I have to admit, until today I'd never heard about tattooed or dyed tropical fish! My apartment manager showed me one she'd purchased!
Here's an excerpt from an article I found:
A tropical fish supplier in Hong Kong is offering a unique new service in which it will tattoo fish with the words, patterns or logos of your choice using a laser.
HK Aquaria Mall sells a range of parrot cichlids that are dye tattooed with Chinese New Year wishes or sayings such as "I love you", and now offers the opportunity to have fish custom tattooed with the words of your choice.
more:
Company offers custom fish tattoos with laser | Practical Fishkeeping magazine
Apparently fish in Oklahoma City were confiscated as being in violation of a city ordinance prohibiting dyed animals. Though the ordinance was meant to protect against sales of dyed chicks and bunnies during Easter, OK City police felt compelled to enforce the ordinance with respect to the dyed fish. Over $1400 worth of the tattooed fish were euthanized after being confiscated. (I guess it's not ok to tattoo them, but it is ok to put the tattooed fish out of their misery? Talk about closing the gate after the horse is out!)
So what do you think about this?
Personally, while I think it's a novel idea, I can't see how it doesn't stress the fish or potentially lead to an increased risk of infection.
video:
