What is culling?

[phishgroovin]

I hope it isn't what I think it is...

[jrpatter]

Culling is euthanising(sp) fish who are displaying unwanted genetic traits.

john

[phishgroovin]

that is what i thought it was :(

[Discus_KC]

It has to be done !!!!!

Jack

[Rod]

Nobody enjoys culling but in the discus breeding hobby people judge the breeder by his worst fish and not his best fish, so if the breeder wishs to have a good reputation then it is nessasary to cull all the objectionable ones.

[Carol_Roberts]

I only have room to grow out the best fry.

[phishgroovin]

how do you go about culling? the death by whirlpool? or death by garden? or what?

[KD]

Way back when I had a doomed fish - Freezing was supposed to be the least tramatic? Is this still the way it is done?

[heckelcrazy]

get a large oscar called CULLEN (named after a famous New Zealand rugby player Christian Cullen) and well..put the "doomed" baby discus in the tank with cullen and its all over rover. Not nice but VERY necessary. As for older fish fortunately I havent had to do it often (can be avoided to a certain extent by careful culling as the fry grow) but the bag of water and into the freezer is the easiest method on the conscience.

hth
aran

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

I've done it multiple ways.....freezing, down the toilet, feeding to an oscar, and now im just sucking it up when I do a water change. I know someone who feeds them to his dog :-X. :-\ It is an unpleasent task, but it must be done if you want top quality fish.


-Ryan

[Barb Newell]

When I HAVE to do it, I put them in a bag with their tank water, then in another bag so it's dark, then put them in the freezer. I have asked many people and read a lot, apparently it's painless. I personally can only live with myself doing it in the most humane, painless way cuz they're so cute!

I can't stand the thought of those baby discus being hunted down, chased, cornered and eaten alive!!

IMO they're too beautiful for that.

Barb

[KD]

Hey Barb - I agree!!!

[heckelcrazy]

c'mon guys ...it takes about a split second after the cull fry hits the water before its eaten in one gobble by the oscar...seems more humane than slowly chilling down to death over an hour or more terrified alone in a dark bag in the freezer...hehehhe hows that for melodramatic?

-aran

Culling not necessarily killing. it means choose and select came from a word in "cuillir" in French and "colligere" in Latin means group together. Choose the best or select the best and give the rest away. Apart from a very few obvious deformed fish which I euthanize them with anaesthetic and I save all my rejects and give them away to new hobbyist for free. With the TLC of the keepers. They will turn out just fine and usually have perfect babies. I have many of my culls carrying fry for me as a foster parents. They are usually very good foster parents.
Jimmy.

[Barb Newell]

KD :thumbsup:


Recently I was told that the "culling machine" -- an oscar or something (I didn't ask -- didn't really want to know) ...... was having a hard time getting the discus fry down it's throat. I can only imagine that it was spitting, catching, spitting, catching... probably trying to break it up. That's not humane.

[heckelcrazy]

eeeew sheesh i was talking bout culling LITTLE guys at the 1cm -1.5cm size. How big are the fish he is trying to get the oscar to eat???? and i agree that is disgusting not humane at all.

[mikeos]

Firstly, culling is nessisary in any captive breeding environment...farming, fish whatever. Not always pleasant, but nessessity often isnt.

We are trying to improve the breed and therefore the "release" or introduction of poor quality fish into the market place...irregardless of whether money changes hands or not is unacceptable.

If its not good enough for you to keep, breed or display, or not good enough to be offered for sale, then it is not good enough to be given away (there are exceptions, but as a general rule this is how it should be). Personally I am fed up with seeing rubbish fish, I want to see the best we can do.

As to culling methods...the only acceptable solutions are those that cause the least distress to the fish.

Freezing in a dark place is my prefered method (chiclids go to sleep in the dark) and if "higher animals" (whatever one of then is) are anything to go by the process is largely stress free, you get cold, go to sleep & dont wake up. Place in a large bag & place in freezer, end of story.

Clove oil is a good natural method, add clove oil to a bucket of tank water & leave untill dead. ( cant recall the concentration required)

For those who can get anasthetics without perscription there are a few available... a little more expensive prehaps, but we should think of the welfare of our stock even if we are out to kill them.

Feeding to predators is stressful, even if only for a short while, If you have fish that will only eat live foods then I think it is just about justifiable, otherwhise it is unnessisarily distressing.

If you use any other method than freezing then ALWAYS either cut the spinal cord behind the head or give a sharp, hard blow to the head, just to be sure. I think just about the worst thing you could do is asume its dead &throw it in the trash when its still alive. (assuming the fish is large enough, not nessisary for fry)