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Related Articles: Caring for the Fish of Finding Nemo

FAQs about "Finding Nemo" 

 

Life is not a cartoon show. RMF

Trouble in Paradise, Sick/Dying Tang, Inappropriate Stocking 6/5/08 Thanks in advance for any information you can give me. Your website is wonderful! This is the first time I've posted so bare with me. <Ok> I have a 30g tank, 23 lbs live rock, 30 lbs live sand, 8 snails, 12 crabs, two tank raised Perculas (one obviously bigger than the other but are still duking it out), <This never really stops> 1 chromis, and 1 Hippo Tang. <This tank is by far too small for a Hippo.> Water conditions are: temp 77, pH 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate just below 5, spg 1.021. <Would slowly raise the SPG to a more natural level.> I cycled my tank with live rock for 4 weeks. Added crabs and snails at a little over 2 weeks (sand and rocks were covered in brown algae). I then added 1 chromis at a little over 4 weeks. Added clowns and hippo tang 5 days after chromis. <Probably too much too fast.> Everybody was fat, happy and eating Formula 1 flakes (this is what the LFS told me to feed). This continued for about 3.5 weeks. Last Thursday I noticed the tang rub on the rocks and saw what looked like a couple bubbles on "her" but they went away. I didn't see her do it again after that. This past Sunday she wouldn't come out of her cave and wouldn't eat, Monday the same thing. Tuesday she came out but stayed at the surface with her nose almost sticking out of the water and breathing kind of heavy, still wouldn't eat (see attached photo). Last night she would swim a little but for the most part stayed at the surface. This morning at the bottom, belly up with "bugged out" eyes. After reading through your website for many hours I'm thinking it was crypt/ich. <Is common for this species.> My question is: Do I need to do anything to the tank/other fish? <Wait and see how badly they are infected, be prepared to treat for ich in a hospital tank.> I went by my LFS on Wednesday and was told "that's crazy Dory for you. just keep an eye on her." Called them back today and was told she must have been stressed. Asked them what I needed to do at this point because I don't want my other fish to die and was told "I don't know just watch and see." My neighbor also had a tang from the same store displaying the same symptoms died two days ago. <I would think about finding another LFS.> I'm new to this and I have a very upset 4 year old wanting to know where Dory is and why are the two Nemo's fighting! (also attached a picture of the clowns) Help! Meghan <Please see here for some ideas on what is going on and where you may be heading. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nemoproart.htm .> <Chris>

Life is not a cartoon show. RMF

CNN.com - 'Releasing Nemo' may harm local fish species - Jul 1, 2004 Saw this and thought the crew would be interested if they you have not seen it already. <Thank you for this. Will post. Bob Fenner> Title: CNN.com - 'Releasing Nemo' may harm local fish species - Jul 1, 2004 CNN.com will expire this article on 07/15/2004.    Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to access the sent link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1846706150&pt=Y

'Releasing Nemo' may harm local fish species

 

Thursday, July 1, 2004 Posted: 9:36 AM EDT (1336 GMT)  

Marine species like these reef fish are increasingly threatened by invasive organisms. Marine species like these reef fish are increasingly threatened by invasive organisms.
 
 

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Releasing pet fish into the open seas could have a disastrous effect on marine ecosystems and harm native species, scientists said on Wednesday.

They have been spotting exotic species in waters far from their natural habitats and suspect they have been freed from aquariums.

"It's a 'Finding Nemo' story," marine biologist Brice Semmens, of the University of Washington, Seattle, told New Scientist magazine.

In the blockbuster animated film Nemo, a clownfish, strays from his home and ends up in a fish tank in a dentist's office in Sydney, Australia while his over-protective, timid father searches the oceans for him.

"Individuals are releasing their pet fish with the best of intentions, but in the wrong ocean. It is a really bad idea," Semmens added.

Exotic fish from the Pacific and Indian oceans and the Red Sea, including the predatory lionfish, varieties of angel fish and tang have been sighted off the coast of Florida.

If the fish breed and establish populations they could endanger local species.

The lionfish, which has now been spotted in waters from Florida to New York, is particularly worrying because it preys on a variety of fish, shrimps and crabs, according to the magazine.

"In the coming weeks the US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and representatives from the aquarium industry will join forces to educate the public about the dangers of dumping pet fish into the ocean," the magazine said.
 

