Are Fish Prisoners?

Red Devil Cichlids, white fish on the left named Arnold, orange fish on the right Esmerelda Last summer when going to the local pet store to buy food for the foster dogs my family is housing, I went for my usual browse around the whole store looking at all the animals. When looking at all the fish tanks, two fish caught my eye. There they were, Arnold and Esmerelda, the South American exotic fish that would soon make a divot into my bank account and take up hours upon hours of my free time during the week to care for. I have never been a fish loving person in the past and thought as harboring fish as pets even to be cruel. I know it’s weird to say but I had to have these fish. A week after reading article after article about the upkeep and care for the tank, what to do to get the fish acclimated, and everything I needed to know to properly take care of these fish, I bought the tank and made the commitment.

Supplies used to clean the fish tank (gravel vacuum, gloves, filters, scrubbing brush, net)  Buying all the supplies to set up the tank and getting the water to a balanced pH level, nitrogen level and temperature took a week. High maintenance fish, yes, I know, but if I had not waited the fish could have immediately died and I would have been out four hundred and fifty dollars. You read that right, I payed almost half a grand for two fish and their home. The supplies that you need that are the absolute minimum are an extendable scrubbing brush, algae correcting fluid, filters, a gravel vacuum, an unused toothbrush to scrub any habitats large rocks, decorations, plants if they are fake, and to clean the outside of the tank very diluted vinegar to keep the glass clean. Every item that I have listed will be used once a week and totally cleaning the whole tank takes around two hours to prevent mold and algae growing out of control. This could lead to death for the animal, tank environments are very temperamental.

Research being done on general knowledge of the species and for diagnosis of ailments Research is top priority when it comes to a sick fish, but it is completely normal for a fish when first introduced to the new tank to get a disease that is called “Ick” for short, and can be compared to the common cold in humans if handled correctly. The fish that I have are not native to this continent, so asking the pet store for advice was a bit of a flop. So, I did what most people do these days, I googled what was happening to my fish and why they were behaving weird. Little did I know I would be stumbling upon a whole new community that I never thought I would be a part of. You would be surprised that there is actually a fish community where people own fish and consider it a hobby of all things. So many people have helped me keep my fish alive just by describing their past problems and how they handled it themselves. Blogs have saved my fishes lives more than I can count so research is definitely a must when you have an exotic animal. Not only are they useful in critical situations but also a lot of the blogs or websites just have general suggestions to better the fish’s environment, or preferred diets that a specific species has.

Medicine, food and tank environment tools  If and when the fish does get sick, which I can guarantee will happen within the first couple of months you have the fish, there are so many options on what you can do to get them back to optimal health. Trust me I know. Knowing where these supplies are nearest to you is essential, majority of fish ailments need to be treated within forty-eight hours of them contracting the disease. Surprisingly Walmart has a wide variety of fish medicine which I never thought would be the case. Aloe, the right pellet food or live food if you are one of those people such as worms or crickets, and “Ick” medicine is always good to have. Making sure your fish is healthy leads to a long life for most exotic pets, Red Devil Cichlids can live up to twenty years!

Feed Rite Pet Supply in Lincoln Park, MI  Shopping for you fish also contributes to their health and environment, of course specifics for certain species are set in place though. So, make sure you, I bet you can guess it, RESEARCH! Live plants versus plastic, if the species is aggressive and can have any other types of fish in the tank, what type of structures they can have inside of the tank, and buying new filter pads every two months is important. But to renew the medicines a trip to the store Local stores are good for this because they have more than a general store like Walmart is going to have.

Pictured here is myself watching my fish!

Having these fish has taken much time out of my day and week but taking care of them and just looking at them when I am bored. I always find myself when I can’t sleep I stare at them when they swim around and I think it’s cool when they just look back at me. It’s very uncommon but Arnold actually like to be pet after he is fed, but if I try to pet him before his meal he will literally bite my finger off. Their species is a carnivorous aggressive predator, so they will actually eat other fish, so I have to be careful with them. 

An argument arises, is it inhumane to keep fish in a tank and for them not to be in the wild? Personally, I think if the owner of the pet is conscious and takes care of them and keeps the animals in a safe and healthy environment then it is not cruel. However, many people disagree and say they need to be free.