Hmmm... you may be publicising the fish, Andrew, but at what cost? The fish
buying public are notoriously fickle, and if they have enough negative
experiences with ugly fish that die easily on them they may come to the
conclusion that Rainbows aren't worth the bother.... and why should people
buy deformed fish when there are healthy ones available? And what happens
when the faddish public demands, for example, Dwarf Cichlids next year, or
Livebearers, or Tortoises, or any of the other possible trends?
>Business will then be subject to take further measures to ensure that wild
>stocks are maintained by legislation protecting an economic value. (Does
>that make sense?).
We are, after all, discussing a fish here that was unlawfully introduced
into the country, native to a country with little in the way of
environmental protection under pressure from the IMF to perform
economically... I don't think that the "enlightened self interest" theory
of economics has been successfully applied to fish in Australia/New
Guinea/Irian Jaya - I stand ready to be corrected...
>These fish bred by the money hungry should not impact
>upon the wild strains unless some idiot releases them back to the wild. This
>unfortunately is a realism regardless of fish type and stock quality. The
>only way to prevent this totally would be to ban fish keeping. Dont get me
>wrong, Im all for those RESPONSIBLE people breeding fish, but at the same
>time even bad fish have some good. I think that all fish should only be sold
>to people with some sort of a license (I know it wouldnt work) where you had
>to account for what you did with your fish.
This is theoretically the case with most reptiles and native birds here in
the ACT... the animals aren't individually registered (category a and b
wildlife, the majority of species kept, anyhow) but keepers are, and they
have to account for every animal they own... If I was, say, a Lungfish fan
and the only way I could keep one (should I ever be so lucky as to own a
tank that big ;) ) was to add it into my permit book with my Frogs, then I
should gladly do so (which may happen when they possibly become commercially
available). All I can say thanks be to the Great Whomever that I chose
little fish to love...
>I hope I got my point accross but Im standing back with my fire proof suit
>on just in case.
I think that you got your point across fine, Andrew - it is one that is
common to a lot of people that I have spoken to over the years... I happen
to think that it is wrong. This is not a flame, merely the articulation of a
difference of opinion. Flaming assumes malice.... none was intended by my
comments above...
>Andrew (When my fish peer out the glass at me they think to themselves "Such
>a bad specimen should have been culled at birth").
Andrew Boyd (who doesn't agree with you about that either ;) )
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Andrew Boyd - andrew at pcug.org.au - http://www.pcug.org.au/~andrew
"A running man may cut 4000 throats in a single night" - Klingon Proverb
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