I was thinking today, after learning about how goldfish are generally going to get too big, or become stunted in bowls/small tanks. And how rapidly livebearers reproduce....why the heck don't they have platys or guppies as prizes for carnivals/fairs? I wonder if it's just "tradition". Just seems like it would be better to offer smaller fish as prizes so that they live better, and it's pretty easy to get a ton of them so I assume it would be a cheaper alternative too? Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe I have too much time on my hands to think about these things.

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

It IS an interesting question, isn't it? Still, in my point of view (and mostly based on facts), giving away live fish at county fairs and carnivals is a cruel practice that should be stopped. The only reason they do it is because they expect the fish to die soon. You never see them giving out hamsters as prizes, do you? That's because fish are considered more like decorations than living things. It is sad, but it's a fact.

There are several reasons that goldfish are usually preferred to platies and other livebearers. For one thing, goldfish are cold-water fish, which means that they don't require heaters in their tanks. People think they're ideal for bowls because of this. Another thing is their coloration; it's a lot brighter than a lot of livebearers. And I'm pretty sure that goldfish produce more offspring than livebearers, and the fry are easier to raise. I'm just speculating on that, though. That could also be the reason that goldfish are usually feeder fish rather than other kinds of fish; there are more of them.

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

I agree, It's mean to give away animals at all. Actually our local fair gives the gold fish, but once you win a certain amount you can upgrade to a hermit crab, and if you get so many of them then you can upgrade to a turtle, then to an iguana. No one going to the fair is prepared for any of these pets. I'm guilty as charged of winning goldfish, and even a hermit crab once. Usually my goldfish went to my moms pond, and my hermit crab as hard as I tried, kicked the bucket soon after I got him.

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

Goldfish stand up to it better. You don't see many dead in those bowls. Guppies are a little fragile....

I was thinking along the same lines - don't need a heater, so being out in the cold (if it's a Spring or Fall fair) won't kill them, and they are pretty hardy fish, so they tend to stand up to the traveling and having ping pong balls tossed into their small bowls to be won.

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

Completely off-topic, but holly, is that a pic from your tank in your avatar? It's so pretty!

OK, back to the topic: I once attended a fair where they had a "goldfish" catching game, but they used little plastic ones. They even squirted water when you squeezed them! I won two and kept them forever, until the cat chewed them up. It seems to me that getting the rubber goldfish would be better, because once the fair was over you wouldn't have to end up with leftover live goldfish. You could just store the toy ones until the next event. And anyone who won them would have them forever, and wouldn't have to take care of them!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

That's a good idea.

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin