The things they come up with..

[thekoimaiden]

Originally Posted by Myates

It is sad.. I love naturally landscaped tanks, the plants and rocks.. and naturally colored fish go great in it. These here.. just not right. To inject the fish is stressful, and it is just way too much. How about spending the money these companies spend to dye fish, and use it to educate people on proper care of them.

+ ∞ You just can't beat natural beauty. I love this article from PFK. The 75 most colourful fish | Features | Practical Fishkeeping It displays some of the most colorful fish in the hobby today and shows that you don't need tattoes or dyes to have beautiful fish in your aquarium.

On the other side, this article showcases some of the worst man-made fish in the hobby today. There were some things in here that I didn't even know about. It's really sad. The 10 worst man made fish | Blog | Practical Fishkeeping

[purplemuffin]

I find certain things on that list interesting. They complain about long finned koi and serpent tetras. It's sort of shocking bettas aren't mentioned in that line of thought--we breed double tailed bettas, fish known to have genetic issues causing shorter bodies. And halfmoons with tails so long they can struggle to swim without tail biting. I'd say bettas are pretty 'man made' if you compare them to their wild counterparts!

[MandiceP]

Originally Posted by VikingPrincess

"Fruit salad tetras"? If they are what I am thinking of,the stores here label them as 'blueberry tetras' or 'strawberry tetras"...

the pink and blue tetras? yeah over in New England they are typically called Fruit Salad but I've seen them labeled differently online and such.

[thekoimaiden]

Originally Posted by purplemuffin

I find certain things on that list interesting. They complain about long finned koi and serpent tetras. It's sort of shocking bettas aren't mentioned in that line of thought--we breed double tailed bettas, fish known to have genetic issues causing shorter bodies. And halfmoons with tails so long they can struggle to swim without tail biting. I'd say bettas are pretty 'man made' if you compare them to their wild counterparts!

They did mention bettas but just called them Siamese fighters. Their logic for allowing long-finned varieties of betta and guppies and goldfish is that they "are long established and very popular... but they don't nip fins." I think they were mostly referring to making a long-finned variety of fish that is known to be a voracious fin-nipper.

I agree. Bettas are pretty man-made, but they aren't the worst things we've made. Granted some varieties like HM and double-tailed can have problems (as can fancy goldfish), but I don't think they have as many problems as the two-headed arowana.

[Kitty Whiskers]

I haven't seen any of those fish at the local pet stores around here yet. But I have seen the dyed Glassfish and the ones with the tattoos on them at some pet stores here already. They are all very pretty, but it is so wrong if it is not natural. I would not buy any because then I'd be supporting something bad.

[VikingPrincess]

Originally Posted by MandiceP

the pink and blue tetras? yeah over in New England they are typically called Fruit Salad but I've seen them labeled differently online and such.

Yep,I think they are originally called 'white skirt tetras' or something? But yes,they dye them pink and blue...shame!

[Inga]

Originally Posted by MinaMinaMina

Too much for the fish, too. Its just cruel.

I'm not quite sure how we, as a species, have not evolved past the point of torturing animals. It makes me unendingly sad... both for the animals, and for us.

+ 1 I couldn't agree more.

[Bombalurina]

Originally Posted by VikingPrincess

Yep,I think they are originally called 'white skirt tetras' or something? But yes,they dye them pink and blue...shame!

I don't know why they do it. Whiteskirts are so pretty to start with, without sticking them with needles and shortening their lifespans.

[Badjer]

Honestly I don't see the appeal of any of the dyed or tattooed fish...maybe it's just because I know it's animal cruelty, but to me they're just eyesores. One of my local grocery stores sells tattooed mollies (I believe they're mollies...I try not to look) and the whole bottom of the tank is just littered with dead fish. It's absolutely sickening.

[SnowySurface]

I have heard of some experiements where animals have their DNA adjusted to make parts of their bodies glow. The first one I heard about is the glow fish that are now sold commercially now. People do complain about the ethics behind glofish, but they do live full lives, don't have anything toxic in their system, and answered some questions about gene expression and genetransport (Sorry if the first site is excessively biased towards glowing fish. this one is more objective and focuses more on the laws involved. ^_^;). The fish were healthy and safe enough for any aquarium so a commercial market formed without endangering people or the enviornment. The GloFish article on Wiki is another place to see what a responsible researcher has to deal with to introduce a modified animal into a commercial market for the sake of profit.

I say all this for a reason. GloFish I will defend because they are nothing more than healthy Zebra fish that happen to glow for the sake of medical science (and now profit). Fish tattooes and Fish dying is nothing more than torture or really, really slow murder for the sake of profit in that order. How on Earth is either legal? I condone humane animal testing in a controlled enviornment for the sake of medical breakthroughs and I still see this as nothing more than animal abuse. :(