Thinking of a Moorish Idol

[Anonymous]

I get you. I guess I just don't like the idea that animals should be uncollectable. I think they should be responsibly collected and cared for at the end of the COC.
If these fish can be sustainability and responsibly collected I don't have a problem with it. So if the MI population is not under duress, I have no problem with some people trying them. The problem is that this is completely impossible given the current COC. The whole acro argument is really compelling for me as is the cuttlefish argument - both were considered unkeepable, but are now very keepable and would not have been if not for hobbyists. Heck, orange spot file fish are not only being kept and weaned onto easy foods, but they have been successfully captive bred, but are generally though of in the same realm as MI's.
I like this kind of discussion. Both of us have a dream that is almost the same, but equally as far from becoming reality.

Good points.
A balance can certainly be struck between a ban of sorts, and responsible harvest...but like you said neither is likely to happen.

With some species though we're not IMO dealing with a lack of understanding, or some missing piece of the puzzle. Some species just don't have the physiological, and just as importantly, the psychological mettle to deal with a glass box. Or some for instance only eat SPS polyps - good candidates for a zero collection policy I think. I suppose somebody might end up breeding a strain of Larvatus butterflies that gorge themselves on frozen food, but at what point are we just looking at too many dead fish?

In recent years I struggle a bit with the morality of keeping anything at all. I have a strong compulsion to practice the captive husbandry of not only fish, but other critters as well, yet on some level I also feel it's wrong as I go on about it. So the line I draw is in some sense arbitrary...I realize that if I follow my own logic to it's conclusion, (and miwoodar kind of touched on this) I wouldn't keep a Tomato clown either. There is truly an ugly side to this hobby that most of us choose to ignore...for some reason recently it tugs at me a bit harder.

Points well taken though Rich.

 

[Anonymous]

As a followup...

The clown tang has settled down quite a bit. The purple tang is top dog again. The clown occasionally flares his fins towards the flame angel but is ignorring, and largely being ignorred, by all of the other fish. Maybe I'll get to keep him for a little while after all.

Some moorish idol thread.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey, I didn't see I hit it first time.

What do I get? I hope the answer is pics of the Tang. 8)