We talk about this a lot... but...

I had to bring it up based on a post I read on social media.

http://www.architecturendesign.net/30-unusual-and-creative-aquariums/

While there are a small handful of okay tanks on this article, there are so many that are not. As long as this is perpetuated (especially to younger people) as something that is acceptable, we will keep seeing such issues. I mean as long as we see goldfish (and bettas, etc) in little tiny tanks... people will see go into their stores and go for this. Why not? They saw it online, and it looked cool.

I know we have a lot of discussions about what we can really do about choosing suitable fish for suitable tanks, and I did think about a few ways that could reach a huge audience. Obviously the article above would get shared on a media like facebook and spreads like wildfire. There are however a few really big pages on such places (for instance "I !@#$ing Love Science"), which if the right article got picked up by them, has a reach of over 20 million (20 million simply subscribed, not even the people that see the shared articles). It often has pop-science types of posts, if someone wrote a good article about tank sizes and fish, or even something about how goldfish might be one of the most unintentionally abused animal anywhere (and explain why), it could really hit far more people with the truth. Heck, an article about the shear dullness of many cookie cutter fish stores versus nature or good shops, wouldn't be outside the realm of being able to get picked up and gain a bit of traction on such a place.

This article really made me think, if only we could see more positive aquarium posts on social media, maybe we could just begin to eraser the stereotypes of keeping fish, at least for more people.

Last weekend in the US I saw major brand 2.5 gallon aquariums with rising and falling air driven flying saucers in them. "Perfect for goldfish", apparently.
Marketed by people who know better, but who probably enjoy the money that comes in from them.
2.5 gallons...

So knowing better may not solve the problem.

GaryE wrote:Last weekend in the US I saw major brand 2.5 gallon aquariums with rising and falling air driven flying saucers in them. "Perfect for goldfish", apparently.
Marketed by people who know better, but who probably enjoy the money that comes in from them.
2.5 gallons...

So knowing better may not solve the problem.

I think one needs to take a positive spin on the thought that a significant number of people might improve they fish keeping behaviours, if they realized they weren't just dispensable fish. If the consumers/pet owners/hobbyists who bought fish knew better, that could put more pressure on some of the big brands who do seem content to know better, but do nothing except continue with the status quo. I think some good could truly happen if some of these companies got some "bad press", and I really think the only medium that we will see that press is social media. I see the power of that kind of press online all the time, it's amazing how quickly some companies will back peddle when pressure is great enough.

I don't know how many people I've run into in my life that have said, "oh well, it's just a goldfish. It's not like they live very long anyway". That or had no idea that a fish bowl wasn't suitable. I would say the majority that I've met were actually disgusted to hear that, and had been ignorant to it prior.

"It's only a Goldfish"

Probably the most upsetting statement I have ever heard. In the area of social media there should be a way to get the message out.

Steve

Here is my concern.

There is a large lobby tied in with PETA and the animal rights movement calling for a ban on the aquarium trade because of these abuses. I stopped supporting my local SPCA because of ill informed but fairly aggressive positions taken by their spokespeople.
The strategy in Europe is to ban wild caught fish, oblivious to the situation on fish farms. They want the ban to extend to fish brought for research and classification.
Success for these movements is years away at worst (I hope, never), but they are keying in on abusive goldfish keeping first.

And the industry? Bright as always, it's playing right into their hands. Every common pleco and goldfish bowl sold...

I don't know the solution, just the problem.