Finding Nemo
I am curious if any of you have seen "Finding Nemo" or the game that is out? I have not made it with the kids to the film but got the game and was surprised by the content and issues it presents, generally in a negative view.
    The "Finding Nemo" computer game, that apparently follows the themes of the movie with clips, begins with the young clownfish venturing too far from the reef near a boat only to be caught by an ominous diver and taken away screaming in his boat, eventually to end up in his tank. The theme centers around his efforts to escape and his fathers efforts to tract him down and save him and bring him home.
    The scene in the aquarium, although pretty, brings up a number of issues:
1) Bringing ocean parasites into the tank without, of course, a quarantine period. They use a cleaner shrimp to clean him up.
2) Presentation of some inhabitants that are not all that compatible or hardy such as a puffer and a Moorish Idol. They claim that they won't hurt the new fish.
3) Efforts to clog the filter to force the owner to take them out for servicing, in an attempt to escape.
4) Plans to escape by getting to the bay and swimming home.
5) Actually jumping from the tank and going down a drain to get back to the ocean (illegal dumping?) At least this myth, that all drains go to the ocean, would possibly prevent some kids from dropping pet fish directly into bays to let them go.
6) A little girl who is supposed to get Nemo, the clownfish, for her tank, who abuses the bagged fish by shaking it around. 
Another theme is that "Fish are our friends, not food". The clownfish goes to the extent of helping food fish escape from a fisherman's net. I am not sure if this is more an animal rights or a vegetarian issue.
    Possibly it could at least be considered positive for tank raised, but overall I interpret it as anti-aquarium, especially saltwater which is a pity as I thought it might be a positive force when the trailers first came out.
Regards,
Tom Frakes
Finding Nemo
hello Tom, 
its always good to hear from you. i presume you and the family are doing well ? 
i have not seen the movie yet, but i was aware of its production about 2 years ago. having this inside tip i adjusted the key phrases on my web sites to appeal to those who i expect would have gone to the internet looking for information as a result of the movie. 
as expected my daily visitors has risen about 20%. i also had a fellow the other day call me from Boston after seeing the show and asked if there were any freshwater fish that resembled the marine clownfish. 
aside from the negative implications you mentioned it certainly appears as though whom ever developed the story does have insight into the realities and issues of the marine aquarium trade. its unfortunate that the media, in its many forms, has far greater influence than our hobby. 
hopefully the retail side of the hobby will not treat this sales and publicity opportunity in a positive manner, and not allow clownfish to go the way of carnival goldfish.
Finding Nemo Hello all!! First, thanks for all your hard work on this site...I and many others have certainly benefited!!! A discussion on Reef Central concerning "Finding Nemo" has been ongoing, generally about "the Nemo effect" etc.  I don't know your rules about other forums etc, so that is why I have emailed directly instead of posting in the forum.  Marc Levenson has written a wonderful, informative page to link to for those who want to buy fish based on the movie.  It's definitely an interesting education meant to encourage people to find out more before the bowl and clownfish stage.  I thought I would pass it along... Be well!!! Allison http://reefcentral.com/FindingNemo/ <Thank you for this. Will post on WWM. Bob Fenner>
<Hee hee! Good one Joe. Bob Fenner>

Finding Nemo Hi Bob I am a journalist from The Times newspaper who is doing a piece on the effect on pet stores, fishkeeping etc that the movie Finding Nemo has, is or will be having. So I would be very grateful if as a fish expert you could answer a few questions: <Okay> Is Finding Nemo good for the hobby of fishkeeping on a whole? <Yes (on the whole)... as the show and its bit of controversy has stirred interest in the environment, the aquarium interest (it has increased sales at retail pet-fish stores)> Do you think it will have an adverse effect? <In the long/ish haul, not really. The vast majority of people are intelligent, aware enough to understand that "Nemo" is after all "a show"... Let me ask you, does Disney's "Aladdin" movies lead you to believe there will be "magic carpet" flight anytime soon? Me neither.> If I was a first time buyer where would I go to buy one? <A "real" LFS (Livestock Fish Store)... as opposed to a less-discriminating petstore that "has some fish". A real LFS will discourage "casual" attempts at marine aquarium keeping... the endeavor does take time, money (a few hundred dollars plus), and some considerable involvement... education, discernment as to much and many differing techniques, technology. In other words, there are a few "ways" to keep marines (even just "Nemos") that one needs to sort through... can't be practically done by children. Not successfully.> How hard is it to get hold of them? <Very easy. Nowadays the Clownfish species in question is bred in captivity in very good numbers and is actually a sturdy aquarium item. Can be and is easily shipped from aquaculture facilities (mainly in the U.S. and U.K.) all over the world> How common are they in UK pet shops? <Likely one of the most common, if not THE most common species and group (there are several species of Clownfishes/Anemonefishes, a few of which are regularly aquacultured and offered) in the marine aquarium interest. Easily in the top five of marine aquarium fishes in the world> Are you aware of an upsurge in demand in the last few months? <Oh yes> How much do clownfish cost in the UK? <Three or four pounds I'd guess> Are you aware of their prices going up? <No. A seemingly unusual historical trend has been for marine livestock to decrease in cost over time (decades), particularly aquacultured species... Strange, but so> Do you think any pet shops or aquatic centres are trying to cash in, or are they being extremely sensible about selling to parents with kids who don't know how to keep fish., i.e. are they turning them away? <Again, one hears of the occasional "bad" retail experience where consumers are not dissuaded or even led astray... but this is actually quite rare. There is no "upside" to trying to fool would-be aquarists... if they're not informed, serviced and sold properly, they will not "be successful". Their livestock will surely suffer, likely die. Who does this serve? Not the trade or the public> Can you breed them yourselves? <Yes. There are quite a few current, many past "hobbyist" breeders who have bred, reared "Nemo" and other Clownfish species> Where would a UK clownfish originate from? <Likely from Tropical Marine Centre ( http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/), an excellent facility in the U.K.> How many species are there? <About twenty-six ( http://www.wetwebmedia.com/clownfis.htm)> Please excuse the dumbness of some of these questions and feel free to ignore any that repeat, but any help would be much appreciated. Thanks Olav <A pleasure to help you. I am cc'ing TMC as I've mentioned their name here, and a friend/cohort in the trade, Steve Pro, who has penned statements re the effect of the "Nemo" show. Cheers. Bob Fenner> The Newspaper Marketing Agency:  Opening Up Newspapers: www.nmauk.co.uk

