this stuff has got me to thinking on an issue that got me all hot under the collar years ago.truth in advertising,at least for certain types of products, like food and water additives.
i'm coming from the premise that when consumer advocacy laws don't work, it's only because they don't get used by the public(public's fault), but the laws are still necessary.
also, that any product sold on the retail market with the intent for consumption by any animal, must have full disclosure of ingredients, in a specific list('artificial flavors'- is unacceptable, each 'flavor additive' must be listed).the reasons for this should be self-evident.
there are watchdog groups for human consumptibles, and it seems like the dog & cat food industry kind of holds to the same standards, though this may be due to the consumer demand for quality product, as opposed to an 'independent' advocacy group.
with the exception of the fish food industry, and some of the higher end additive products (too few!) there seems to be no regulatory requirements, or accurate listings of ingredients whatsoever- in spite of the fact that all additives to an aquariums water are 'consumed' by the fish and other critters!(osmotic absorption, dominoe effect of the additive on the environment,etc.).
in theory, anyway, anyone that adds a material to our environment, or produces an item that enters our body directly, can be held accountable for its safety, or lack thereof, if in fact it's proven that it's unsafe.animal owners have a responsibility, and moral obligation to demand the same tools be available for the objective determination of the companies' product claims to ensure the health and well being of the animals.
i have yet to hear of organizations like pijac, mac, etc. to address this side of the 'aquarium husbandry side' of the industry.many of these products actually interfere with this hobby's advancement, and may actually 'harm' (or do nothing) our charge's well being.
obviously false claims made by companies regarding their products should not be allowed, even if the non performance of those claims are not detrimental.
any company that makes any general claim about their product should be required to publish data results of all tests upon which their claims are based.
a saltwater anti ich product once marketed in the late 70's- early 80's was nothing but a penny in a 'sock'! FAMA ran an article on it, and it dissapeared- yet today, we have a much larger range of products that are meant for direct application to our 'life support' systems-from vita chem to coral vital to a whole host of other products, which have extremely vague ingredients lists, and make claims that have yet to be shown to have any basis at all, scientific or otherwise!
if the hobbyists or lead organizations like the above mentioned,would start to question the validity of these products by requesting from these various companies, test results, and making either the results, or the companies non-compliance with the requests, known, then imho, the entire tropical fish industry, fresh and marine, would advance far more quickly, with less dropout from the hobby, and increased longevity of many aquatic species as a whole.
:x
i understand that this is a product driven industry, but only to a certain extent.the industry exists only because the hobbyists, chumps or not, support it.any industry that looks only to serve itself, ignoring the wish of the consumers it serves will ultimately fail(though it may take long).pijac et al are obviously too short sighted, and too industry sympathetic to do what they should be doing, yet the groups that are hobbyist oriented don't seem to care, either...
someone i worked with in this biz was fond of saying 'never smarten up a chump'-chumps are what ruin this hobby, and kill animals unnecessarily. not being able to smarten up some chumps is no excuse for not trying to help and protect the well meaning, but naive, beginner.
leaving the soap box ...
