Tattooed fish? Really?

[Dr Acula]

Came across these today at pet supermarket. "Tattooed Molly"



Apparently this is done with lazers or acrylic paint and a bunch of hypodermic needles.
I swear, some people steep to the lowest standards just to sell a fish. It doesn't even look good. There was even "LOVE" on one of them.

 

[zonbonzovi]

I'd weep for the future of the human race(and their underwater counterparts) but I had my tear ducts removed in anticipation. If Mommy's little monsters are looking for a "buy to die" pet, the statistics are pretty favorable for these poor, doomed creatures. uke:uke:uke:

 

[Obelisk]

Those fish tattoos only last a few months, at least in the fish that manage to survive without succumbing to infection. Those done on the fish are actually globules of injected fluid in the tissues, which eventually get absorbed and disposed of by the body. It's different from a human tattoo, where the ink spreads out and is absorbed by the cells in the injection site.

 

[BorisTheSpider]

Those fish tattoos only last a few months, at least in the fish that manage to survive without succumbing to infection. Those done on the fish are actually globules of injected fluid in the tissues, which eventually get absorbed and disposed of by the body. It's different from a human tattoo, where the ink spreads out and is absorbed by the cells in the injection site.

I always thought they just painted that stuff on them . Injecting dye into fish is just a little disturbing .

 

[Terry D]

Not quite as bad as the live bug in a pendant that is most definitely doomed to die a slow death, etc, but still pretty atrocious...........................\:

 

[grayzone]

WHERE did you see these??

 

[The Snark]

Call me fussy. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation if you please. And I try to only steep my tea.

 

[Entomancer]

1) Obtain venom from a lethal species of snake/spider/scorpion/etc.

2) Dip a a small, sharp object of your choice in venom.

3) Locate store owner.

4) "Oops, sorry, I accidentally scratched you."

5) Leave a note detailing your intentions if they do not stop selling the fish.

Fantasies aside, I would call them anonymously and complain. Sometimes the people who do things like this are just scumbags, but other times they just don't know, and a bit of education will remove the fish from the store permanently. If they are scumbags, stand next to the tank and tell every single customer about it, and soon nobody will buy them, and people will stop torturing fish.

 

[lizardminion]

Unfortunately for real animal keepers, the pet trade is a much abused exchange and is doomed at this rate...

 

[Kazaam]

That's just sad.

 

[khil]

The only kind of people who would buy this fish are ****es and clueless kids. Which represent an unfortunately large force in the pet market.

 

[Tleilaxu]

Not quite as bad as the live bug in a pendant that is most definitely doomed to die a slow death, etc, but still pretty atrocious...........................\:

You must have missed the turtle charm craze in china, red eared slider babies are placed in a small bag containing "special water" that keeps them alive for months and provides them with everything they need.

 

[Philth]

Injecting fish with color for is another ridiculous pet trade practice that has been going on for a long time in the name of $$$. "Painted" tetra's are often sold around here. Some years back another big fish craze were the " Glow in the dark" Zebra danios, that were genetically engineered.

Later, Tom

 

[Shrike]

You must have missed the turtle charm craze in china, red eared slider babies are placed in a small bag containing "special water" that keeps them alive for months and provides them with everything they need.

This is absurd. Somebody stop the madness.

 

[Niffarious]

This is how people treat what they consider disposable pets. Hermit crabs sold in tiny plastic containers, goldfish in bowls, dyed fish, it goes on and on.

Unfortunately, people have the belief that if it is being sold/advertised it MUST be OK. This of course is far from being true in the pet industry, as most of us know.

Some things are such a part of our collective cultural gestalt that people get angry when you tell them it is otherwise. When I was going through university I often worked in pet stores. I would have people rage when I refused to sell them a goldfish and bowl. No amount of explaining that it's cruel to put a fast growing, messy, cold-water carp in a tiny bowl where it will slowly suffocate due to lack of oxygen and poison itself by soaking in its own waste would convince people otherwise. Because, you know, it's CALLED a goldfish bowl.

 

[Tarac]

Injecting fish with color for is another ridiculous pet trade practice that has been going on for a long time in the name of $$$. "Painted" tetra's are often sold around here. Some years back another big fish craze were the " Glow in the dark" Zebra danios, that were genetically engineered.

Later, Tom

Those fish are significantly different though. Yes they are genetically engineered (so is a lot of stuff we need, ask a diabetic about insulin amongst a myriad of things...) but they can live normal healthy lives, just a little brighter than their normal brethren. That gene won a Nobel prize actually, it is one of the most common fluorescent tags used in molecular biology. A bit of a bastardization of its application, but nonetheless represent a novel and highly utilized molecular probe that has no doubt done many of us here on the boards a good service already even though we may not all know it. If it hasn't, it will as you age. I promise. It is much better to encourage distribution of these "glowing" (actually they are fluorsecing) fish as an alternative to the dyed mollies although arguably one simply promotes the other. Anyway, just so you know what's up with the fish. And at least that guarantees that no pet store fish will survive if it gets "accidentally" released into your local pond (danios are damned hardy you know).

The injected fish and turtle in a bag... sickening. The injected fish, although not this ellaborate, are a well vetted component of fish stores unfortunately. They've been around for quite a while. Turtle in a bag is clearly some new horrible gimmick that should be stamped out right away but comes from a culture that does not find animal welfare to be on the top of their priority list sadly. At least they aren't baby sea turtles I suppose. The world is a disheartening place sometimes, no?

 

[pouchedrat]

I don't have any issues whatsoever with the genetically modified fish. I found them fascinating, and remember trying to buy some years back and was told they were illegal in this state. Then, a few years ago, they showed up at the petsmarts here. Somehow they're no longer illegal, or a person was pulling my leg before (which happened a lot, I was told by various sources that a LOT of various exotics were illegal in this state that weren't. they have some general laws here, that aren't clearly defined).

the dye and stuff is upsetting. It reminds me of those pet cubes they used to sell, with a tiny hole in the top to push food into. On a side note, I used to have one of those glass sealed balls that grows algae and snails and shrimp in it as a kid... didn't last long, but algae took over.

 

[Quazgar]

I am against any of the died fish/amphibians, but the bottom line is if people didn't buy them, then other people wouldn't make and sell them.

 

[jarmst4]

Died or dyed?

 

[Quazgar]

Died or dyed?

Both. oops.