Green Seahorse Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 (edited) We went to Edmonton today, had to go look at fish........... We were really appauled by the way an employee at the one LFS handled the fish! :cry: He was catching feeder goldfish and netted a bunch, held them out of the water while he picked them up and put them in the bag with his fingers....................... there were fish hanging from the net by there gills when he went to release the rest and he just ripped them off and tossed them in the tank! The fish were out of the water way too long and flopped about in the tank and some were on their side at the surface. :cry: :chair: We also watched him catch feeder guppies, he netted then took them out of the water, counted thirty fish with his fingers,and tossed the rest back in. By the time he got them bagged two were dead! When asked about it he said there were more than thirty so it did not matter. When asked about the fish travelling with dead fish in the bag and fouling the water, he said four hours or less they should be fine. :boom: He also counted and caught other fish with his fingers! Netting them and holding them out of the water for a unreasonable amount of time.:bang1: Cannot believe they allow him to work there! One of the head people saw the dead fish in the bag and scowled at us for our questions. There were quite a few floating dying fish in the store.plus some tanks were full of ick. We had been to this store before and had way better exsperiences. No I will not name the store, but I am very dissapointed and kinda feel sad for the fish. :cry: Edited September 17, 2006 by Green Seahorse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seajays Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 (edited) Maybe you should try to contact the store owner or manager by phone and relate what you posted here. Sure would be nice to hear what the comment would be. Edited September 17, 2006 by seajays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Some of those guys just get de-scensitized ( sp. ) after a while... They are just simple minded when it comes to fish that are primarily looked at as " food ". Were you buying feeders? Whos the meanie? the guy catching the fish, or the lady throwing the goldfish in with the Piranha? Just depends what side of the fence your looking over... Just my Opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 I think a lot of places are rougher when handling feeders then when handling regular fish. WIth feeders they just scoop them out and count them up. They probably think since its going to be food it doens't matter. Also most of the time feeders come from yucky tanks, so those dead fish could have died from the water quality and not the handling. He also counted and caught other fish with his fingers! Netting them and holding them out of the water for a unreasonable amount of time I don't have a problem with people using thise hands when catching and netting fish. I do it all the time and as long as your hands are wet it should be fine. What do you consider an unreasonable amount of time? The fish should be ok for a while out of the water as long as their gills are kept wet. Some places ship their fish without any water and only a damp paper towel. I agree that if you had a problem with how the employee was acting and handling the fish you should have asked to speak with a manager. Even now that your home and its over I would still call up the store and let them know what happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ichthyosporidium Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Some of those guys just get de-scensitized ( sp. ) after a while... They are just simple minded when it comes to fish that are primarily looked at as " food ". Were you buying feeders? Whos the meanie? the guy catching the fish, or the lady throwing the goldfish in with the Piranha? Just depends what side of the fence your looking over... Just my Opinion. Equivocating apparent tourturous handling to a normal, quick death.... ...Hmmmmm..............Don't you think that life, no matter what it's allocation, should be respected? After all, those fish, even if they were to be used as feeders, should be given some dignity as they are giving up their lives to continue on the survival of another species. Like you said, it is all a matter of perspective, I guess... :eh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Equivocating apparent tourturous handling to a normal, quick death.... ...Hmmmmm..............Don't you think that life, no matter what it's allocation, should be respected? After all, those fish, even if they were to be used as feeders, should be given some dignity as they are giving up their lives to continue on the survival of another species. Like you said, it is all a matter of perspective, I guess... :eh: I got Black Piranhas that eat chunks out of feeders and nothing else. Maybe eat his back half off so he can't swim. Nothing quick about that! Matter of perspective, For sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmguy Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 (edited) well i have found that feeder fish are not a thing to worry about. i dont shead a tear for it. do you cry when a lion eats a zebra? survival of the fittest.....i have thrown in feeders with my africans and allways out of a bag of 30 or so feeders 1 gold fish useually doesent get eaten. he seems to co exsist with the africans. this tells me that some how 1 was smart enought to survive......as for the other 29.....dummies and would it sadden you if i said my rbps have eaten countless SA chclids? Edited September 17, 2006 by edmguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medicdude Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 There are many species of fish that when catching them the net does more damage than using hands, fingers, or even a 20 - 30 second hypoxic event could ever do. I routinely use my hands to catch fish. Either catching them in a net and removing them with my hands or just using my hands (ie: plecos). It does not harm the fish. As for packaging dead fish, that is just a poor practice (as is feeding goldfish to africans) and should never be done IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windeindoiel Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 You know, just because fish are feeders doesn't mean they aren't alive when you're treating them badly. Anyways, I agree, you should complain to the store manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Seahorse Posted September 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 It was not the fact he was handling the fish with his fingers, It was the way he handled them, roughly! :chair: The fish were out of the water I would say at least a minute or more. Like they were not worth enough to bother being relatively gentle or kind They are alive and do deseve some respect! What everyone feeds their animals is up to them I just wish that employee had used a bit more respect for the fish he was handling. :bang1: ..........Yes I will complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medicdude Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Just curious, how is feeding your fish a potentially harmful food source any different than holding a fish out of water or mishandling it? Another topic for another day I guess..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidkid Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 excactly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinless Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 (edited) i wouldn't even consider buying store bought feeders. get some convicts breeding in a 29g or something, and you'll have some homegrown feeders every month or so easily. i do have 3 feeder goldfish who will be turning 9 or 10 this winter lol. seriously your story makes them sad Edited September 17, 2006 by skinless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 If he is treating the feeders as nothing how does he treat the other fish in his care ?? maybe go and see how he treats the ones that are not feeders before he gets in total :cuss: lol if he is ruff with all of them then they should find someone new to work there its not like he is the only person they could hire. Or have him take care of plants not live animals or fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordofthefish Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 I'm sure that the fish have been through much worse just to get to the store, even the ones that aren't feeders. Handling them with your hands or keeping them out of the water for a minute is very unlikely to kill them. As for the two dead fish that ended up in your bag, they were probably already dead in the tank. If you want to end the "torture" that fish go through, perhaps stop keeping fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.