Kids flushing Nemo into toilet

[kathryn Lu]

Just happened to read this today.


Alexander Gould, the actor who plays the voice of Nemo in Disney¡¦s Finding Nemo, is helping two conservation organisations get across their message to youngsters that flushing your fish down the loo is not a good way to set them free.

The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) launched the initiative following the deaths of hundreds of fish in the USA caused by young fishkeepers attempting to liberate their pets by flushing them down the toilet.

The animated film, which shows how the young clownfish Nemo was separated from his father after being caught by a diver and placed in an aquarium in a dental surgery, includes scenes of the fish being released into the wild via a spit basin.

In the USA, the film caused an increase in the sales of marine fish by as much as 20%.

MAC¡¦s President, Paul Holthus warned cinema goers to think carefully before committing to a marine aquarium. "Finding Nemo is a very engaging film, and parents who already have aquariums need to explain to their children that the fish will not survive if they are flushed. We also urge parents whose children are inspired by the film to start a saltwater tank, to think carefully before buying tropical marine fish for their children."

The launch of Finding Nemo in the UK coincided with the release of the UNEP-WCMC report, 'From Ocean to Aquarium: The Global Trade In Marine Ornamentals', which uses industry data to highlight problems in the trade and makes suggestions for the protection of marine organisms. The report emphasised the importance of the marine aquarium trade in placing a ¡§value¡¨ on natural resources.

[Gobydude777]

I hate Finding Nemo. Why couldn't it have just been about a Guppy and a Mollie or something like that?

[mmd]

yeah a guppy that would have had a great box office draw.
dont blame nemo
dont blame disney
dont blame the kids
blame the parents who either cant say no, or dont bother to "look before they leap"

[Gobydude777]

Originally posted by mmd
yeah a guppy that would have had a great box office draw.
dont blame nemo
dont blame disney
dont blame the kids
blame the parents who either cant say no, or dont bother to "look before they leap"

Its that they don't know. Some also aren't willing to spend extra money on a good book. They don't know that a bag of Mortons dosn't make the difference between a 10 Gallon full of Guppies and a 10 gallon full of "Nemos".

Many also think the honest LFS is trying to "sucker" them. Like.......Why should they buy some "huge" 50 gallon when they have a little 10 gallon at home? Why sould they buy some alien piece of equipment called a protein skimmer when they have their good ol power filter? Why should they buy some "overpriced" Live Rock when they have driftwood and Lava rock? Why should they buy a $20 bag of "Instant Ocean" when they have plenty of salt at home? See what I mean?

[skippy2]

I unfortunately had to deal with a customer who would not do any of her research before she jumped into this hobby. She bought an established tank from her snl. Apparently she wouldn't listen to him about what she should or shouldn't be doing. I made the mistake of giving her my phone #. I tried and tried to help her but in the long run she knew better than me and the lfs.She rearranged all her ls and because the phs blew the sand all over she turned off all the phs for a couple of days. The lfs sent somebody over to do a wc and clean up the mess she made. Of course, all fish and corals died. She is now bad mouthing the lfs for killing her tank. She asked for my new phone # but thank God nobody will give it to her. She doesn't want to learn. She just wants to look at a pretty tank.

[Shoestring Reefer]

When "finding Nemo" came out, there were newspaper articles about how "all drains lead to the wastewater treatment facility" and how it shoulda been called "grinding nemo".

Notice: in the movie Nemo was headed to the treatment plant but escaped out a hole in the pipe. The movie did NOT say that all drians lead to the ocean; a character in the movie said it, and IMO the movie made it clear that it wasn't true.

Originally posted by Gobydude777
Its that they don't know. Some also aren't willing to spend extra money on a good book. They don't know that a bag of Mortons dosn't make the difference between a 10 Gallon full of Guppies and a 10 gallon full of "Nemos".

Many also think the honest LFS is trying to "sucker" them. Like.......Why should they buy some "huge" 50 gallon when they have a little 10 gallon at home? Why sould they buy some alien piece of equipment called a protein skimmer when they have their good ol power filter? Why should they buy some "overpriced" Live Rock when they have driftwood and Lava rock? Why should they buy a $20 bag of "Instant Ocean" when they have plenty of salt at home? See what I mean?

agreed.

[Loralie]

I was sickened one afternoon while standing in a local fish shop and a 17 year old came in with her Dad, pleading with him to buy her the little Nemo. I was there just browsing and he asked if I had a Nemo, to which I responded yes. He said I can just put it in a goldfish bowl with some morton salt can't I ? He must have noticed the look of horror on my face as I responded. I explainded to him the equipment needed to help this animal survive. He the looked me in the eye and stated it dosen't have to live long, we can allways buy more! They should allow us to put to sleep anyone that stupid and heartless. I mean at least the gene pool would begin to clean up a bit.

