21/03/2022
So it’s Monday and already my inbox is full of people pointing out that I support a cruel and disgusting practice of ripping fish from their homes and cramming them into glass tanks. There is no way fish keeping can be ethical, according to them.
Yes, there is, fish keeping can be 100% ethical, there you go, get a nice coffee and continue on your week.
Right you know there is more than that. Let’s dig into this a bit more. Firstly, what the hell is ethical.
The bits we need to look at are morally good or correct, and avoiding activities that do harm to people or the environment. I’m also going to tack on doing harm to animals.
What is the harm that fish keeping does, here’s a list, I’m sure there are more, but I’ve not had enough coffee to go through all the lovely emails, and pms, and, I’m not joking, a letter, I’ve had this week.
1. We are causing mass extinction by taking fish out of the wild.
2. Causing the death of fish as they’re transported.
3. Causing suffering by stuffing them into glass tanks.
4. Spreading disease by transporting exotic creatures all over the world.
Let’s hit each one in turn.
1. More species are being captive-bred, and many wild-caught species provide a sustainable income to local fishermen. It’s a low volume high-profit trade when compared to fishing for food. Which is a real alternative to fishing for the aquarium.
But that’s not to say this isn’t an issue, but guess what, fish aren’t teleported into our tanks, we can choose to only keep species that are captive bred or sustainably captured.
2. According to those who want fish keeping stopped 99% of all fish die in transport. Yeah, that’s utter rubbish, that’s a business model straight out of the idiot's guide to bankruptcy. But yes some will die. We need to make sure that the businesses we support are using the best methods and researching to improve transport methods.
3. Is living in a glass tank cruel, yes to something that needs half an ocean to thrive, is a tank suitable for some fish. Yes, it’s a great home if you provide for the fish. Give them the correct conditions, the correct tank mates, the correct diet, enrichment, lighting, heat, and all the other stuff we control. Where it becomes wrong is when we take fish that need huge tanks and put them in small ones, when we take migratory fish and put them in tiny tanks, when we keep fish that grow huge and deliberately stunt them by keeping them in small tanks.
4. Spreading disease. Yeah, there’s a real risk of this, but we can do some really simple things to keep pathogens down below levels that matter. You know basic tank maintenance. There’s more risk from uni students flying at the start of each academic year. Far more risk, bloody students.
Above all else is a simple question, can we provide a better life for fish in our tanks than in the wild? I’ll ask another one, can we provide a horse with a better life than a zebra in the wild. Being hunted by predators, searching for food, and often water. Yes, we can.
For fish, it’s even worse. We know that a single spawn of fish can produce thousands of fry, so one pair can produce tens of thousands of young. But the numbers of most fish are dropping, so from tens of thousands of fry born fewer than 2 are surviving to reproduce. This is true of fish that aren’t even caught for the aquarium, so the wild is harsh for fish, tanks can be a safe space for fish to thrive and live out their entire lives in comfort.
Want another example. Early homo sapiens had huge territories for hunting, lived about 30 years (some studies say more, some say less) had huge infant mortality rates, died of diseases that we treat with stuff we buy from the supermarket, and so many of us died that we evolved to just about survive. Yeah, that’s us. Now we live in smaller territories, and we live longer healthier lives, and hopefully, we’re happier. Yeah, I may not be convincing everyone, are you lot alright out there?
Notice I’ve said it can be ethical. Yeap, can, not is. All too often we buy what we want not what is ethical. That needs to change. With all the thousands of species out there you can find one that suits your tank, and just as importantly one that your tank will provide a perfect home for, for the rest of its a long healthy life.
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