To Cull or Not to Cull?

I actually did read what you said in your first post several times. You said in your last batch you had to cull two. One with coloration issues. The way it is written appears that you have already used the practice of killing fish just because of colors. If that's not the case, then I am in the wrong and I apologize. Otherwise, I stand by what I said 100%.

On the hand, its good to see that you want to do the right thing and find these undesirable clowns a good home.


Matt
 
I would like to be in the drawing. I appreciate the way you are handling the issue and asking for validation and advice. Not everyone is going to agree 100% all you can do is read the comments, use your experience and common sense to cull the bad from the good :)
 
@Fish Outta Water wrote:
I actually did read what you said in your first post several times. You said in your last batch you had to cull two. One with coloration issues. The way it is written appears that you have already used the practice of killing fish just because of colors. If that's not the case said:
I thought you were talking about this hatch, but in the first post I was talking about the first hatch and I didn't know about this thread until the very end of selling that clutch. At the time of culling none of my friends wanted the fish and as I said I didn't know about the dfwmas forum at that time. So yes if you are speaking of the first hatch then yes I did kill one due to coloration issues. If you read it you would have seen I mentioned several times how terrible I felt about it. Does that make it right? No. But I acknowledged it was a mistake and there is nothing I can do about it now. Do you accuse others of being Hitler for not raising their clowns eggs? If I don't raise the eggs they will all be killed in the display tank. Or how bout my other mistakes or equipment failures that have caused fish to die. Technically that is my fault. Does that make me a murderer? I guess I try to see the good I'm trying to do rather than the bad. I see it as I have given approximately 200-300 fish a life they would of never had if left in the display tank. While also hopefully keeping 200-300 wild fish in the sea. It is obvious you have never reared any fish. The hard work it takes and watching them grow attaches me to the fish more than any pity you may feel for one. For you to accuse me or judge my mistakes seems idiotic to me. I may have killed fish on purpose or due to mistakes on my part or my equipment, but you go out and kill deer on purpose and I don't accuse you of murder even though I keep alive and put back 10 fold what I kill. I didn't hear anything about you breeding deer to set back into the wild for every deer you have killed. So if you want to accuse me of murder or being Hitler you might want to look at yourself first before judging my mistakes. I don't want to accuse you of anything I have no problem with hunting, although I don't hunt, I love eating a big burger or steak just as much as the next guy, but I would like everyone to realize that I'm not as bad of a person as you are making me out to be. I don't need to justify anything to you or anyone else and neither do you. I made a mistake I admitted my mistake and how bad I felt about it. Now this time I'm trying to give away a fish rather than killing it but you still attack me. Please stop posting here, I don't have a problem if anyone wants to debate a topic but that's not what you are doing. Also you might want to police yourself on the Hitler claim. I am not Jewish or claim to know everything about that but I know enough for it to offend me greatly to use the comparison so lightly.




Sorry again everyone else for the rant. I would just like everyone to understand how I feel. You may disagree but we all make mistakes and if we learn from them and change for the better then the mistake was worth it in my opinion. Guppy Breeder and Gina you have been added to the raffle. Zaphod1 not sure if your post was meant for you trying to enter the raffle. If so let me know and I will add you as well. Thanks Gina for the kind words I know everyone may not agree but I am trying to do the best I can. I only have two people in the raffle so far so everyone in it will have a really good chance of adding a new little guy to their tank. Good luck everyone and may the odds be ever in your favor [smilie=lol.gif]
Click to expand...
 
Don't let a few get you down, unless you've been in the situation you don't know what you will do. If you've ever bred fish FW or SW chances are the "cull" is a part of it and the process gets better and better. I would like to be in the raffle as well please. The previous comparison is rediculous and is the uneducated view of somebody who is probably a PETA fan.
 
Like I said in my last post, I am glad to see that you are going to find a home for the clowns that don't have the coloration you want. I think what you are planning now is awesome. I won't comment on anything you said as this is getting old and you have asked me not to respond. It's your thread. Good luck with the raffle and your sales!

@franklypre wrote:
Don't let a few get you down said:
Yes, I'm a very uneducated member of People Eating Tasty Animals. :) I really don't think it's unusual for someone to think its horrible to kill a perfectly healthy fish with undesirable color patterns. But, like I said, I think what he is doing now is awesome.



Matt
Click to expand...
 
OK I did the drawing for the fish above. There were only 6 people in the raffle so everyone had a really good chance, but the winner is......Mike!!! I will send a pm to him and give him several days to reply if there is no response or he doesn't want it I will draw names from the remaining five until the free clown finds a home. Congrats Mike and better luck next time to everyone else. Thank you all for participating.
 
Designer fisht are "culled" in nature at nearly 100% ... hence the ridiculous prices charged for them when the 1 in a million survivor is found, bred, and, initially at least, the very few that look like the original morph are then paired and bred ( lather rinse repeat ) to extend and "improve" the "non-desirable traits " ( non-desirable from Mother Nature's perspective .... if she wanted Picassos or Snowflakes or Photons or whatever, do ya think she might have had a few millenia to populate the reefs with them? ).

That said, people want designer fish, desgner dogs, ugliest dog on the planet, whatever ....... there is a market for the misbarred, no barred, inconsistants, etc so if you are of a mind to do so, step up and breed these and sell all you can. Morph your corals with lighting, electricity, etc and sell those oddities for all you can get as well.

The only hope is no one releases these into the wild and they might turn out to be some kind of serious problem if that ever happened ( might - might not -- ask the Australians if they would introduce cane toads, exotic elms, parasitic wasps, etc if they knew then what they know now )


However do recognize the 200-300 fish you "save" certainly do not result in "fewer taken from the reef" as these aren't out there or they would be in the wholesale path and stores by the hundreds.

It seems to me a bit disingenuous to cull any of these fish for "freakishness not shared by other fish of this type", or worry that the fish might be bred at some future point, when the whole population is "freaks" .......... ( freak --- A thing or occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular ... designer fish are freaks when compared with the original line of fish ( true percs or false percs are the originals ).

And yes, we breed clowns as well so I get the attachment to the normals as well as the oddities .......... also, we had one of the first pairs of Picassos (won at Craze) and we had every intention of breeding them given the price at time was $300 per fish and I can always find use for coin of the realm (hypocritical to be sure given I don't think they should be bred or sold, but I certainly could of used the cash and it wasn't like I was violating one of the Big 10 rules or anything).

Unfortunately we lost them ( and a bunch of other stuff ) to a serious mushroom meltdown ( gorgeous tank at midnight, looked like a milk bath at 6 AM ... never did figure out what happened).

So, in late response to your plan, I agree these fish should never be killed. Someone will take them and enjoy them for a very long time. I hope you continue to raffle any other oddities you find in the future.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top