Morality and Fish
 

I bought a Moorish Idol, really hard to keep. Some say impossible. What's your opinion on that?
Have you bought an "impossible" fish? Why or why not?

Is it wrong? Why? Why not?

All opinion, feel free to take a run at it!

I do not believe it is wrong as long as the person makes every effort to keep the fish healthy and alive. Experimentation is why we are able to keep so many animals/fish in captivity. People have to be willing to dedicate their time and money to provide the best care possible.

Tiring fast. All the moral gibber jab about what's best for fish, supplying the best "habitat" the best tank conditions to make their little lives more bearable in a glass box makes me want to puke. WE ALL are guilty anyone who thinks they are doing a fish a favor by offering the best living conditions possible has a very fogged thinking. Buy a fish, put it in your tank. It will die, all things do. Today tomorrow or in a week what ever. If we didn't want pretty things to look at in glass box of water we wouldn't buy a tank to begin with so people if you want to wear your I offer the best solution for the little fishes of the world badge of honour go ahead I'm sure all the fish at the local fish shop are screaming pick me pick me when you walk buy.

To answer the question I have bought high risk fish and of coarse it died, will I do it again. Nope..not because of any moral dilemma but because I'm cheap.

Fyi my response has nothing to do with the other two posts, take no offence just a rant that has been building for awhile.

This hobby is the equivalent to jailing innocent people. Oh oh. You come with me while I put you in an 8x10. I will offer you the best I can though.

Ya, I would tend to agree with that. I've made what I believe are suitable provisions to QT and feed/medicate as required.

I'd also agree with this line of thinking as well :)

Like most ethical questions, it is complicated. I take as my starting point that I believe that as living beings we owe it to our livestock to be responsible caretakers. Assuming you found a Moorish Idol at a LFS, perhaps it is a good thing to take it home as you have a wealth of experience, and you may have a better than average chance of having it thrive. And yet your purchace encourages your LFS to bring in more Idols, which encourages suppliers to catch more, which may be a bad thing. If there are livestock that have a terrible survival rate, perhaps they would be better off not being harvested.

My thoughts are that the LFS is going to sell them anyway. Fishermen are going to catch them, suppliers are going to buy them, LFS will order them and customers will take them home. This will never stop. There are enough people that don't know it's difficult, only as the grumpy Gill in the dentist office. They will always sell whether I buy it or leave it. (In my case, I ordered it specifically for me, so it might have stayed in the ocean if I hadn't). Or not.

But then we get to the question, if I leave it in the ocean, would it have survived until today without getting eaten by a Fijian seal or dolphin? Don't know. Should we leave them all in the ocean? Maybe. But people catch these guys all day long for food in their country of origin. I've seen tang, angel and trigger on ice in markets.

Can I keep this guy alive? I think so. If I do, I'm putting it in a glass box in my livingroom. Is that successful? I doubt the MI would think so.

I dunno, no right answer I guess.

It's the challenge that makes me want to try those "impossible" to keep fishes. Gotta overcome the impossibility and make it possible. Damn ocd. Yes I'll take another Achilles for 250 dollars please...throw in the copperband and the moorish idol too.

Lol and if he doesn't survive you got food for your table :P

It really isn't complicated as people say. It's black or white, you care or don't care about how fish feel about living in a box. I have several tanks, so I guess I truely don't care about what the fish feels or thinks. I will feed it and clean its tank but I want it to live....... For my enjoyment not its well being or quality of life. Like Brad said, maybe if the diver never caught the fish he would have been a seals lunch five minutes later.