Fish.. are they your pets or decoration?

[ErikVR]

Hi all,

Thinking about the fish I have lost while being in this hobby makes me wonder if we see our fish as pets or 'just' fancy decoration.
To me, they are definitely pets and I feel terrible when they die. But I also read comments that only mention the price of a fish.

What are they to you?
And does it matter what kind of fish we're talking about? Do you feel different about losing a big tang than you would about a small damsel?
Of course I mean feeling bad about about losing a pet. Not about losing more money on a tang vs damsel.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Pets 100% that I love and care deeply about. I love my porcupine pufferfish the most and since he’s like a dog! And yes losing a coral or an invert is different than a fish. Every fish I’ve lost I’ve always flushed but my pufferfish will get a burial that’s how much I love the little buddy. Plus he’s too big to flush lol.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I think of them as pets but understand the cycle of life. If I made a mistake that lead to it's death I'd definitely feel worse about a death than if something I was either unaware of that happened or if it was somehow out of my control.

This is one of those topics that everyone is going to likely make very emotional and morally satisfying posts...if everyone felt as deeply as they'd like to appear regarding this topic then they wouldn't be planning the next addition within a week.

 

[ErikVR]

This is one of those topics that everyone is going to likely make very emotional and morally satisfying posts...if everyone felt as deeply as they'd like to appear regarding this topic then they wouldn't be planning the next addition within a week.

Very good point. I do regard them to be my pets. But on a different emotional level than, for example, my dog.
I've never been in tears over a fish dying and I doubt I ever will. But I would cry my eyes out if my dog or horse died.

Nevertheless, I feel very bad if a fish dies through my fault. I do regard them as part of my family.
If one of my small damsels died right now I would say, dang that sucks. If my powder brown tang died, I would be pretty upset. Not because of their value but because the fish has a personality.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Very good point. I do regard them to be my pets. But on a different emotional level than, for example, my dog.
I've never been in tears over a fish dying and I doubt I ever will. But I would cry my eyes out if my dog or horse died.

Nevertheless, I feel very bad if a fish dies through my fault. I do regard them as part of my family.
But I do make a difference. If one of my small damsels died right now I would say, dang that sucks. If my powder brown tang died, I would be pretty upset. Not because of their value but because the fish has a personality.

You'll probably get a lot of backlash from implying different fish would elicit a different response based on personality or other characteristics but I feel the vast majority of people feel the same way.

 

[ErikVR]

You'll probably get a lot of backlash from implying different fish would elicit a different response based on personality or other characteristics but I feel the vast majority of people feel the same way.

That's alright!

I don't think it's a strange concept. It's no different than with humans.
I have a large family. I would have a different emotional response when learning about a death in my family.
Is it my grandmother? Or an aunt that I haven't spoken to in years? Those would trigger a different response from me. Both would make me feel bad. But the first would leave me devastated for a long time and the second would suck and my thoughts would go out to my cousins. I think that's natural and it doesn't make me a terrible person

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

That's alright!

I don't think it's a strange concept. It's no different than with humans.
I have a large family. I would have a different emotional response when learning about a death in my family.
Is it my grandmother? Or an aunt that I haven't spoken to in years? Those would trigger a different response from me. Both would make me feel bad. But the first would leave me devastated for a long time and the second would suck and my thoughts would go out to my cousins. I think that's natural and it doesn't make me a terrible person

You're opinion sounds very honest and it makes perfect logical sense.

 

[Paul B]

They are a hobby to me. I love my fish but not like I would love a dog (which I don't have)

I also eat fish and other seafood almost every day and grew up in my Dads seafood market.

I feel bad if a fish dies but they normally only die of old age and when that happens I feel like I did the right thing to give that creature a long happy life and thats all I can do.

They don't love me, they love anyone who feeds them. Kind of like my wife.

 

[Waters]

Good or bad, I think of them more as workers.....in my tank to perform a task...not really pets. That being said, they get treated as well as any other pet that I have.

 

[doubleshot00]

I have dogs, fish and a chameleon. They are all pets to me but in the ordered I listed is how much I like them. But some of my fish are way more friendly than others.

My tangs and foxface are my favorite because they have a job to do. But my latest fish (leopard wrasse) is probably the friendliest fish I have. I put my hand in the tank he comes right up to me and I can pet him sometimes.

My son got some new fish to the other day and his clown bullied the royal gramma so bad he killed it. My son cried like it was a dead puppy.

 

[Alexraptor]

Honestly, almost all my animals are pets to me. I feel bad even when a snail dies (unless I'm feeding it to my mantis), or a hermit manages to escape the tank and die in a corner of the room.

That said I can never form the same emotional bond with them as i do with my cat, simply because of the matter of touch and regular physical interaction not being feasible.

 

[MartinM]

Their waste is natural food source for my other inhabitants, which is why I keep them ^ ^

 

[exnisstech]

We call them our wet pets.

 

[jrill]

Not as pets. If they die they die. But as keepers we have a moral obligation to provide the best care possible.

 

[Propane]

I see my fish as living things in my care. Definitely above a house plant but no where near how I feel about my dog.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all,

Thinking about the fish I have lost while being in this hobby makes me wonder if we see our fish as pets or 'just' fancy decoration.
To me, they are definitely pets and I feel terrible when they die. But I also read comments that only mention the price of a fish.

What are they to you?
And does it matter what kind of fish we're talking about? Do you feel different about losing a big tang than you would about a small damsel?
Of course I mean feeling bad about about losing a pet. Not about losing more money on a tang vs damsel.

I would hope based on the investment of time and money they are pets. I do have some resin ones that are decoration

 

[argiBK]

I ask myself this every once in a while. My general take is that I am responsible for any living thing I take into my care, and I am responsible for giving them every opportunity to live a comfortable life while in that care (short of releasing them back into their natural habitat).

I don’t get emotionally attached the same way to fish as I do with my dog, they’re on different tiers of sentience and relationship building. Even with fish, it seems like some species/individuals (like angels) attach more deeply than others, but watching and caring for them, they have a positive effect on my mental health, I fear for them if they’re struggling/sick, and in that I am obliged to commit to that responsibility above.

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

My animals are always here as decoration, regardless of complexity. However, the maintainance of a marine ecosystem is akin to a live lab I can use to simplify existing ecosystems and study how ecosystem stability is formed and maintained, as well as getting a detailed(albeit perhaps unrealistic) look into animal anatomy and behaviour. I like getting information about my fish, and making observations/picking up corroborating/disproving evidence for existing theories about reef ecology is entertaining as hell.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Some of my fish serve a utility purpose for the reef tanks. I also have a 135 gallon fowlr that has the fish I consider pets like my dogs and cat. All of them get the same care and attention regardless, but I don't attach much emotion to the utility fish vs the others.

 

[TWYOUNG]

I would hope based on the investment of time and money they are pets. I do have some resin ones that are decoration

I invest plenty of time and money on my house, car etc., and although I may have "feelings" about replacing them it's in no way comparable to replacing a pet. I've also had beloved dogs which cost a small fraction of what I've paid for some fish.