How do fish caught with cyanide act?

[edub_50]

I read a reply to my last thread and jnarowe had mentioned that his fish may have been caught using cyanide. A nearby LFS has VERY inexpensive fish (a baglot sale every Sunday all fish around 70% off!!!) I mean even quite expensive and rare fish! The problem is that most every fish I've purchased from there has died. Only an anemone and my two Tangs have survived.

Does anyone know the symptoms of such a reprehensible practice? Is there any way to find out BEFORE I buy again?

 

[Steven Pro]

Cyanide and Its Unfortunate Use in the Marine Ornamental Industry

 

[jmaneyapanda]

If im not mistaken, cyanide is almost exclusively a problem in the phillipines (or thereabout). Fish from Australia, Red Sea, Hawaii are certainly going to be net or hand caught.

 

[dougie]

they dont act they just die.

 

[jnc914]

I agree with Dougie, Cyanide caught fish look normal but will just die unexpectantly. Its heart breaking when it occurs. I had a Potter's that looked great and then just died with no noticeable signs of sickness. Cyanide fish collection is evil and inhumane.

 

[SDguy]

Is it even possible to get a cyanide caught Potter's

IME, the ultra bright coloration and kind of dazed attitude, not reacting well or looking alert are dead giveaways.

 

[jmicky41]

Potters are not caught with cyanide. All potters are from the hawaii area where cyanide is not used.

 

[Galilean]

I got a potters angel just last year that dropped dead with no warning after eating and behaving normally for 2 weeks. He was in a tank where the corals were happy with the water quality. Nothing was threatening him. He had plenty of natural food as well as high quality flake and frozen all of which he consumed with gusto until the morning he was dead. Unless you are personally responsible for the collecting I don't think there is any way you can know what is being done. I don't know if it was cyanide. But something was wrong with that fish that I was not able to notice, despite my experience with tens of thousands of saltwater fish and hundreds of thousands of fresh water fish.

 

[Sheol]

They look and act fine, right up until they die..

Matthew

 

[Steven Pro]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7988054#post7988054 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SDguy
Is it even possible to get a cyanide caught Potter's

Nope, you aren't going to see any cyanide caught fish come out of Hawaii.

 

[zemuron114]

There is no way potters are cyanide caught. MANY potters will drop dead because they just do poorly overall and have a bad track record...
If you are caught using cyanide in Hawaii (which you will be) you lose your boat, business, license to catch, and are fined up to 200,000$ with likely jail time... NO one in Hawaii will take that risk.. not to mention the other divers will be POed that you screwed up their jobs...

cyanide fish do fine for up to a month (depending on the amount of cyanide used) they will not gain weight even if eating like pigs, and then suddenly drop dead without warning. A few Indo places and phillipines use it. However, the phillipine government is starting to crack down on the use. Hopefully it works, because there are some AWESOME fish from there...

 

[CeeGee]

all that I have seen slowly starve to death even though they eat. It is really sad. My most recent was a lubbocks fairy wrasse.

 

[wayne in norway]

To me the original posters issue isn't with cyanide, but I will bet your lfs is getting fish straight from the Phillipines, Indonesia or similar and is doing a pretty poor job of acclimating them (if at all). It's called transhipping - I wonder if they ever comeo out of the bag between arrival at the airport and you buying.
Cheap fish, all die - seen it before mate.

 

[zemuron114]

transhipping is a normal way to get fish. there is usually a stop over (LA) in which they re-ox the fish for the later flight. The flight time is still very long, 30+ hours, maybe more. Every LFS should drip acclimate for a long time (4+ hours if transhipped) PH drops alot in that time. i agree with Wayne though. It sounds like your LFS has very very poor practices in keep fish and acclimating them. I would stop going there.