Finding Nemo Hey Bob! How's it going? I wrote an article I thought you might be interested in for WWM. I originally wrote it for the local newspaper, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but they decide it was too long. Feel free to post to WWM. Sincerely, Steven Pro <Wow, good job Steven. Very nice. Will definitely post (like right now!) and do encourage you to send this to FAMA for their editorial or feature publication (will send for you if you'd like, electronically). Thank you for sending this along. Bob F>

FW: Caring for the fish of Finding Nemo Thanks a lot for forwarding my article! It looks like things are going to work out. -Steven Pro <Ah, good. Glad to be of assistance. Bob> Subject: Caring for the fish of Finding Nemo Dear Steve: I'm going to try and use this article ASAP in FAMA. Bob Fenner forwarded it to me, and because of it's timeliness, I'm going to try to get it into our Sept issue (out Mid-Aug.). Please e-mail me your complete mailing address, phone #, and soc. sec. # for payment. Also, if you happen to have a nice picture of a clownfish, it would add to the article. Please get back to me as soon as possible. Thanks, Susan Steele Art Editor/Assist. Editor FAMA

Tetra and the CBS fiasco Hi Everyone, PF writing in for a change. I know we generally don't encourage cross posting between bulletin boards, but I figured this was an issue that deserves all our attention. On 6/14/03 @ 8:30 AM CBS ran a segment sponsored by Tetra about keeping "tropical" fish. Here's a portion of a post from Reefcentral's discussion from an eyewitness to this fiasco: On June 14th CBS's The  Early Show aired a brief segment with Carol Huntley-Weber described as:                        "With the success of the Disney's summer blockbuster film, "Finding Nemo," tropical fish are now finding themselves as the hot new pet. Carol Huntley-Weber of Tetra Fish Products visited The Saturday Early Show to show the ease of owning and maintaining an aquarium."                        During the segment, Miss Weber, showed the world how "easy" it is to setup and maintain an aquarium. To do this she used a 15 gallon Mini Bowfront tank (from Tetra of course), tap water (made little or no mention of mixing salt for marine animals) and proceeded to plop in two Clownfish, a Blue Hippo Tang, two seahorses, and a brittle starfish that she had in another bowl and basically said that is all there is to it. The url for the discussion on ReefCentral is http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=201848&perpage=25&highlight=Early%20show&pagenumber=1 and page 11 includes the email and snail mail addresses of those involved at Tetra, as well as their superiors. Within the thread there is also the address for CBS (who's email box is apparently full of messages from angry reefers), currently there is a call on to boycott Tetra for their irresponsible actions. Here is the contact info for Tetra:                        Tetra                        3001 Commerce Street                        Blacksburg, VA 24060                        Phone Number: 800-526-0650                        Fax Number: 540-951-5415                        Alan Mintz, General Manager                        Carol Huntley-Weber, Marketing Manager                        Randy Hegstad, Pond Product Manager                        Weber, Carol & Bob                        904 Roanoke St E                        Blacksburg, VA 24060                        (540) 961-5362                       Carol Huntley-Weber's verified email address is                        weberc@tetra-fish.com                        Here is the email address for the Early Show on CBS:  earlyshow@cbs.com



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