Do you agree with the breeding of "Balloon" Fish?

[Dexmaster]

I will step in and say I like balloon mollies I have a solid black one he eats and swims and seems happy he can eat with my angels and my gouramis I think its doing fine and seems normal to me!

 

[tanker]

But how do you know whether the process harms the fish? A fish may look happy and eat but you have no way of knowing how much it's struggling thanks to its man made deformaties. My rule of thumb for fish I buy is that if the fish can survive in the wild it's okay.

In that case none of the guppys, platies, mollies, flowing-fin fishes (angels, zebras, bettas, ect), Discus,....... ect will survive in the wild.

 

[Riiz]

I say no, because they arent bred, they are chemically treated to achieve this look, just as bad as the hormone baths that dwarf gourami are subjected to.

 

[KarlTh]

I'd like to see a source for the chemical treatment - "I read it somewhere" is not really a source; I read somewhere Gordon Brown is a lizard from outer space but I know that's rubbish. My understanding is that balloon mollies will have some balloon fry, although they may not develop the balloon shape until later, which implies it's genetic rather than environmental. Either way they're horrible things.

 

[theicequeen]

I voted no.

 

[Zaffy]

Unless there's actual evidence that breeding fish in this way is done in a cruel manor then I can't oppose it. If it's done through regular genetic selection then it's no different in my mind to how we've bred dogs, cats, cows etc in the past. I've never kept balloon fish because they don't appeal to me, but I've also never kept a chihuahua for the same reason.

 

[zoya117]

I agree with many of the posters above: if this is achieved by breeding alone, then it's not much different than dogs or any other domesticated animal. I've long been intrigued by the process of breeding to certain traits, whether they be aesthetic or utilitarian. I'd love to breed dogs one day, but I find that the idea of breeding fish holds the same interest to me.

People breed dogs and fish to attain certain aesthetic qualities. Yes, it can and does result in the sort of deformity that you see in the balloon mollies and pugs. It's the well being of the animal that really draws the line. If these fish are living horrible lives of pain then dying, then it's certainly immoral. Just as the sort of breeders who breed and sell dogs with genetic flaws are scorned in the dog world, so should it be in the fish world.

 

[jpappy789]

I personally would never keep one, but the practice is not really cruel IMO.

 

[Chrisinator]

Not sure if this has been said but I've seen Ballon: Mollies, Platies, Rams, Pearl Gouramies, Red-eyed Tetras, Rainbows and such from various pet stores.

 

[froglover007]

I have seen balloon: red eye tetras, rams, mollies, goldfish (although almost all are balloon), FH cichlid, and aros.