[Gobydude777]

Originally posted by Loralie
I was sickened one afternoon while standing in a local fish shop and a 17 year old came in with her Dad, pleading with him to buy her the little Nemo. I was there just browsing and he asked if I had a Nemo, to which I responded yes. He said I can just put it in a goldfish bowl with some morton salt can't I ? He must have noticed the look of horror on my face as I responded. I explainded to him the equipment needed to help this animal survive. He the looked me in the eye and stated it dosen't have to live long, we can allways buy more! They should allow us to put to sleep anyone that stupid and heartless. I mean at least the gene pool would begin to clean up a bit.

Hmm...Perhaps this was his opinion before seeing the price tag. Remember, he probably has only seen FW priced fish, he was probably expecting to see a 20 gallon stocked to the brim with "Nemos", and a prcetag of 10 cents a Nemo! A $15-$20 replacement every day can be a troubling thought even to the wealthiest people!

[shane 1111]

Originally posted by Loralie
I was sickened one afternoon while standing in a local fish shop and a 17 year old came in with her Dad, pleading with him to buy her the little Nemo. I was there just browsing and he asked if I had a Nemo, to which I responded yes. He said I can just put it in a goldfish bowl with some morton salt can't I ? He must have noticed the look of horror on my face as I responded. I explainded to him the equipment needed to help this animal survive. He the looked me in the eye and stated it dosen't have to live long, we can allways buy more! They should allow us to put to sleep anyone that stupid and heartless. I mean at least the gene pool would begin to clean up a bit.

OMG that is sick.

Nemo is just a move.
I love that move and it is one reason I got interested in the hobby. but unlike most beginners I went out and got books. now i have like 10 or 15 books and nice reef tanks.

[paradoxblue]

my lfs had on a tank "nemo coming soon" untill i complained and they removed it lol

[Gobydude777]

I can only wonder how many "Dories" were doomed to fish bowls.

[shane 1111]

no they cost to much. the Dories are safer than the nemos.

[Gobydude777]

True, but as a previous poster demonstrated, money is easily expendable to some people.

[shane 1111]

i said safer not safe. they are also harder to get than clowns.

[Gobydude777]

Oh, yes your right.

[shane 1111]

nothing is safe from kids.

[bigreddog]

Nor safe from parents who do whatever their kids say or give them whatever they want just to keep them quiet. LFS's should start selling little rubber Nemo's to people like that instead of the poor defenseless and ultimately doomed real ones.

[Gobydude777]

Originally posted by bigreddog
Nor safe from parents who do whatever their kids say or give them whatever they want just to keep them quiet. LFS's should start selling little rubber Nemo's to people like that instead of the poor defenseless and ultimately doomed real ones.

But the brats want a Nemo! A real live Nemo! They want a Nemo now! Right NOW! Just as they wanted a Dalmation (NOW!) a few years ago.

[wla20]

I had a fo tank when I was 11 with a pair of what has now become known as "nemos" and a "dory" in it. I'm now 25 and when I think of the amount of reading my dad made me do to demonstrate I could have that tank before we got it (he had 30 years experience with fish at this point and as the responsible adult was obviously going to supervise most everything I did and wanted to teach me the need to research and take responsibility)the complete lack of knowledge/caring these people show annoys me immensely but makes me so proud of my dad. He even had me draw up a draft stock list with latin names and choose captive bred stuff where possible.

[Roughhawk]

Let me tell you...
I´m LOVING that film...but because i was convulsed with laughter during that... Really i wasn´t thinking about the impact to future keept Amphiprion or other Clowns...
Shure kids are thinking totally different and maybe its not the best way showing "rescued" Fishes flused in the toilet!!

Marcus

[mungus]

I blame the parents 100%. They are the ones that should be the educated ones. Even my 2 year old knows that we don't buy anything that we don't know how to take care of or are unwilling to take care of. It comes down to common sense witch most of these parents are lacking in. I also find it hard to believe that children are liberating their fish by flushing them down the toilet. I have a hard enough time catching my fish as an adult. Maybe I could see it if you had like a 10 gallon tank with like one rock in it.

[mungus]

I would believe that more of them die to improper care than die of flushing.

[Gobydude777]

Originally posted by mungus
I blame the parents 100%. They are the ones that should be the educated ones. Even my 2 year old knows that we don't buy anything that we don't know how to take care of or are unwilling to take care of. It comes down to common sense witch most of these parents are lacking in. I also find it hard to believe that children are liberating their fish by flushing them down the toilet. I have a hard enough time catching my fish as an adult. Maybe I could see it if you had like a 10 gallon tank with like one rock in it.

They could probably catch the Clowns because they were already half dead.

[bigbenji]

Originally posted by shane 1111
nothing is safe from kids.

HAAHAHHA, you've got that right!!! I've got 3 sets of different types of child locks on my stand, just to keep my kids out. They've already gotten past the first set, but it took them a while. Not bad for a 2 and 3 year old. The child locks are all on the inside of the door, out of view. Once they figure those out I'll have to get a padlock. Oh, and "Finding Nemo" gave me a great excuse to get into this hobby. I'm glad I took the time to read before I took the plunge (pun intended).

[fishinchick]

Thats right. It's not Disney's fault, it's not Pixars fault.

Blame the parents.

The overindulging parents of the Veruca Salts of this world that buy their kids anything and everything.