Minnow

I was reading today's newspaper when I came across a very interesting article about transparent animals. There were a lot of cool-looking photos on the front (including that barreleye fish someone posted about a while back), but one of them showed a painted Indian glassy fish! The caption stated simply, "The Indian glassy fish (left) is part of a large family of see-through fish." No mention of the fluorescent pink dye it was injected with.

Incidentally, the photo is the first one that shows up on a Google search for "Indian glassy fish."



I was shocked to see the photo, since it's not hard to find a picture of a naturally colored glassy fish. So, I wrote a letter to the newspaper to point out the mistake. Hopefully they will publish it so readers will find out about painted fish.

Here is my letter:
Regarding “The glasslike menagerie” (Currents Quest May 18):
One of the photos in this article showed an Indian glassy fish. What the caption doesn’t say is that the fish in the photo has been “painted,” or injected with fluorescent dye in a painful process (and yes, fish do feel pain). Transparent or pale-colored fish are often injected with or dipped in colored dyes to make them more appealing to unsuspecting customers, but this shortens the lifespan of the fish and makes them more vulnerable to diseases.
By showing an image of a painted Indian glassy fish, many readers may have been LED to believe that this is their natural coloration, and that the sale of these fish is acceptable. Although the article itself was interesting and informative, the Indian glassy fish photo was an inaccurate representation of the species. While it is the first image to pop up on a google search, there are plenty of photos of undyed glassy fish to choose from.

Chrisson

Good job!

Beth1965

Minnow, Good for you!
Beth

Lucy

Nice job.

sirdarksol

Actually, it's not all that easy. It's getting better, but most glassfish pics are painted. It's only very recently that Wikipedia's entry has added a pic of non-painted fish, and it's not a very good one.

The paper probably used the above image because it's free (anything on Wikipedia is pretty much free-use).

Good for you for writing to the paper. It's very difficult for some people to find non-painted glassfish, and, as you say, many people believe that the paint is natural coloring (I believed that at one time).

Butterfly

Good job Minnow! Please let us know if you get a reply.
carol

agabr123

great job, minnow!

aquarist48

You've done well! Keep us posted.

Minnow

I got a reply!

"((my name)):
Your email regarding the painted glassy fish was passed to me. Your point is well-taken. It wasn't known at the time the photo was selected that the fish had been painted. I've put up a clarification on the Eureka science blog, which you can see here: ((link removed because it contains my full name)). Thanks for the keen eye.

Scott LaFee "

The blog stated:

"Reader ((my name)) astutely points out a misleading image in my May 18 Quest story on transparency in animals, "The glasslike menagerie."
((my name), a ninth-grader at ((my school)), notes that the Indian glassy fish depicted has been "painted," a process in which dye is injected into the fish to make them more colorful and marketable in the aquarium trade.
According to ((my name)) and other sources, painting is painful to the fish and heath-threatening: Their lifespan is shortened and the fish are more vulnerable to diseases like ICH and fin rot.
Apologies for the misleading picture. Here's what an unpainted Indian glassy fish looks like:

"

MissMTS

Wow Minnow that is so wonderful! I'm glad that they were so quick to correct it. Hopefully now because of you, more people will be informed about this painful process and won't purchase dyed fish

pinkfloydpuffer

Wonderful job! I'm so glad they fixed it

joy1125

great thing that you did Minnow! The world needs more people like you, people who will take the time to right a wrong ! I've read your posts here, you are so smart and knowledgeable, I had no idea that you're in 9th grade. You have such respect for life, and a quest for learning, and doing what's right--- you will go very far in life. Kudos again to you !

sirdarksol

Hooray!

Minnow

Thanks, everyone! I was happy to get a reply from the author of the article himself, and although I would have liked my letter to be published in the newspaper where more people would see it, I'm proud of myself for spreading the word about painted fish and for speaking up when I saw something that wasn't right.

Joy1125, thanks for your kind words! I was having a bad day yesterday, and your post made me feel better about myself.

Butterfly

Way to go Minnow! You should be very proud of yourself, we sure are :0
carol

LilMan

Good Job Minnow! Way to spread how those poor fish are tortured

I think the unpainted one looks just as cool, most wouldn't think this because they don't know how the painted ones got like that.

sirdarksol

There are many kinds of beauty. The gaudy does have a certain appeal (if it didn't, painted fish, glofish, neon signs, velvet Elvis', and the like wouldn't be popular), but I definitely prefer the more natural beauty to the gaudy, and when the gaudy causes pain to a creature who had no say in the matter, then there's no question.

Alessa

Awesome job!

joy1125

Minnow