Does Divers Really Condemn Marine Tank?

[Gouldian]

Hi Bros & Sis,

I met up with a avid scuba diver last Friday during a business dinner. When he told me that he has been diving for more than 10yrs and that he frequently organize trip to Philippines and Carribeans, I thought I should keep the conversation going by telling him my hobby since I am not a diver.

Upon my mentioning of my hobby, he put up a frown and commented that I am killing the reefs. He mentioned that "no diver in their right mind will have a marine aquarium"!

Although I am not a diver, I know that alot of the bros & sis here are divers and I just wanted to have your comments.

I thought by getting more people interested in Marine Aquarium, we are in a way creating more awareness and at the same time educating the public in conservating the reef.

I feel that people will not protect the reef if they are only certain previledge people are allow to touch and see it only.

Your kind comments please.

[minsmarine]

Does he tell you that divers populate the ocean so it's killing the reefs as well.

If he doen't tell you , than he is just ......................

Everthing has effect as long as you put some affect.

[Fishfreak]

I won't say that all divers condemn home marine tanks. However, after three years in this hobby, I've learned that

1) this is not a hobby that everybody approves of, unlike stamp-collecting for example

2) one needs to be careful who one talks to about this hobby. If I do not know the person well or I know that person is an environmentalist/conservationalist/nature lover etc etc, then I certainly won't say I have a marine tank at home.

I'm now attending job interviews and if you are too, then I strongly recommend you don't ever say you keep marine fish (or worse, corals) as your hobby! If your interviewer is against this hobby, you can kiss your opportunity (even if you are the best person) sayonara.

My brother and his wife are avid divers. Initially, they were upset that I got into this hobby. Though they have grown to accept this fact (its been 3 years), they still wish I will give it up and return the fish into the ocean. Another friend, a vegetarian and someone with an environmentalist slant, visited this forum before and told me she is disgusted by what she reads here - fish dying, rushing to buy livestock, frequent references to fish beig sucked into powerheads etc.

Thread carefully and sensibly ....

[Gouldian]

Actually before I entered into this hobby, I really feels that ppl who keep marine are "Killing Nemo".

But when I entered this hobby, I realized Marine Hobbyist actually feels for the reef as compared to ppl who are not into the hobby.

I was pretty upset when I saw some Marine Tanks is very bad shape which I classify as "Coral Graveyard".

I feel that those ppl who condemn us are ppl who still have the image of Dead Coral Skeletons in a Tank with one Air-tube and a Pair of Clown.

I know that we have quite a number of Scuba Divers here, what is your take on it?

[Creetin]

i dont blame the divers, they do have a point. In a way, our hobby will affect oceanic life... but it so happens that every hobby wont please everyone. as minsmarine said, even diving also has its cons. My friend said during peak season, certain hot spots of Redang would be littered with lifejackets! and not to mention corals being killed when boats go over them....

And its not like we are killers. We are lovers of the ocean, we dont buy fish or corals to kill but instead to learn and appreciate the beauty of them...on the other hand, we however are guilty of some deaths but i guess thats part and parcel of learning - as long as we dont buy LS indiscrimately!

[untouchables]

before i tried marine, i thot the ocean is vast and corals grows easily. after months of sweating over all the parameters, i am more aware of the need to protect the ocean. so is it good to keep marine? depends on how it changes the individual lor. not all divers are angels anyway.

bottom line is that we should not buy anything that is not regulated or illegal. this way, we ensure that sufficient is left in the ocean.

same goes for arowana. i dun keep illegal ones and they are endangered species in the wild but juz go to the farms, you can see hundreds of them. if they were not regulated, im pretty sure the wild ones would have gone the way of dinosaurs cos farms wont be able to sell, thus wont be breeding them and human being human, we will catch and keep all the wild ones until none is left.

sometimes i feel that these environmentalist, etc are just seeing their world and too obsessed with their objectives and miss the bigger picture.

cheers!

[Gouldian]

Yah loh, in fact from what I know Julian Sprung and Eric Borneman are avid divers as well and they also write books and keep Marine Aquarium.

That's why, I feel that I am not in the wrong and I am not ashame of this hobby.

[dradttg]

I am a diver and I feel that keeping marine helps me appreciate the ocean even more. It also makes me more careful whenever I am near coral.

[Chris]

The point here is awareness. An ignorant diver is many times more destructive than an aware hobbyist.

[minsmarine]

The point here is awareness. An ignorant diver is many times more destructive than an aware hobbyist.

It's my point

[surfedelic]

Just like when Diving become popular ...many corals were abuse ...take for instance Tioman .... I believe many were dead because of commercial reasons when the diver steps on those corals or the reef were over populated with divers.

They were just as guilty as us.

Marine reefing has begun to mature but it takes time. We are going thru what the diver's have gone thru ... awareness... and awareness comes with a price - casualty.

Like it or not - Man always destroy nature. We are merely doing our part trying to preserve what we might have destroy and "we" might be the divers.

[optimus prime]

controversy.................

in actual fact both are culprits!!!!!!!

[leapfrog07]

Everthing in this world had its cause and effect, its every single human being effort to do for e enivronment be it, ocean marine or ozone, We dun keep shark at home but why are they in danger of instinct? Human being eat it, did the message, "the killing will stop if the buying do" get thru. Diver or marine hobbyist as long as we dun kill and enjoy each other interest, SO stop pointing finger at one another.

Marine hobbyist is unlike Luohan hobbyist that keep for the sake of keeping or trend then throw it away when get bore. But off course they are some that is keen luohan or other fish hobbyist just like marine keeper. My message is : to each individual diver and individual marine hobbyist mindset about today marine environment, Its most important that we must each RESPECT one another interest and not CONDEMN.

[FuEl]

Basically there are 2 schools of thoughts about conservation which will never mix.

1) People who believe in leaving things to nature.

2) People who believe in keeping specimens captive to safeguard against potential ecological disaster.

[hammy]

dun really think that all diver condemn marine hobbiyst as i have some of my divers frined who came along and tell mi heh , ur tank is really nice and interesting .

however they will always said this is nothing to what the real thing out there.

i agree with them .

[XPeriment 626]

Actually, reefs are being destroyed more by large-scale commercial/industrial activities than marine fish-keeping. Pollution, coral harvesting (for construction materials), reclamation, etc all destroy miles of reefs every year, much more than if you pluck a few tangs from the ocean. Personally, marine fishkeepers can help protect the environment by educating the general public about the destruction of reefs and the need to pressure governments to stop these harmful acts. The more people understand and come to love marine fish, the more voices can be raised against the greed of large corporations.

HOWEVER, that being said, there is also truth that marine fishkeeping (especially the stupid widespread nemo-crazed kids) causes some small measure of reef destruction. Demand for fish in the shops will cause more people to go hunting for fish in the reefs, and many of them, in order to get hard-to-reach fish, resort to measures like breaking rocks open and using bottles of cyanide. Thus, though the fish-owner cares a lot for the fish and is interested in protecting the reefs, the very act of buying fish and creating the market for marine fish leads to some measure of reef destruction.

So conservationists are entitled to their opinion and may rightly be upset at marine fishkeepers, but we are also just one small part of an enormous world wide problem that will not be solved by scrapping all aquariums.