I don't know if it's a matter of people (owners of companies etc) in the private sector not caring. It's simple if the incentives aren't there for them to care they literally can't care. If they do care and act on it they probably won't survive or won't be nearly as successful as their competitors who don't care. People tend to make this kind of thing personal, it isn't, the public has to demand with their dollars that companies operate differently. If the public does this companies will act differently, no moral virtue required. This could be achieved via government regulation or organically, but the public has to care about it first and either put pressure on politicians via votes or companies via dollars. Personally I hope it's the latter, because then change comes from people that have a stake in and care about our hobby, the other way is going to be from the outside, and who knows what will happen then.
IMO - no one knows what 'government regulation' will do. First states can make regulations that other states will not hold to (i.e. CA) second it may take years for the federal government to actually agree to do something. So - I think it depends to a great deal on where one lives.
I know a couple of hobbyists who are now selling/shipping QT fish, but they can only put a dent in the problem. I think eventually government regulation will fix this mess (albeit the hard way). It was just my hope that for once we could put greed aside and police ourselves from within.
I know many hobbyists who care about this issue, but don't know how to effect change. There are so few ethical livestock vendors, and let's face it we all need to get our "fix".
I will check and let you know by PM
I recently went to a local reef club meeting and met a guy who said, "I never QT and never will. If it dies, it dies, I'll just get another one." Those comments made me sick. Regardless of thier level of conciencess, fish, corals, and inverts are living things.Most MB experiment on food fish which are sourced directly from collectors. That's where the money is, doing research that will benefit the aquafarming industry. I do know of one wholesaler who specializes in fish for public aquaria, zoos, research institutions. But unless directed otherwise, those fish are all treated prophylactically before being shipped out.
If the majority of people on this site who do not QT don't have any problems, then how did the fish disease forum ever gain traction in the first place? When I first started it, most questions revolved around fish dying from some disease in a DT and what to do about that. Lately the focus has shifted to fish dying in QT because it's pretty well laid out on here what to do if your DT has Ich, velvet, etc. I can tell you from less informed communities (i.e. my local FB groups), half the questions seem to be about Ich or velvet in someone's reef tank. Very few of these people QT, or believe in QT, so the main LFS around here can move 40 boxes of fish per week. Business is good!
I am intimately familiar with one major public aquarium's QT program, but will not disclose their name to protect their privacy. They have a separate facility dedicated to QTing all new fish. NOTHING enters their display tanks without first going through a pretty harsh battery of meds: Copper, formalin, prazi, metro and Enrofloxacin (an ABX). Most of the fish do fine, and some specimens are 10+ years old now. So, I get a chuckle when I read people worrying over the use of copper or some General Cure in food. Or how a fish's immune system is supposedly permanently damaged after being exposed to meds. Bottom line is some fish are weak and/or just not meant for life in captivity. Those fish are probably going to die, whether you QT them or not. The only question is whether you are willing to allow whatever pathogen(s) they might be carrying to enter your DT. If your existing fish have strong immune systems and/or resistance to said pathogens, they might be OK. However, it really is a crapshoot because you can never be certain of the virulence or sheer number of parasites (for example) riding in on this fish.
I know people think I am against those who are against QT. But I am actually working on a 30 minute H2O2 bath treatment which should at the very least knock off "surface" parasites & worms. It will give those who wish to QT a better starting point; for those who plop & drop, it should keep the worst parasites out of your DT. Win-win the way I see it.
