On 5/6/05, Andrew Boyd <andrew_db at bigpond.com> wrote:
> Hi Tom,
>
> sorry to hear about you losing the signifer. It can be hard to lose a
> fish that you've grown to like a lot then put a lot of time into saving
> when it gets ill. If this happens often enough, you may decide that it
> is not worth keeping fish in tanks any more, as others have done before you.
>
> As to the bare vs planted thing - there are ethical arguments either
> way. If fish get bored and/or feel trapped, they are more likely to be
> relaxed in a planted tank, and stress reduction is disease reduction. On
> the other hand, if there are preventable medical conditions that can be
> eased by keeping them in a bare tank, it may be better to keep them in a
> bare tank. It is a hard call and one that each individual fish keeper
> must decide for themselves. A lot of guys (and gals!) that I have met
> have a display tank or two inside the house that is fully decked out
> with a variety of coordinated landscaped plant/substrate packages. Out
> the back they have a fishroom with a bunch of bare tanks for the fish,
> and similar special conditions for plants they are breeding. The bare
> tanks are easier to clean, and therefore water quality is easier to
> guarantee, and therefore the fish stay healthier longer. Aesthetically,
> I am pretty sure that most people would prefer to see their finny
> friends in planted tanks with natural looking backgrounds and the whole
> box and dice.
>
> Best regards, Andrew
>
> Tom Ray wrote:
>
> >1st: Thank you again to those that tried to offer helpful advice. I
> >think it helped my friend regain interest in his water conditions. It
> >also led to him giving he his sick male.
> >
> >2nd: Alas. I am sad to report the male in question died in his
> >hospital / hospice tank Tuesday at my place. He did recover much of
> >his color and his desire to swim about (with changes in H2O and a
> >"trial & error" battery of over-the-counter meds), but he never
> >recovered his appetite.
> >
> >3rd: My thots.
> > - a) Prognosis: I am left wondering if he ingested some kind of
> >stomach disease agent (like a bacteria / virus, microsporidian
> >parasite, etc.) or tape worm. And, my original question remains..."Is
> >[this] common?"
> > - b) I think that I have learned a lot, but still wish there was
> >better diagnostics as well as information available within the hobby
> >about over-the-counter medications. ...more photos, charts, etc..
> > - c) I am even wondering whether UV purifiers may not be a bad idea
> >even though I've heard they wreak havoc on / eliminate the ability to
> >have bio-filtration.
> >
> >I have a different friend (from work) who is originally from Hong
> >Kong. He keeps all his fish in sterile, plant-free, substrate-free
> >tanks and says he was taught to keep fish that way back in HK. Tanks
> >then seem to me to be prisons or cages (or hospital rooms).
> >
> >Maybe even brining to question (for me) the ethics of the very hobby
> >since it brings to mind the Japanese story I read years ago when I
> >lived there. It is a story about a crown prince / soon to be emperor
> >who asked his Buddhist monk mentor to let him keep song birds in cages
> >like many in his realm. The monk (knowing the young man's soul)
> >relented, provided he would stay 1 month in his room. The prince
> >agreed, but it soon became cherry blossom time and he was sad he'd so
> >agreed. At the end of the month, the monk gave the prince a caged
> >song bird, and the prince immediately fed it and let it go. The bird
> >remained loyal to the prince the rest of his life, singing often when
> >he saw the man and making his nest in many of the trees of the
> >courtyard ... or something along that lines (it has been so many years
> >ago and I was translating the story as part of my
> >acculturation/learning nihon-go).
> >
> >Well, let's not get off onto a disucussion on ethics. HOWEVER, if
> >anyone has thoughts as to 3 a), 3 b) or 3 c), I'd love to hear from you.
> >
> >Again, as always, TIA.
> >
> >--TommyBoy
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> _________________________________________
> Andrew Boyd
> Business Development Manager
> Daily Basis P/L
> Phone 02 6282 9797 or 02 4885 1357
> Mobile 0412 641 074
> Email andrew at dailybasis.com.au
> or andrew_db at bigpond.com
> _________________________________________
>
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