Weekly Discussion - Finding Nemo - help or hurt?

[Anonymous]

Weekly Discussion - Finding Nemo - help or hurt?

Will the movie help or hurt our hobby?

About the RDO Weekly Discussion:
This discussion is meant to get at your experience and to share information that is in your head, so don't necessarily treat it as information gathering. State your opinion and, if available, use material, anecdotal or otherwise, that will back up your opinion.
Past weekly discussions will be archived in the archives.
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[Anonymous]

I don't think it will have an impact. The public's attention span is too short for it to have any long term effects.

 

[AllenF]

Might be a few hippo tangs shoved into tanks way too small for them the next few months....

 

[Anonymous]

I think it will do both.

 

[Saltykirk]

I really thought it would be a coffin nail for the hobby. I hope it is for irresponsible practices of collection.
A friend of mine said Bambi didn't stop deer hunting. He is right. What that movie did was put a bigger spotlight on hunting. Most hunters are responsible, play by the rules, and care more than non-hunters for preservation of their hobby/sport. I think the same can be said for marine hobbyists more & more by the day. I think this will bring more attention(hope?) to the subject & get some more powerful & influential people to join the ones we already have to bring about some more improvement to collection & treatment of fishes. Remember, the freshwater hobby was attacked for years & people wanted to shut it down. Look where it is now. nuff said

 

[Anonymous]

I'll have to see it first!

B

 

[Anonymous]

I'll have to see it first!

B

Oh, come one! Dive into sheer speculation!

 

[apparent]

I read some reviews by people who saw the movie at various sites I saw a lot of "whats that fish I want one of those" hopefully nemo won't find his way into a goldfish bowl

 

[Anonymous]

I believe it will make fish more personable to people. Making the aqaurium hobby more popular. However if PETA gets a considerable donation from disney we may have a significant anti-aqaurium hobby advertising.

 

[Anonymous]

Remember when 101 Dalmations came out? Many people ran out and got this breed of dog only to realize later that it really isn't appropriate (generally) for a family with kids. Many were put up for adoption, sent to the Humane Society. I hope this doesn't happen with saltwater fish - making them the latest fad for people who have no idea what they are getting into.

 

[brandon4291]

Surely though no decent LFS employee is going to just sell some 8yr old and their grandma a clown or tang without a little profiling...such as "what size tank is he going in" or "what do you feed your fish?" and at that point when they figure out these customers are noobs then they get to hit them up for skimmers, pumps, aquaria etc all at a beginning bill no less than $300 dollars for the whole setup. I doubt many young ones are going to drop this much into a brand new hobby especially when they hear about the rigors of SW (rigors can also be found in the $$)

I don't think Nemo will impact the actual hobby much, if anything it may suppress it a little because isn't the point of the film to show how sad it is to be in captivity and not in the ocean? I think the cost of this new hobby alone will drive out potential clown buyers...Just my guess,

B429

 

[Anonymous]

Well, my local Petco is stocked up and clowns and blue tangs.

 

[Anonymous]

:twisted: PETCO :twisted:

 

[LtSmash]

IMO it'll help more than hurt. this will get young kids alittle more in to ocean life and hopefully increase awareness that our reefs arent safe.

 

[mountainbiker619]

I think the ending of the movie is the deciding factor..but seeing how it is a kids movie..I am sure it is a good ending. I feel as though the only topic that would place a bad rep onto this hobby is the feeling that we the hobbiest are taking these fish away from their family. I think on this topic is where if PETA tries to persue a bad rep for this hobby, that this may be the main topic of their attack.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, my local Petco is stocked up and clowns and blue tangs.

:roll:

great. it's all about money here.

i'm hoping that it will give people a newfound love and respect for our oceans and it's denizens. am i reaching? but if people do flock to their lfs for a clown or tang, i hope that whoever helps them is responsible enough to give them a list of essential hardware and books needed prior to actually being able to bring those fish home. of course, if they are trying to "make that sale", we may lose alot of fish because of it.

let's hope for the best.

 

[MattM]

...the feeling that we the hobbiest are taking these fish away from their family. I think on this topic is where if PETA tries to persue...

If so, then PETA will once again show their incredibly high level of ignorance. Clownfish are an r-selected species: they breed frequently and in large numbers and invest no effort in the care and rearing of their young. Most eggs never survive to adulthood. The concept of "family" is non-existant in an r-selected species.

Most people can tell reality from Disney, some can not. Clownfish don't have families. Of course they also don't speak, school with Tangs, ride in Pelican mouths, etc. But people will pick and choose the portions they believe to be true...

Time will tell.

 

[Anonymous]

i gotta agree with mountainbiker... it all depends on the ending.. - my gut tells me it'll have a message of some sort and my head is really hoping my gut is right. (except i don't think PETA will be coming after "us"..)

one things for sure, it's already helped ME a little, at least as far as the woman cutting some slack on the $$ strings..

 

[oneshotleft]

Seems to me that after the Harry Potter movie everyone was trying to buy thier kids an Owl.

 

[ReefMon]

Here's a snippet from the weekly emailing a LFS just sent me.....

After you watch the new Disney movie, Finding Nemo, this weekend, come on in and pick up one of our Nemo kits. The kit includes a six gallon Eclipse aquarium, ten pounds of live rock, six pounds of live sand, a heater, thermometer, hydrometer, flake food, hermit crabs, snails, a serpent star, and of course Nemo and his dad, Marlin, two False Percula clowns. The tank is all set up and ready to go. This kit is a great gift idea for any child.

I think I'm going to have to drop in and have a chat with the owner.... :evil:

What really scares me is I've heard more folks tell me the rage for the past several years for VERY young children's partys, is to give fish as a goodie bag present. We have one friend who called me in a panic a couple years ago to say his 2 year old "just came home with a fish and I have no clue what to do with it...." Ended up being a gold fish, I set them up, and it's still quite healthy. This year they went to the same kids party and they were giving out Beta's, our friends declined it (their daughter threw a fit). I can only guess what next years "goodie" will be. :evil:

BOTOH, My 9 year old daughter has a 10gal with 2 "Nemo" percs in it, but seeing how I'm the one who set it up, feed's it, and maintains it I don't have a problem.