[vegancherrypie]

I have some questions about fish. Are all fish meat-eating? Can you have too big of a tank for your fish? Are all fish captured from the wild or are some bred in captivity? Are the conditions in which they are bred, if they are bred in captivity, humane?

Thanks...I hope someone can answer these. I always thought fishies were nifty but I don't want to start anything if it's not humane.

Cassie

 

[stonecrest]

Quote:

Originally posted by vegancherrypie

Are all fish captured from the wild or are some bred in captivity? Are the conditions in which they are bred, if they are bred in captivity, humane?

here's a link, for starters:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/...on9dec09.story

 

[vegancherrypie]

Gracias, stonecrest, but I wasn't asking about fish used for food...I know about them. I meant aquarium fish.

Cassie

 

[Ocean]

Are all fish meat-eating? Can you have too big of a tank for your fish? Are all fish captured from the wild or are some bred in captivity? Are the conditions in which they are bred, if they are bred in captivity, humane?

Fish can be herbivores, carnivores and omnivores...

I guess it depends on the fish with how big the tank is...I think the bigger-the better. I have a 20 gal cichlid tank right now with 4 fish, and I've been told this is too small so I may have to upgrade. The bigger the fish-the bigger the tank.

Some salt water fish are captured

People will buy the fish and take it home, and they usually don't last well in captivity. It is better to buy them tank raised in my opinion because they are already used to living in a tank.

I've been to fish stores where they will have aquariums filled with TOO many fish, and the water is in horrible condition. I don't think this is humane. If you go to an indepedent store, you will usually see that they take good care of their fish...I went to Petco once and saw a fish (still alive) on the counter, I quickly put it in some water. Shows how much care they get...

Are you interested in having your own tank?

 

[vegancherrypie]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ocean

Are you interested in having your own tank?

Yes, I just want to make sure I only support humane practices if I do. In other words, I'd only want to get herbivore fish that are not captured from the wild, from a store that has humane conditions. I'm pretty much in the dark about all things fish so I guess I'll need to get reading and researching. I "rescue" hermit crabs and I really make sure I keep them in the best conditions I can...huge tank, lots of toys, proper temp, humidity, substrate, etc. I'd want to do the same for my fish, if I had any.

Cassie

 

[GhostUser]

Most freshwater fish are not captured from the wild as far as I know, just salt water, like Ocean said. But watch out for fish that are dyed, as this happens a lot, and not only is it cruel but it can weaken the fish.

I don't think there's such a thing as a tank being too big. Most people put their fish in tanks that are too small. I had 2 goldfish in a 20 gallon once, since most people go by the 1 goldfish per 10 gallons rule, but I started to get people yelling at me for that, saying I should have 20 gallons per fish! Big tanks are also much easier to maintain, because the water conditions don't fluctuate as much. It's just harder to do water changes!

I'd recommend going to smaller pet stores or better yet, FISH stores, if you want fish that are treated well. Fish from stores like Pet Smart and Petco, and Pets at Home in Britain, aren't usually the best at caring for fish. I bought a sick fish from Pet Smart, and now unless it's an emergency, I don't buy ANYTHING from them.

I just did a search on fishprofiles.com, and here's the list of herbivorous fish I got: http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles...on=&lifestyle=

 

[vegancherrypie]

Thanks may!!

I don't like to support Petsmart, Petco, or Superpetz either, I was long turned off of them because of the conditions they have at their store for their hermit crabs--truly awful, and there are few exceptions, as I've learned from hermit crab enthusiasts all across the country. Unfortunately and somewaht ironically, superpetz is the only store that sells the food my crabs will eat around here.

I can't believe people dye fish! I've never heard of this, though in our paper a few days ago was a picture of a million little fish of the same species in a tank in Tokyo. They were bright and flourescent in every color of the rainbow. I sat in shock and looked at the picture amazed that mother nature could produce such a myriad of beautiful and bright colors on a fish. I guess she couldn't.

Are there any tell-tale signs to look for to tell if a fish has been dyed?

Cassie

 

[GhostUser]

I want to get a fish too (I doubt I'll be allowed)

But still I was just wondaring would it be mean to just get one?

Like do you think it would get lonely?

But then what if I got two and the had fish babies?

Or if they fought?

Im thinking of goldfish....

Danny

 

[Ocean]

Whatever you do make sure you research a lot before starting a tank....I went through weeks of doing this online. It can be very costly-heater, filter, food, decor, light, hood, etc...And then you have to do your weekly water changes...

I don't like the idea of having only one fish, but I'm sure there are some that do better that way. I really recommend starting with Cichlids. Electric Yellows (or yellow labs) are very common and popular (which are the fish I have now!).

You might want to request a catalog from

www.drsfostersmith.com

or here's the direct link

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/catalog/index.cfm

They have a lot of great info in there for starting a tank!

 

[GhostUser]

Sometimes the stores will actually put the word "painted" in the name of the fish. If you see any fish that's a really bright color and you don't know if it should be, do some quick research online before buying it. That's your best chance of avoiding dyed fish.

Danny, I know all about goldfish. (Well, I'm no Rick Hess or Erik Johnson... but the fact that I know those names says something lol.) Goldfish need at least 10 gallons per fish to stay healthy, some people say 20 or 30. Because of their shape and how their digestive system is set up, they produce a lot of waste, and any less than 10 gallons per fish will be harmful. Many people also recommend a filter that's recommended for a tank 2 times the size of yours. Goldfish are pretty good fish to start out with, they stay healthy a long time and you don't need a heater since they're cold water fish. The ideal setup in my opinion for a beginner who wants goldfish is a 29 or 30 gallon long tank, with 3 fancy goldfish or 2 common or comet goldfish (they get to be 12" sometimes, while most fancy gf stay around 6"-8").

Breeding probably wont be a problem, unless you want it to be. When the goldfish lay eggs and fertilize them, if you don't take them out, the fish will usually eat them within a few days before they have a chance to hatch.

If you want a fish that you can keep in a smaller container, bettas can do well in tanks as small as 2 gallons (many people keep them in smaller, but I wouldn't) by themselves, but they need meat products in their diet, and some people here probably don't feel comfortable feeding them that.