had to happen sooner or later..... tattooed

[Mike Mazur]

was by my local favorite garden center that actually has some of the best fish for miles around, I was looking in the tanks and then I got to this one tank, there were a bunch of nice shiro's and a few fish with some real red color and black that was to die for....... So I shut the bubbler down to get a better look........ the color was too perfect, too symetrical, and worse of all the fish's shape was horrid, like a walmart koi.......... I looked at the lable of the tank and it said "painted koi" Now I have seen a few tattooed fish in tropical stores before, not fond of them there, but to find that someone has mutilated the hobby I love with a sad looking rendition of a Sanke...... man I questioned the guy I usually deal with and he said they just came in, I asked him to do the hobby a favor and never order them again. Disgusted I couldn't even look at the section of high quality Japanese stock that they had in its own seperate room.

[Russell Peters]

I was at a trade show in Long Beach about five years ago and saw some tatooed Koi. They were tatooed pastel colors.

[luke frisbee]

So let's see your tat?

[bekko]

Oh man, what fun. I want to try that. Does anyone know how to tatoo a fish?

-stevehopkins

[dinh]

Quote: Originally Posted by bekko Oh man, what fun. I want to try that. Does anyone know how to tatoo a fish? -stevehopkins

stop by when you can. will give you one;-)) Promise, it will be the best.....

[MikeM]

So lavendar koi really do exist.

Whether it is some freshwater tropical or a koi, the idea of injecting dyes to produce colorful fish is repulsive. I hope others decline to patronize those who carry such fish. That is the only way to prevent it from being done.

[joe bauer]

i have tried it using the ink they use for tatooing dogs. I did white koi with the goal of putting in specific patterns. didn't work, just got blotches, and the color would go away after a few months. i also removed a lot of scales inadvertently during the process.


i don't think tatooing koi has a future.

[adreamer2]

That's terrible!!!... OH my, people actually do this to fish?... that's just aweful....


I was watching a program on tv about a chef that visited foreign countries and ate food that few people in this country would dare..... In China, they take a live frog and skin it and eat the heart while it's still beating....

Just outright disgusted me!!!

People eat some strange stuff, but that kinda hurt me.... that people put animals through that kind of thing.....

Someone once said, "I have met the enemy and it is us"......

I conclude, we ARE the enemy......



Adreamer2

[joe bauer]

i don't think tattooing hurts a koi, it just can not be done to make the koi more attractive, difficult to get exact lines, from my experience.


most koi are not lucky enough to get tattooed. the vast majority die from disease or predators or being culled. the culled are sometimes just thrown aside to rot, but they are a good soruce of protien so many are not wasted in that manner.


a whole lot of koi have to die to grow one pretty one. relatively speaking, tattooing is not cruel to koi. and i don't think it will catch on, it is time consuming and difficult and i have never been able to improve the looks of even an ugly white one.


i have read on this forum where people do cosmetic surgery on koi to remove blemishes, black spots, clean up pattern lines, etc. i have even heard that you will seldom see a gc that has not been cosmetically altered.