Gardenlover
Bedazzled Member
- Location
- Missouri & SWFL
@gennie 's post #54 in the thread about snakes is the catalyst for starting this one, as I didn't want to derail that interesting thread.
How does an owner of a pet determine if it is truly happy? I enjoyed a 180-gallon saltwater aquarium for years. People would argue in person and in forums that for certain fish to be happy (Yellow Tangs for example) you had to have at least a 180-gallon aquarium. I always thought it a bit odd, as a 180 tank is still a drop in the bucket compared to the ocean from which fish are captured. The fish would eat and swim around but not breed (Although there have been advances in this area). There was too little data to determine if the fish's life span increased or decreased in captivity. I also had a 20 gallon freshwater tank for a pair of Siamese fighting fish, also known as bettas, which are typically kept in a very small bowl. The fish tended to stay in the same corner of the tank. Were they happy?
With some pets like dogs and cats it's a bit easier to see if they are happy, but with many other pets I think humans tend to project a convoluted sense of happiness onto the pets in their care. Are birds, fish, snakes, spiders, and other little balls of fur as happy as their owners think they are, or would they be happier left in the wild?
What are your thoughts?
How does an owner of a pet determine if it is truly happy? I enjoyed a 180-gallon saltwater aquarium for years. People would argue in person and in forums that for certain fish to be happy (Yellow Tangs for example) you had to have at least a 180-gallon aquarium. I always thought it a bit odd, as a 180 tank is still a drop in the bucket compared to the ocean from which fish are captured. The fish would eat and swim around but not breed (Although there have been advances in this area). There was too little data to determine if the fish's life span increased or decreased in captivity. I also had a 20 gallon freshwater tank for a pair of Siamese fighting fish, also known as bettas, which are typically kept in a very small bowl. The fish tended to stay in the same corner of the tank. Were they happy?
With some pets like dogs and cats it's a bit easier to see if they are happy, but with many other pets I think humans tend to project a convoluted sense of happiness onto the pets in their care. Are birds, fish, snakes, spiders, and other little balls of fur as happy as their owners think they are, or would they be happier left in the wild?
What are your thoughts?