Owner Accountability?
Sunday May 18, 2008
The following reader comment gave rise to the question of owner accountability. What do you think, should fish owners be trained? "I have seen too many cases where people go to the store buy everything including the fish then take it all home dump some tap water in, toss the fish in and wonder why the fish die almost immediately. To me buying a fish is the same as having a family. I feel there should be standards placed on fish just like on other animals. " (click below to vote)
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Comments
I agree - but to an extent.
Fish keeping is like keeping a family, yes - but are most families trained?
It’s always been best for me to learn from experience. What stores to buy from, which fish are healthy, what signs to look for. And when I lose a fish, it hurts me, and I realize the mistake, and I fix the problem as well as any more that may be arising because of that loss of life.
Basic setup should most definetely be taught, however, perhaps given out as pamphlets with every tank bought. (It would be very convienient, especially for younger kids and parents.)
But training takes the joy out of keeping fish - it makes it too methodic, too uniform. As with most animal keeping, it’s an art as well as a hobby. And with most art, it’s a passion.
And passion cannot be taught.