Why are fish the most abused pets?

Question

Fish are easily the most often abused and mistreated of all pets. You could never find someone that would tell you they bought 10 dogs and they all died in a week! Or few if any other animals for that matter!

I believe this is largely due to the fact that many people are poorly educated on how to properly care for fish, and in many cases don't even see them as "pets"...just as a piece of furniture.

Which brings me to another question. Does the aquarium industry intentionally give little to no information to their customers? Do they thrive off the cycle off uninformed customers coming back to buy more and more fish? I know for a fact that fish stores see clueless customers as big money...i worked at one.

If you buy a dog/cat you will find the seller will spend hours with you telling you everything you need to know and educating you about the breeds etc. Why isn't it the same for fish?

Err obviously the part about poorly educating customers is a generalization...there are many people that really do care. Still...i just want peoples thoughts on it.

Answer 1

Why? There are few facts crossing my mind when I read this question...

1. True... some or maybe most first time fish keeper got their fish from unexpected event such as...Carnivals! --> So they aren't prepared with anything including basic fish keeping knowledge -- leading to (Sorry) intentional or unintentional fish abuse.

2. I don't know about aquarium industries if they intentionally give inadequate infos to buyers or accusing them of doing it. But,... this is possible. Luckily when I ask any store clerk in my place...usually they are at least educated in basic fish keeping. (I live in Indonesia)

3. True that fish are maybe less protected by the animal protection law. --> In Asia...they still practice betta fighting, chicken fighting etc.

4. We can't ignore the fact that fish are lower species compared to cats, dogs, or even birds. They have so many offsprings in their nature habit and maybe out of 100 only 1 or 2 that made it up to adulthood. --> consequences: they are mostly cheaper than cats, birds, or dogs. --> when something is cheap, you tend to care less about it.

So many more facts... but I guess those above are enough.

Answer 2

That is a good question and i feel the same way!
did you know fish are not covered in the animal cruelty laws either which i find appauling i feel they have the same rights as any other living thing and also i think fishing is such a cruel practice i was down at the beach afew weeks ago and i saw a man cut a live fish in half. How is this not cruel? i bet he wouldn't have done this to a land animal like a cat or a dog but because it's "just a fish" they do not care that they would feel the same pain as any other animal in the same situation!
POOR FISHIES!

Answer 3

I agree with you on the aquarium industry giving less than necessary information about fish. A store once was willing to sell 2 male bettas to keep in the same 5 gallon tank, to me.
The sad part is that they treat it like business (money n more money) and do not consider the lives of beautiful innocent creatures being lost in the bargain.
I also agree that people treat fish as a piece of furniture and not as a pet as they would treat a dog or a cat because fish are less expressive about their feelings.So people tend to forget that they are still living beings and they still have feelings.They feel pain, they feel the love but they just can't express it as much as a dog or cat. Some are not attached to their fish because they do not wanna waste time to learn that even creatures as tiny as aquarium fish are in many ways like humans in terms of feelings.
I get frustrated and agitated when I read about people FLUSHING their dead fish. I mean, its a life!!!! It deserves to be treated with some respect after it has passed away.Even people who are educated about fish flush their fish. How would they like to be flushed when they die? Bury their bodies in a plant or in a garden or at sea... Don't flush them.

Answer 4

Fish are (unknowingly) abused the most due to the fact most people dont know the correct way to take care of them, cleaning the tanks, maintaining the water quality.
Another factor is the startup cost of a small 1 to 30 gallon tank being inexpensive too. Alot of people start out with the goldfish won at a carnival.

Answer 5

I believe you are correct--it's poor education. And fish DO pay attention. You just have to pay enough attention to them to be able to notice it (and appreciate it). Fish are beautiful, they all act different (personalities, maybe? guess we'll never know--they're not like dogs, they're stuck in their tank, hard to interact with), they DO have memories, and they're amazing to watch and keep and learn about the different breeds and their habits. Poor education may be it. But then again, there is some people in this world who just shouldn't attempt to care for animals. Not their fault, they just don't do a good job of it.

