Dyed or tattooed fish

OK!!! I am totally shocked and disappointed by what I saw in my lfs today. They looked like white goldfish>comets(maybe) some had purple stripes while others had pink hearts(painted,dyed or tattooed) on their sides. I have never seen this before and don't wish to EVER again. I was very upset that anyone would do this to a living creature just to make a few extra bucks for a novelty item.I wanted to say something to the salesclerk but remembered that he only works there and has no control over the managers bad decisions.So I quickly made my purchase and left>only some fake plants and airstones>as my tank is already overstocked I hadn't planned on buying any fish but I love to look at the different varietys. The display tanks are always very clean and the staff is pretty knowledgeable, and they are always VERY helpful. I have purchased all of my fish and supplies at this store for 3yrs but I am now thinking about boycotting this location.Has anyone else seen this and am I overreacting? :-\

 

I don't think ur overreacting at all

Peace Out Callum!

 

sadly this is too common and we like to let those stores know they've lost our business for their support of animal cruelty.

 

at a local pet store by me they had a bunch of dyed ones they were glass fish with neon dyes in theI backs I told them what I though and how cruel it was and teh next week they were gone and the owner said I made a good point and isn't selling them anymore

 

yea, if they'll stop carrying them, then they won't lose our business.. some don't care though and those don't deserve to stay in business. if the market will go away, it will give less reason for the cruel fish torture they do for stupid novelty looks.

 

I find it to be the equivalent the selling those hairless cats or dogs with designs tattoed on them. just because fish won't scream docent mean its OK

 

This might stir the pot but I think it needs to be said. First off. I have lived in the country pretty much my entire life....So ive been brought up with hunting, fishing, farming, ect... Its not uncommon to see livestock or pets being shot or put down when sick, or developing a lame leg. So needless to say I'm not real sensitive when talking about "animal cruelty" I mean there is a difference between shooting and animal for sport, or because of an injury or just for fun. There is no excuse to be intentionally mean to an animal for no reason. However, animals have been mankinds mean of livelyhood for centuries, whether it be cattle, horses, dogs, chickens,or fish. Either for food, hunting, transportation, fun, or companionship, and in order to have an animal for those reasons you would usually have to purchase it from a business man who is selling the animal for no reason other than to make a profit. Which is what the people selling fish are doing..... Pretty much every slice of meat you eat everyday has been tattooed, branded or has had its ear pierced with a ear tag. I'm positive, that a cow, or a pig has lived a much more painful and unhappy life than the fish in the store with a artifical heart on its side. I'm fairly certain that you don't think about that every time you sit down to a nice steak dinner. Am I saying I agree with the practice? NO. Am I saying I'm going to boycott someones livelyhood because of the $1.25 fish with a neon strip down its side? NO. Am I saying I'm going to lose sleep and night because of the fish I saw today? NO.

What is the difference between the horse you buy to keep pinned up in a stall in the barn and the fish you buy to keep pinned up in the box of water on the table? I believe both of those animals should be running free either on the plains or in the ocean. However, because they are available and you are able to keep them, you do.

SO, lets recap.

Do I think tattooing fish is right? NO. Am I going to buy a tattooed fish? NO. Am I going to boycott the stores selling them? NO. Am I going to stop eating meat because cattle and pigs are tattooed? NO. Am I going to have my tattoo on my arm removed. NO. Am I going to stop talking to you nice folks about our hobby? NO. Do I think you are over reacting? Yes. a little.

Though the folks putting the ink to the scale aren't 100% correct, I don't think we are either, we keep fish in a box of water on a desk and put little skeleton's, drinking a bottle of rum that blow bubbles in with them.

just my : :;bb

 

You might want to research the process of fish dyeing before telling people they're overreacting. To dye a fish, it has to be dipped in acid, then dyed. Call me crazy, but I view dipping any animal in an acid bath to be cruel.

90% of the fish don't survive the process and the 10% that do have shortened life spans with high rates of disease. And the people that buy the "pretty fish" find the dying wears out in weeks to months if the fish lives that long.

So you have fish being dipped in acid with most dying and customers being ripped off at the store. With many choices on where to shop, I'd rather give my business to a store that doesn't support fish dyeing.

You won't find any rum drinking skeletons in our tanks either.

 

I have done some research because I find it interesting. Its been being done since the 1980s and there are many differant ways to do it. whether it be ink injected, dye injected, or laser etched into the scales then dyed and let to heal. Same as the way humans are tattooed.... Let us remember. It just a fish. Not even your fish if you don't buy one.

Disagreeing with the process is fine. Boycotting petstores is overreacting. You aren't boycotting stores because of them purchasing puppies from puppy mills.

I'm not buying the fish with a purple heart on his side because I don't want a fish with a purple heart. I keep fish because I like the natural look of a fish. I take good care of my fish. If you remember I returned my Pacus because I couldnt provide the HUGE accomodations they need to thrive.

I think we are all slightly wrong keeping these beautiful creatures in a box of water on a table. (granted, we do the best we can) But tell me what the difference is between tattooing a fish and tattooing or burning a logo in the flesh of a cow that you had for lunch? There isn't one. You just can't see the tattoo of the cow from the supermarket.

Just voicing my opinion. As you are. Its just different than yours. I guess we were brought up around different things.

