The truth about cyanide-caught fish?

[moonraker]

Lately, I've been reading alot about the effects of cyanide on fish. But most of what I found are conflicting... Alot of articles by reputable authors suggest that fish wouldn't even last long when exposed to this chemical. While others seem to assert the opposite, stating that fish can even live long and eat well for a few months to a year and then suddenly succumbing to the detriments of cyanide. So I ask, what is the REAL truth about cyanide-caught fish? How can we really distinguish a fish that has not been exposed to this poison? There are some people who claim that it doesn't matter and simply avoid anything hailing from the Philippines and Indonesia since most are outright cyanide-caught-- this bothers me alot! If that is true then all my fish are bound to die in the near future.

I hope we would be able to dispel myths about this dilemma...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi moonraker. A huge part of the problem here is the fact that different animals are going to respond to the chemical in different ways. This is exacerbated by the fact that not all fish are exposed to the same dosage/amount. These two issues, added together, mean that BOTH situations are true, though neither is absolute.

Yes, there are those who would prefer to simply avoid all from such regions altogether, but there are others who are actually working to do their best to ensure the least likely chance of acquiring cyanide caught/exposed animals. The only way to definitevely determine whether or not an animal has been exposed is to test, and to the best of my knowledge, the currently available tests require killing the fish. Quite the quandry, eh?

Btw, DO search our "Industry" forum for LOTS on this issue!

 

[Anonymous]

...and if you're truly concerned with it, you can stock your tank with only captive rasied fish OR with fish that only come from certain regions (such as Hawaii), where there is virtually no chance they were cyanide caught.