Spray On Color Enhancer??? WTH?

[nrich]

Where on earth did you get this information? Unless I saw this being done I'd consider the reports of the regular wholesale tattooing of fish batches to be rather improbable. Not impossible mind, you...but improbable.

I can believe that some idiot would tattoo a large fish for fun, though. I think it's lame. It's not like tattooing livestock with tracking numbers in their ear...which I also think is mean, but makes a certain brutal logic in large cattle herds or whatever.

...Or did you mean that they feed them with coloring? That'd be something I could believe.

It's actually fairly common in the asian pet trade, but a few places in the U.S. have picked it up too. It's a fairly horrible process for the fish and the tattooing process and the toxic dyes usually shorten their lifespan dramatically. There is also a common practice of slicing off a fishes tail to give it a more "moon" shaped look, which I guess some people prefer. I think it's all disgusting and cruel.

Here's a link as an example:http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=01769543281


also, sorry for the threadjack!

 

[ElapidSVT]

I do think some breaded dragon breeders use it because i have not seen a breaded dragon look as red as some i see on sites!

yummy! breaded dragons!!

supplying a diet high in b carotene and/or other pigment precursors isn't what i'd call cheating, more like supplying the tools for the animal to achieve its natural potential.

in captivity their diet is not as varied as it would have in the wild so many things that affect pigment are most likely missing and animals subsequently don't achieve their true potential.

 

[Gregg M]

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=850

 

[ajveachster]

Thanks for the article Gregg. I guess I'm just sensitive and the whole thing sickens me a little. Not only can there be damage to a helpless animal for ego or profit, but I feel like I have to question whether or not the animal is even natural.