 

I see your point, but there is a difference to me. The branding and such of food animals is apparently necessary. The fish are being tatooed (and pierced) for pleasure. I believe humans need to eat meat. If that meat has to be branded for whatever purpose then I'm going to end up eating branded meat. There is no value in dyed fish other than to look at. The process of branding and such doesn't put the cows life at stake. Not that I know of. Dyeing risks, as COBettaCouple pointed out, %90 of it's victims. These fish dyers could easily make their money selling healthy livestock. Other than making another buck 25 every time someones dyed fish dies every month. It's like they're selling disposable fish. Just buy another when that one "runs" out. It's not so mch about the cruelty to me. It's purpose. We as a species are cruel almost by nature. Humans know how to be cruel to a great many things. My not supporting a store because of their choice to sell dyed fish isn't me supporting PETA. It's me not supporting a poorly run establishment. I feel stores sell them knowing they'll at least get your money twice if you don't do any reading. Also, no pet store I go to sells puppies let alone from a puppy farm. That is an equally useless thing. All the stores I go to only do adoptions through the Shelter.

 

I wouldn't shop at a pet store supplied by puppy mills. Petfinder.com is the site that we would use if we were looking for pets other than fish, there are so many shelters, especially no-kill ones that would be a better choice for getting a pet.

I've never been all radical about it and people each make their own choices, but I just believe that every animal deserves humane treatment, even 'just fish' or animals grown for our food supply. Fish dyeing isn't the only cruel pet practice done for the almighty dollar. I can't view things as the same for cows as fish, they have very different biologies and we don't actually buy beef either, only free range buffalo or turkey from area farms that are known to treat their livestock humanely. It might cost a little more, but we believe that people should treat animals properly.

 

Touche'

 

I agree that we should not buy dyed/tatooed fish.
TELL the manager at your LPS/LFS how you feel about them selling the dyed/tatooed fish and what you will do if thay don't stop.

 

Okay being a fish newby, especially to platies, I wasn't paying much attention to the fish I was buying the other day... I was picking fish out in a huge tank in a store and honestly I just said hey I want that white one w/ the red on it it looks pretty... .I had my 2 son's w/ my one 2 and the other 5... I just thought it had spots on it... well I got almost home and my 5 year old pulls out the bag and says "mom the fish has 200 something on it" I freaked! I got home and got the fish out and sure enough it had 2008 down both sides of its body.......

I looked the "tatooed" fish up and read all about the cruel procedure, and not only am I completly ticked about that, but the fish store also sold me ick infested guppies that same day.... so needless to say tomm since today was a holiday we are having words!

something needs to be done, this "tatooing" procedure to these little guys is very very harsh and cruel, I hear they are barely in enough water to cover their gills and drugged heavily!

heres a pic of "2008" I feel so sorry for him he is my petted fish:



and this store is forever BOYCOTTED by me and all of my family which all has fishtanks!!!

 

It's just an example of how money motivates people to show such contempt for life. I hope he'll do well - Platys tend to be hardier and as bad as tattooing is, I believe the fish have a better chance at regular life spans than dyed fish. I would especially recommend Vita-Chem for the tank he's in. We put it in all our tanks - 1 drop per gallon daily.



He'd be an extra reason to use Prime for your water conditioner I think, since he especially needs a healthy slime coating.

 

In response to the branding/tattooing cattle argument, I believe it benefits the health of cattle to be branded/tattooed or tagged. this is because these markings help to identify the individual animal and allows the farmer to keep records of vaccinations and welfare practices. it is similar to the process in sheep farming refered to as mulesing, sure its not pleasant for the sheep at the time but i'd rather have that done than suffer from fly strike.

 

Replying to the thread on branding cattle, etc

In response to the branding/tattooing cattle argument, I believe it benefits the health of cattle to be branded/tattooed or tagged. this is because these markings help to identify the individual animal and allows the farmer to keep records of vaccinations and welfare practices. it is similar to the process in sheep farming refered to as mulesing, sure its not pleasant for the sheep at the time but i'd rather have that done than suffer from fly strike.

I completly agree w/ the branding lifestock, I live in east tn and that is the only way for the farmers to keep up w/ the animials. They have issues w/ the fence's getting tore down and the lifestock getting loose and that is the way to identify the cattle....
Now, if u have that issue w/ a fish... there's a problem!

 

90% of the fish don't survive the process and the 10% that do have shortened life spans with high rates of disease. And the people that buy the "pretty fish" find the dying wears out in weeks to months if the fish lives that long.

I bought a couple of dyed tetras when I didn't know any better, but I guess I'm lucky...I've had them both for over a year without any problems. I don't like that I supported the practice by means of my purchase, but I'm glad they have a nice home.

 

I think everyone makes good points here. I think most or all people are cruel by nature in that we impact every living thing in a bad way...maybe we are too smart (or dumb) for our own good.

 

I think it's not really luck, but you giving them excellent care that has done the trick. I do believe that the survivors can be given a '2nd chance' at a normal life with really good care. Not a lot of them get that though, but your tetras were lucky you picked them up.

..and when we don't know better, nobody can say anything bad about buying them. We probably would have too, if we'd had the option, before we knew about that process. I think most people buying dyed fish wouldn't even consider that people would think of dyeing fish.

I bought a couple of dyed tetras when I didn't know any better, but I guess I'm lucky...I've had them both for over a year without any problems. I don't like that I supported the practice by means of my purchase, but I'm glad they have a nice home.

 

I hate to see mistreated animals and I don't feel that you are overreacting at all... when I was first getting into the hobby I was the same way when I found out why my "blue" oscar passed away so quickly ... I felt horrible for not knowing.