True enough to your point, but I did not take them out of the wild and if they were not readily available I would not have one. How many people on this forum have these fish and have not admitted to it?
My fish were taken out of the wild as well, and why should they be deprived of something essential to their health and well being? If I choose to keep marine fish they should have the right to the things they had in the wild. I had no clue cleaner wrasses were so difficult to keep since I personally have never had an issue with them dying.
This is a brutal hobby and many fish do die, but we as hobbyists choose to keep marine fish. You may as well bash me along with everyone else that chooses to be in this hobby.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justinl
my2rotties, I won't be the one to outright bash you, but I have to point out one thing: if you know how important they are in the wild, how do you justify removing them and keeping them in your tank? Does it not occur to you that now the fish in the wild will be "frantically looking all over the place" (and in vain for) their cleaner wrasse? Again, only a handful of fish (in your tank) benefit from this. hundreds of wild fish are deprived of this function now... then multiply that by however many die (lots as with any delicate fish) before yours even reaches the tank.
your cost and benefit analysis of the situation seems lacking. This is not the same case as if we remove a few damsels, who are plentiful and don't serve any "real" ecosystem function; essentially, they're expendable, which makes them a good captivity candidate. But taking out cleaner wrasses is like taking doctors out of the city one by one. things will get messy sooner or later. I can't think of any good reason to speed this process by participating in it.
|