EcoSpheres Inhumane?
 

I was wanting to get some opinions on the EcoSphere, initiated by NASA,
in which tiny creatures live confined in a glass ball with a little bit
of water, oxygen and a dead plant with which to feed on. (They are
definitely eye-catching.)

http://www.eco-sphere.com/home.htm

I don't know how many here remember the AquaBabies market, but many
protested their existence, stating it was inhumane to confine the
little fish to such a tiny living space.

To me, the EcoSphere seems no different. Brine shrimp though they may
be, surely they would like more space?

Some might say it's akin to keeping a dog locked-up in a cage, while
others might think it's a "cool" novelty.

What is your opinion?


-Stacey

"Stacey Whaley" wrote in message oups.com...
To me, the EcoSphere seems no different. Brine shrimp though they may
be, surely they would like more space?

Residents of downtown Tokyo would like more space too :)
Nobody seems to feel that their living space is inhumane.

Well think about it a bit before you decide whether this is inhumane or
not. How much space do these guys actually have? Well according to the
link you provided the smallest available ecosphere is 3.25" now I don't
know exactly how big the creatures inside are but for simplicity lets
say they're 1/2 an inch long. Sound reasonable? Well then that means
that the diameter of their world is 6.5 times longer than they are.

Now lets think about a full grown Oscar in an aquarium. Lets assume
this fish is a foot long - that's reasonable. Now, for it to have as
much living space as these shrimp it will need a 6.5 foot diameter
tank. How many full grown Oscar owners out there have a tank with a
single 6.5 foot dimension - let alone a 6.5 foot diameter sphere's
worth of living space?

We keep fish in much smaller areas than these guys are being kept in,
relatively speaking. It is probably much more humane than many of the
things we do every day and think of as good practice. I think the
spheres are a neat idea.

-Daniel

Are you a troll? You are comparing a brine shrimp to a dog? I think
you have the intelligence of a brine shrimp. In the same vein, I am
making yogurt and I am concerned about the tiny plastic jar the all
those bacteria have to live in. I am also worry about how barbaric
that I am ingesting million of lives alive. And don't get me started
on the countless yeast lives I am killing everytime I bake bread.
*sob*

"Stacey Whaley" wrote in message
oups.com...
I was wanting to get some opinions on the EcoSphere, initiated by NASA,
in which tiny creatures live confined in a glass ball with a little bit
of water, oxygen and a dead plant with which to feed on. (They are
definitely eye-catching.)

http://www.eco-sphere.com/home.htm

I don't know how many here remember the AquaBabies market, but many
protested their existence, stating it was inhumane to confine the
little fish to such a tiny living space.

To me, the EcoSphere seems no different. Brine shrimp though they may
be, surely they would like more space?

Some might say it's akin to keeping a dog locked-up in a cage, while
others might think it's a "cool" novelty.

What is your opinion?

Well, this is similar to the sphere I was mentioning the other day in my
post about BAT's at the LFS.

I've read on various Oz web sites that say these things are illegal in this
country, and that the reason is because they are bad to keep fish in; the
sphere shape messes with the fishes latteral direction snesing lines and
causes undue disorientation and stress.

They mention that gold fish aren't allowed to be kept in them but I can
recall seeing anything mentioned about tropicals or other things.

Still, I am not sure personally whether they are good for fish or an object
that simply looks good.

They seem more designer, than practical to me ;)

Oz

--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

wrote in message
oups.com...
| Are you a troll?

....speaking of trolls......

billy

"Ozdude" wrote in message
...

"Stacey Whaley" wrote in message
oups.com...
I was wanting to get some opinions on the EcoSphere, initiated by NASA,
in which tiny creatures live confined in a glass ball with a little bit
of water, oxygen and a dead plant with which to feed on. (They are
definitely eye-catching.)

http://www.eco-sphere.com/home.htm

I don't know how many here remember the AquaBabies market, but many
protested their existence, stating it was inhumane to confine the
little fish to such a tiny living space.

To me, the EcoSphere seems no different. Brine shrimp though they may
be, surely they would like more space?

Some might say it's akin to keeping a dog locked-up in a cage, while
others might think it's a "cool" novelty.

What is your opinion?

Well, this is similar to the sphere I was mentioning the other day in my
post about BAT's at the LFS.

I've read on various Oz web sites that say these things are illegal in
this
country, and that the reason is because they are bad to keep fish in; the
sphere shape messes with the fishes latteral direction snesing lines and
causes undue disorientation and stress.

They mention that gold fish aren't allowed to be kept in them but I can
recall seeing anything mentioned about tropicals or other things.

Still, I am not sure personally whether they are good for fish or an
object
that simply looks good.

They seem more designer, than practical to me ;)

Oz


So, what you're saying is that you didn't look at the link and don't know
what we're talking about?


Mar

"MarAzul" wrote in message
news:c6bVd.36909$Tt.3527@fed1read05...
|
| So, what you're saying is that you didn't look at the link and
don't know
| what we're talking about?
|


Dangit, Mar, you beat me to it. g

Stacey Whaley wrote:
I was wanting to get some opinions on the EcoSphere, initiated by NASA,
in which tiny creatures live confined in a glass ball with a little bit
of water, oxygen and a dead plant with which to feed on. (They are
definitely eye-catching.)


I honestly don't think shrimp have enough of a nervous system to
perceive confinement. The shrimp probably notice lack of oxygen or
food, but those are apparantly not lacking or they wouldn't live for
over a year.

Did you see Sagan's writeup? It's a fun read.

--
__ Elaine T __
__' http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__

wow. sounds like everyone is bashing Stacey for either not thinking
practically enough and being too humane. in my opinion the world needs
more people to ask more questions like this, instead of more nasty
analytical thinkers that discourage these questions. i dont have an
opinion about these ecospheres because i dont know enough about them,
but lets not discourage people like stacey from asking questions like
this.