Well, I sent them an e-mail and the guy sent me a reply. This is it:
__________________________________________________________
Hi ...
I got to read through the forum msgs at:
http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?ac...t=ST&f=1&t=5119
I will freely admit, I am not a fish expert, and I probably should have learned more about how to properly care for fish, I did ask people I knew for advice, and I attempted to give the fish away (I did manage to give some of them away actually.)
Believe me, disposing of the fish was not something I took some sort of "pleasure" in, it did disturb me quite a bit, but I really didn't know what else to do. We fed the fish, and cleaned the tank, and honestly attempted to properly care for them as best as we knew how. It's clear now that there is probably a lot more in caring for fish than I was aware of.
I would guess that people probably don't have a comparative value of fish to other pets, as you can buy a dozen for a few dollars at a pet store, when you think about how people pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a dog, do you think people would see a fish that costs under a dollar as an equivalent pet? I'm not trying to belittle fish or justify anything, I'm just thinking about the perception of things.
As for my daughter putting her hand in the tank, she was quite young, and I was not aware this was such a bad thing to do, I'm assuming it is bad for the water?
I'm sorry that I've upset you and the other fish-lovers of the world, and I'd like to thank you for educating me on the subject.
__________________________________________________________
I try to bring up my children to be loving and caring people, I certainly didn't say "time to watch daddy dispose of the fish!"
(As mentioned I did give some of the fish to someone else, and honestly I wish I could have found someone who wanted them all.)
I would like to ask you - are you a vegetarian? Do you own any products made from animals? Animals are used and abused by people everyday, that doesn't make it right, but sadly, it's a part of life. Entire industries are built on the belief that animals are disposable, yet few people like to think about a slaughterhouse or the conditions an animal was in before it became their dinner...
What kind of irresponsible person am I? The kind who didn't know better, and perhaps made a mistake. I promise to never do it again.
Pete