Dyed Fish!?

[grumpymole]

dont tell me that dyed birds and fish are actually legal?!

 

[kat and james]

yea. sadly. i've never seen dyed birds in uk, but in dubai a few years ago they were very common in some pet stores (not the bigger chain ones). like i said, they are slowly getting around to stopping the birds from being dyed, but dyed fish are still available.

kat

 

[Inchworm]

dont tell me that dyed birds and fish are actually legal?!

Hi tetrafan,

I don't know about birds, but in the US, dyed fish are completely legal.

You are most likely to find them in chain lfs. I spoke to the manager of one and was told that while the franchise gives them the option to stock certain fish, dyed fish are big sellers and they are required to stock them when they are on the order sheets.

Here's a link with some information on dyed fish:

http/www.sydneycichlid.com/content/?page_id=10

 

[grumpymole]

thanks inchworm

 

[grumpymole]

after a quick google i found these horrific pictures:

a stickleback...

The picture to the left was enough to make me drool - I could only dream of having such a stunning rainbow of fish! But sadly, these fish will usually lose their colour within 2-3 months, and 90%+ will die before the colour even fades. it's worse that we're being sold inferior fish who will die so quickly! Fish stores are ripping us off, which is probably the only avenue we can use to stop the stores from selling these fish. (Also note: UNDYED Blood Parrots will grow to 8" or larger, so this overcrowded fish tank in the photo is misleading.)

The above is a quoite from some guy who obviously dosnt care about the fish

some corys
sad

 

[kat and james]

it is so sad. and it isn't natural, doesnt' even look it. how can people want these types of fish, why can't they appreciate them for their natural beauty

kat

 

[grumpymole]

i know belive it or not fish have feelings too

 

[Synirr]

tetrafan -- That stickleback was not dyed while alive. That is a preserved specimen, dyed after death so you can still see the tissues, which go translucent when the specimen has aged. They don't even sell sticklebacks in stores, do they? ... Aren't they actually endangered now?

yup at home we used to get chicks which were dyed purple and greens, blues and all sorts of colours, it is absolutely awful, the dyes that they use are carcinogenic, and the birds end up dying a horrid death.

From what I've read, the dye used on birds is actually harmless. I've searched, and I figure if there were real danger in it, I'd have been able to find something, but all I could find were a few articles mentioning that the dye is non-toxic. They inject the dye into the egg so it stains the feathers of the developing chick, who feels nothing. The dye is then lost at the next molt when the chick gets its adult feathers. The dye itself if not what causes the chick to die an early death and certainly doesn't cause the chick any pain... when I was young my parents bought me some dyed chicks for Easter, but we live on a farm so we were actually able to care for them and they lived to become healthy adult chickens.

The only problem I see with this practice is that it tempts people to buy an animal they cannot properly care for long-term, which is reason enough for it to be illegal if you ask me. That is why so many dyed chicks die young.