

With how things are going these days, you do have a good point. I have never had a problem with captive fish myself and think they do live good lives. I agree with you though that my only real issue is one how many of them are caught and two what size they are caught at.

I am so sick of hearing about show sized this and that in stores. To me if a store is selling a "show size fish" and it didn't come from someones tank, its plain wrong. Yet people pay MORE for these fish. IMO there is just a huge difference between buying baby fish who barely knew the ocean and large fish who grew up in the ocean and are now being kept in a relatively tiny box.