Are fish "pets"?

LongTime said:
Face it, the fish don't meet you at the door jumping up and down and they just don't handle romps in the park well at all! :) The dog also sits with you when you look at the fish and follows you around as you to the usual tank stuff. The fish don't hang out with you as you bathe the dog. :)
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Well, I have a gourami/angels tank and I'm sure my fish follow me. This tank is next to my smoking-reading table, and I've found the gouramies and angels to stare at me for as long as I'm sitting. Also, in the morning they are always grouped in the corner that is closest to my bedroom door, waiting for breakfast. My girlfriend likes to stare at them too and they all make a lovely scene. However, there are other fish that don't really pay any attention to me, just like the bala sharks or the leaffish.

It's true your fish can't interact at a high level as your dog or car would, but I consider them my pets and keep a high respect for their lives.

And about the 3 seconds mamory, I can tell it's cow-feces. I've kept a goldfish and a koi togheter for around a year. Always sharing the same tank. A 20, a 50 and the bigger 250 gl tank. Always thay are close to each other, swim side by side and rest in the bottom, lining onto each other. The gold fish developed some kind of bacterial infection, so he went into quarentine. After 15 days, I brought him back to the tank and he started swimming like crazy around the koi. Believe it or not, I'm sure he was kissing him. I'm amazed as I remember it and type this. The frenzy lasted about 3 hours, and they eventually got tired. Now thay are back to their normal side by side behaviour. If this is not a proof the goldfish remebered the koi, I don't know whay could prove it.
 
"pet" is rather subjective

Pet-An animal that is tamed or domesticated "and" kept as a companion or treated with fondness.

Regarding my fish:
Tamed- no (they are not "made gentle, docile, obedient or spiritless") I try to make their homes as close to their natural habitat as possible.

or

Domesticated- no (they are not adapted for human use as in a cow or chicken)
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Companion- no, I consider my cat a companion because he follows me around.

or

Treated with fondness- yes, I hope everyone has some level of fondness for all living creatures.


I think Websters should change their definition to:
An animal that is tamed or domesticated "or" kept as a companion or treated with fondness.

So I'd have to answer, yes, all my fish are literally pets. I think it would be really interesting to observe a fish like an Oscar in his 100% natural environment. I mean, National Geographic swims with dolphins, sharks, and whales. They should do a special about danios & other interesting fish that are typically seen only in aquariums.
 
slipknottin said:
Pain is entirely mental, and fish do not have the mental facilities to create it.
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Sorry to sidetrack but this is a pet peeve of mine. Pain is not "entirely mental." Pain is physiological. Surgery used to be performed on human infants and animals without any analgesia because people didn't believe they felt pain; now we know that both people and animals heal better from surgery and other events if their pain is controlled.

Back on track, yes and no. I am certainly fond of my fish, I name some of them, and I feel bad if I lose one... but they are not in the same league as the dog.
 
I feel the same as some of you. Some fish are pets, some are pretties. I had an oscar back in the 80's that would play catch with me. I'd throw a ping pong ball in, she'd knock it out. If I stopped playing she'd wag and dance at me to get me to play some more. I often wonder if the folks who feed fish at large public aquaria get more interaction from the fish when they get in a 50,000 gallon exhibit in stead of standing outside the glass. Still, I can't compare fish to my dogs or birds, which are family members and not just pets.

Mark
 
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