- Location
- Franklin Lakes, NJ
Nothing new there! :tongue1:
New Catalina Goby
- Thread starter Acone15
- Start date
Nothing new there! :tongue1:
- Location
- Overland Park, KS
One of the things worth thinking about is the idea of what we think of as a fish "thriving."
It lives a week and dies, and we know it did not live long enough. A month, and we say, he was doing so well and then what happened??? A few months, and we go nuts checking parameters. A year and we say, "hey - he had a good life."
This is sad.
A day, a week, and it was probably stressed out from the trip to your home from the ocean. You bought a fish on its last legs. Bad luck.
A month and he might have been slowly starving to death, slowly succumbing to some ailment he suffered thanks to being captured - and perhaps we hastened his death by not giving him a month to three in quarantine to recover. Perhaps he was so stressed out that he couldn't eat and then we didn't give it the food it wanted. Perhaps it ate enough to survive for a while, but it took so much energy to deal with all the strange new water parameters that it could not actually fend off whatever diseases and other fish challenged it in its new home.
A few months, and it becomes more our fault - it couldn't adjust to all the new parameters, we didn't feed it properly, we challenged it with other fish.... We are to blame, and while it is "just a fish," it is a living thing. It's not just art.
A year and it was still our fault. Most of the fish we choose to keep should be able to live years and years in our tanks. Some should outlive us if we are in our 40's or 50's when we buy them. Yes, there are some species whose in-the-wild lifespan is short, but most aquarium fishes live WAY longer than we typically keep them alive.
I know that there are some of us who buy difficult fish thinking we can keep them - and some of us really can - but most think we'll just get lucky. This makes me so very sad, and I hope that those of you who read this through to the end will agree that the only fish you should buy are those with the greatest possibility of surviving to some approximation of their natural lifespan in your tank.
It lives a week and dies, and we know it did not live long enough. A month, and we say, he was doing so well and then what happened??? A few months, and we go nuts checking parameters. A year and we say, "hey - he had a good life."
This is sad.
A day, a week, and it was probably stressed out from the trip to your home from the ocean. You bought a fish on its last legs. Bad luck.
A month and he might have been slowly starving to death, slowly succumbing to some ailment he suffered thanks to being captured - and perhaps we hastened his death by not giving him a month to three in quarantine to recover. Perhaps he was so stressed out that he couldn't eat and then we didn't give it the food it wanted. Perhaps it ate enough to survive for a while, but it took so much energy to deal with all the strange new water parameters that it could not actually fend off whatever diseases and other fish challenged it in its new home.
A few months, and it becomes more our fault - it couldn't adjust to all the new parameters, we didn't feed it properly, we challenged it with other fish.... We are to blame, and while it is "just a fish," it is a living thing. It's not just art.
A year and it was still our fault. Most of the fish we choose to keep should be able to live years and years in our tanks. Some should outlive us if we are in our 40's or 50's when we buy them. Yes, there are some species whose in-the-wild lifespan is short, but most aquarium fishes live WAY longer than we typically keep them alive.
I know that there are some of us who buy difficult fish thinking we can keep them - and some of us really can - but most think we'll just get lucky. This makes me so very sad, and I hope that those of you who read this through to the end will agree that the only fish you should buy are those with the greatest possibility of surviving to some approximation of their natural lifespan in your tank.
can I hear an 'AMEN'
And yes your right it was Eric. That's y I said I think.... We can go on and on about this but in the end it is what it is yes my fish could live a long life in my tank or maybe not. But also in the wild he could have a long life or a short one. Is it worth it taking him out of the sea for our amusement I don't think so but is any life form worth taking it from the sea and putting it in our tanks. I don't think so, with that said we are all wrong for what we do. But in not pointing the finger at no one, heck if I didn't but it it might of died in the lfs anyway. So in that sence he's in a good place and I think I can proved him with plenty of food to eat and a good place to stay. I only hope I can keep him for a lot longer. Time will tel.
Sent from my iPod touch using Reefs
Sent from my iPod touch using Reefs
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- Location
- Staten Island
Agreed..it really isn't right for any of us to take anything out of it's natural environment for our own amusement we are all guilty of being greedy,playing god whatever way you prefer to put it. WE are not propogating coral to save the reefs or help nature it's us being selfish and wanting to keep nature in captivity. No one should be pointing any fingers about 1 fish when we as a community are ALL guilty of killing thousands of fish and corals. Going on vacation for a week and leaving nothing but an eheim automatic fish feeder is just irresponsible but many people do it. Various tank crashes for whatever reason is still our own fault because if we didn't put those animals in that box they would probably be alive. Of course we can argue that they might not survive in nature but who are we to make that decision? It doesn't really matter how big your tank is 4 foot 6 foot 10 foot 500 or 1,000 gallons the ocean is BILLIONS. WE are ALL wrong. How bout those apples?
Speaking of those apples, you're comparing them to oranges. The ethics of reef keeping in general is different than the ethics of keeping a species in an environment that it cannot survive in the great majority of the time.
Put it this way: is there a difference between a person being put in jail in America where they have a blanket, a pillow, regulated temperatures, a bathroom, etc and being put in jail in solitary confinement in Siberia in a cell with no heat? I mean, they're both in jail, right?
Put it this way: is there a difference between a person being put in jail in America where they have a blanket, a pillow, regulated temperatures, a bathroom, etc and being put in jail in solitary confinement in Siberia in a cell with no heat? I mean, they're both in jail, right?
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- Location
- Staten Island
Jail is jail and it's the same as living in a tank,limited space you can't escape from. Only difference is usually when you are in jail at some point you get released. :duh:
How do you know what jail is like in Siberia? Ever been there? I would think most likely not..it's a long trip from Brooklyn.
How do you know what jail is like in Siberia? Ever been there? I would think most likely not..it's a long trip from Brooklyn.
what do you mean 'WE'!
- Location
- Garden city
Sweet fish where can I get one !! J/k
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Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
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