Sleeping with the fishes

The issue of animal welfare has just moved from puppy mills to the fish bowl.

From beta tanks to goldfish aquariums, the lives of commercially sold fish have secret tales that should make your blood run cold.

Pet stores and commercial retailers selling aquarium fish are not as regulated as they should be, and it’s not the business that gets the raw end of the deal. However, dead fish tell no tales.

Pet stores are one of the greatest villains in the inhumane treatment of domestic animals, according to the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Fish are provided to pet stores in tiny plastic bags that have just enough water to cover the body of the fish. Water quality goes down rapidly, which means that most of the fish are dead on arrival and a large percentage perish shortly after.

The average rule of thumb for freshwater fish is one inch of fish per gallon of tank, according to most pet stores and Aqua Daily, an online source about fishkeeping. Education about fishkeeping and welfare is important because so many students consider fish for their cheap and disposable qualities.

As an avid lover of pet fish, I often check all of the fish tanks whenever I do shopping for my pets. The last time I went, there were more dead fish in the tank than living fish, and the number of decaying animals indicated that some time had passed before the tank had received minimal attention.

Out of all my pet purchases, I’ve bought a total of two fish.

At the time of purchase, I counted seven dead goldfish in the tank. I chose two of the healthier-looking fish. One of the fish was dead within a week of my purchase regardless of being immediately moved to a clean, filtered three-gallon tank. The other fish is currently healthy and happy. However, due to his stunted growth rate I had to wait more than a year before moving him in with my other goldfish, which can only be described as the fish equivalent to the Rock.

Coming from a good environment makes all the difference for the average fish. My goldfish purchased from the local pet store Barnacle Bill’s Aquarium came from a clean and regularly attended tank and is doing great at 3 years of age.

The problem with most pet stores and commercial retailers selling fish is a lack of regulation. Retail pet stores and retail chain stores are exempt from regulation through the Animal Welfare Act, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Once again, animals come out wanting in situations where no one is there to ensure their welfare. Stores weigh the cost of the animal versus the potential profit without entering welfare into the equation.

In 2011, $51 billion was spent on pets, according to The Wall Street Journal. It seems logical that pet stores and retailers could use some of that profit to educate their employees about fishkeeping and improve in-store aquarium conditions.

All animal sellers should be regulated under the Animal Welfare Act or be required to obtain a license before they can sell warm or cold-blooded animals. In the very least, pet stores and retailers should be fined for subpar animal conditions, a factor that might encourage them to be better animal keepers.

A dead fish might not be as visible as a dead cat or dog, but its welfare is still important. Profit should not outweigh prosperity, but unfortunately it does, and that means that most pet fish end up in a watery grave before a loving household.

-Corrine Harris is a senior animal science major from Edmonds. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.