Thus, suffering is prolonged. Fish such as plaice will desperately cling to life for hours out of water and may well be filleted alive. Countless fish die even before they reach the pet store. Capture alone injures and kills millions of fish when they are incapacitated by anaesthetics, dynamite or cyanide before being caught by hand or net. Keeping a fish in captivity disregards its most basic instincts and is incompatible with their fragile and high-strung nature.
Fish are more sensitive to temperature than any warm-blooded animal.
A sudden change of only a few degrees can kill a fish. In small containers temperature can fluctuate very quickly. Yet fishes are kept in such enclosures. Aquarium fish are harmed by pollutants like cigarette smoke, paint fumes and aerosol sprays. In bowls or tanks, even the ammonia that the fish themselves excrete can accumulate to toxic levels.