The most comprehensive cichlid blog on the Web!
This morning, I was reading a newly published article in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. Chindongo demasoni (previously Pseudotropheus demasoni) were the model fish used in the experiment (sorry, but I didn’t have a photo of a dead C. demasoni to use for the post).
All fish keepers, regardless of the species they keep, have an ethical responsibility to provide the best environment for their fish. Included in this ethical responsibility is decision making with regard to ending a fish’s life. How it is done is important. This latter topic is the subject of this post.
If you breed fish long enough, you will inevitably end up with some deformed fry. Many breeders cull them (i.e., euthanize them) and for obvious reasons. Deformed fish have a higher probability of producing deformed offspring themselves, something breeders can’t afford to keep in their breeding lines.
How much do you care about your fish? Seriously. Are they “just fish” to you? Or does the death of one of your fish really bother you? Maybe the effect on you is somewhere in between.