Answer 6

I think that much of the world is just BIASED...
I mean i am an Oscar owner... im 13
i just recently bought him(with all my money) his new 55 gallon tank

fish are responsive. my O loves me... he plays with his ball{ yes a ping pong ball....we play catch}

he is such an interactive pet.... i mean i dont know if im CRAZY but fish are amazing beautiful unpredictable lovable creatures...

and im sure all who will post on here will be like

""""oh fish are stupid...bla blah blah""""""



im sure anyone who posts on here that says they have had no luck with fish didnt even CYCLE there tank before getting there fish

im sure most of them put a goldfish in a goldfish bowl....goldfiish need 30 gallons to become healthy



people are stupid..everyone is stupid in there own way...some more than others

Answer 7

most people understand the basics of dogs and cats as pets, not to say all pet owners know everything about their breeds, but good basics that is common knowledge Keeping pet fish can be much more involved and their is alot of research and learning involved. I work at a petstore and i would say the most common problems are that in this fast paced society everyone wants quick fixes and instant results they dont want to think for themselves or put time into things. As compared to learning about a dog/cat fish are much more complecated and situations can very from person to person depending on what fish they house together,tank size, and their water. It is impossible to teach a customer everything in one go round, this is where the customer must step in a do their own homework about their new pet. When someone purchases a puppy, they know to get puppy food, leashes,toys,crate, vet visits for shots,ect and info from the breeder about the breed. If a puppy was like a fish as per needs, the new owner would have to worry about how the puppy would adjust to the atmosphere in their house and yard. They would worry about the quality of the air and have to have it tested. If they didnt keep the atmosphere clean the puppy would get parasites from the stress, and bacterial and fungal infections from the waste in the air. This sounds silly but very comparable to fishes enviroment. Unfortunatly with my experiances most customers wont even read the tags on the fish tanks to even get min. information about the species which sometimes would explain alot to them. Example customer has one gallon fish tank and come to me to ask if this particular fish will live in it. The tag for the fish says KOI grows to 24 inches.>>>??? Im not saying all customers are like this, i deal with a lot who are willing to learn and open to sujestions, but their are also ones who ask questions,but dont really want your answers. I think alot of this problem comes from our society because in retail it is believed that "the customer is always right" and makes for good buisness to have repeat buisness. However in this type of buisness you cant adhear to this "american unspoken rule" It can be very frusterating if you spend alot of time with someone getting the basics of setting up a tank,(water quality,compatability, cycle of tank, feeding, cleaning tank,ect.) to only have them come back and get mad when they have done everything opposite and they are having problems with the tank. From a customers stand point. Not all employees are equally knowledgeable.Also buy talking to even differant employess that are knowledgeable you will get mixed answers, why? because each situation is unique in itself and their is not always a "right" answer. I know this can be very frusterating to customers, but it also leads back to them doing reasearch on their own time on their fish.

Answer 8

Fish arent protected by the aspca so theres nothing stopping people from not caring for them properly

Answer 9

hi sorry i dont think fish are the most abused animal because people cant treat them mean like a cat or a dog but i do consiter my fish as not only a pretty site but as my pets too i love them so much but when i started out at the begaining i had so many fish die it was so hard i would get attach to them and then they would die so i had to flush them try buyoing 18 bubble eyes in a week and all die .well i think they do get abused sometimes in there living conditions especially goldfish because people are mis informed they think goldfish can live in anything thing and there easy fish to take care of and actually had mine for 3 years with the deisaese and stuff i think goldfish are the hardedst fish to take care of you got to know how to pervent ick,and the causes ,swim bladder,dropsy and perpare yourself for them dieing for no reason .its hard to take care of them sometimes poor guys but i love mine

Answer 10

I worked at a pet store that educated people so that they wouldn't have to deal with the 24 hour refund.