Have You Been Fish Shopping Lately?
By Phillip Wurm
July/Aug 2006 Issue #37
Summer is winding down…..and it seems like it just started! It’s about time to get caught up with the needs and wants of the aquarium hobby. Most likely many of us have put off or at least skimped on the maintenance, water changes and such while we have the chance to enjoy a Michigan summer. It is about time to start thinking about restocking our tanks, selling or otherwise finding homes for all of the fry born this past spring and summer, and putting things back in order. Have you ever thought about all of the stress, strain and other hardships endured by our finned friends before they even get to the pet shop near you?
Let’s look at the route that tropical freshwater fish may well take from a Florida fish farm to your local retailer. I have possibly missed a step or two, but from what I have read and heard, the poor little guys with scales go through quite a bit before we can buy them. From fish farm, likely born in an outside pond or large vat, to being collected, and then shipped to a central shipping facility, then bagged and sent off to a central wholesaler, who has likely underfed if at all, and then rebagged and shipped to a retailer. This accounts for a minimum of four steps that I have heard of, most of the time confined in bags with little food, and in conditions that none of us would enjoy or tolerate.
For any wild caught specimens, you would have to add at least another three steps - from a collector, likely a native collector or “fisherman”, to another holding facility, then to a broker who buys from dozens of these fishermen, then off to the exporter who will get the fish to the U.S. and in the hands of an importer who will then sell them to a large fish wholesaler before they get to a retailer…..enough already! For farm produced specimens brought in from Hong Kong or Singapore , the story is about the same as for the wild caught ones. And then of course there are customs checks, and aaarrrgghh, you get the idea!
Needless to say, our finned friends go through an awful lot just to make it to the pet store, most of the time in conditions that would stress any of us to the breaking point. We certainly would not look our best after such an ordeal! It is amazing that any of them survive at all.
Add to this, then our finned friends have to undergo our checks and scrutiny before we buy them! Most of this is common sense, but check the fish and its temporary home out before you say to the sales clerk “bag ’em Dano”. There should not be any death in the tanks. Most retailers are very good about netting out corpses, but some don’t have the time [ed. Nor ambition!] Check for the obvious - no signs of disease, ich or fungus, torn finnage, hollow stomachs, popeye and the like. Don’t buy one that sits in a tank corner with clamped fins and shimmies about. The color should be normal, with a good amount of activity, at least for most species. There will always be some types that have not and will not calm down and adjust at all to being in a dealer’s tank, even if they have been there a couple of weeks or more. Ask if you can see the fish eat. This is even more essential for wild caught and imported fishes. We don’t know what they have been fed since their birth and during their travels to get to us.
Some retailers have a rule that they will not sell fish for a certain time after they have arrived, to let the fish somewhat compose themselves before a sale. Other retailers sell them immediately. Some sell from their tanks or even from the shipment bags the fish are shipped in. Ask the store to hold the fish you are interested in for a couple of days. Make darn sure that you go back, and if they are healthy and look good, stick to the plan and buy them. A good retailer will do this if they value your business, and their reputation.
Buying and shopping for a fish at an auction is more than a bit different. It is really “buyer beware”, but if you check the physical demeanor of the fish and the obvious warning signs, you should be safe. It would also be a good idea, if you do not know the seller, to find out the particulars that you may not be aware of, such as water parameters and food preferences and any other questions you may have. A responsible hobbyist will take the time to help educate the buyer if answers are needed. Personally, I have a metal list of individuals whom I do not wish to purchase from again, because of a bad incident or two, but because it may be an isolated occurrence, I keep it to myself. If you are asked about particular sellers, I would use caution and emphasize that everyone takes their chances with anything bought at an auction.
I hope you have a better idea of what a tropical fish has to go through just to make it to a pet store near you so you can consider buying it….Happy fishkeeping!
The End