# Freakin !diots



## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

This appeared on a local forum today.



> green terrors at clarrie spillway
> While bass fishing at clarrie hall spillway this week i spotted what looked to be green terrors (a south american cichlid) swimming in the creek. At a closer glance i seen at least 5 or 6 there. It is obvious some knob has emptied there aquariam there creating an ecological nightmare. Tweed fisheries have been notified about this and a specimen has been caught and is going to be given to Tweed fisheries for identification. There are more i believe in there and more that have already escaped downstream. Hopefully DPI Tweed fisheries division does something about these fish in our local waters before they become a problem.


You can now catch Brasiliensis, Convicts, Green Terrors and Oscars in the local waterways.

This is the very reason why so many cichlids are banned here in Australia. And this couldn't come at a worse time as the new Federal Government is currently reviewing our Allowable Import List, the Grey List and the Noxious Species List. The Grey list is listing of species that are illegal to import, but not illegal to keep, once in the country.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Well, I think your subject line sums it all up pretty well, DFF...

What in the world goes through people's mind when they're dumping these fish into the water?

What a mess!


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## Voodoo Chilli (Jun 29, 2004)

That sucks. I guess it's the same everywhere: idiots ruin things for those of us who do things the right way when it comes to responsible fish keeping.


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

Well you better hope they survive in the wild then, cos your government is probably going to get Orwellian and restrict fish imports, at least then you'll still be able to go out and catch a few :lol:.

No, in all seriousness this is not cool, it's always a shame that the idiocy of a few has to affect so many.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Very, very bad timing. :x


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

I've seen articles about aquarium fish caught in U.S. waters. Common plecos are causing problems in Florida and I heard someone even caught a giant pacu and ate it.

In the U.S. each state seems to make their own laws about things like this. I'm not even sure its illegal in all states but most places its illegal to release captive fish into waterways. Even if the fish was caught in that waterway, once it has been in an aquarium it can't be released back. The concern is that it may be taking a disease back with it that could cause havoc to the natural environment.

I believe that fish stores should be required to have each customer sign a statement acknowledging they have been made aware of the laws of that state and will not release fish into waterways. I think many that release fish just haven't even heard its illegal.


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

That sucks!


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## conor (May 19, 2007)

Edburress, I see your point. But having a customer sign a statement would be pointless IMO. Reneging on such a thing would be unenforcible. Unfortunately a retailer has to rely on trust. I cannot see any other way around it.


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

I don't know what it is like in the UK, but here in the U.S. the stores are selling all kinds of tankbusters to people with goldfish bowls which aren't even suitable for goldfish.

If the customer is so uninformed about the fish being bought, I doubt they even realize its wrong to dump fish in waterways. I think they feel they are "saving" the fish by letting it go.

Since people are more apt to pay attention to something they sign, at least they are informed enough to know they are breaking the law. It may not stop all the dumping but I think it would stop a lot of it.


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

Ed is talking about the situation, not the previous post.


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

:lol:


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## sirdavidofdiscus (Dec 8, 2006)

Having people sign a statement that they won't release captive fish into the wild won't work. Case in point here in Ohio you can buy fireworks but you have to sign a statement that yhou won't use them in this state! I don't think all those July 4 and Newyears fireworks were bought out of state.


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## DCguy (Mar 9, 2008)

I believe that the most helpful option would be for pet stores to accept any fish that people wanted to turn in. This would give people an option when they want to get rid of fish. Right now most shops won't even consider taking larger fish in from customers. Many larger fish become more like pets to the family and there is no way that they are going to kill them. They rationalize that releasing them at least gives them a chance. Given a choice these people will return them to the shop instead.

Of course, this creates a problem for the shops as they don't have tank space to devote to fish that will never sell. I think at this point the Fish & Game agency needs to come to the shop and pick up the fish. They can then take them and euthanize them humanely and properly dispose of the carcasses. I am sure that there will be an outcry from some about killing the fish. However, given the options it seems like the best course to me.

I would fully support fish adoption programs but I think that as long as shops can make a good profit selling these fish they will continue to do so and we have to find the most practical method of dealing with the outcome.

Invasive species are going to present ever increasing problems in all parts of the world. We can expect that there will be increasing regulations and there will likely be impacts on us in various ways. The best thing we can do as hobbyists is to promote an ethic of never releasing any fish or living creature for any reason.

DC


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## Chris2500DK (Feb 15, 2006)

Requiring shops to take back any fish they sell would probably make them think more about what they're selling. The shops would most likely just kill any fish they don't have room for or doubt they can sell on but that's still better than the fish being released into the wild.


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## conor (May 19, 2007)

EDIT: sorry edburress I was replying to the post above yours 

sirdavidofdiscus, I totally agree!

I cannot agree that shops should have an obligation to take fish back as that removes responsibility from people as pet owners. However I do feel that stores should be more careful about who they sell 'monster fish' to.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

DCguy said:


> I believe that the most helpful option would be for pet stores to accept any fish that people wanted to turn in. This would give people an option when they want to get rid of fish.


I don't think that would even change things. People are just ignorant and lazy.

I had given a bunch of Yellow lab fry to a friend a few years ago. A couple of months ago, she told me she was tired of messing with the tank, and was going to release them in the canal that runs through the town we live in. I drove straight over and picked them up, of course, but can you imagine how those poor fish would have fared being put into a canal in Canada???


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