[Ninong]

Go to this link and click on "Tetra Screws Up" -- http://www.dash4cash-racing.com/fish2.htm P.S. -- You can't get it by clicking on "Tetra Screws Up" anymore because the host made him remove the link. But he put up a link to an FTP download but I don't know how to do FTP. Heck, I don't even know what FTP means.

P.P.S. -- OK, here we go, here's a new Windows Media Player link that works well: http://xanadu.ambrosiasw.com/~jchamp...h/SW/tetra.wmv

It's a 5-gallon mini-bow aquarium that the Tetra rep says will cost you about $50 for the complete kit.

She says "we're setting up a saltwater aquarium today, actually a Nemo aquarium" and then she cautions that you always want to add Tetra's tap water conditioner before you add the fish because tap water has harmful chemicals in it. So she actually adds some tap water conditioner to the aquarium on T.V. and then, 10 seconds later, she dumps in a Blue Tang, two Ocellaris Clownfish, a couple of Seahorses and a Seastar. And she actually removed the poor serpent star from the bag of water exposing it to the air so that she can hand it to the T.V. anchor.

Why would she make a point of adding tap water conditioner to a saltwater aquarium? Ten seconds before she dumps the fish in it? So the tank was not cycled at all. She doesn't even mention anything about mixing saltwater but she does demonstrate how you add Tetra's tap water conditioner to the aquarium just before you dump in your fish. No acclimation of the fish whatsoever. Even her recommended acclimation procedure is a total joke.

She does point out that at home you would want to acclimate your fish for five to ten minutes by floating the bag in the water before dumping them in their little 5-gal mini-bow Nemo Aquarium. So she is recommending temperature acclimation only. And maintenance is a breeze, you just change the removable filter about once a month. Nothing to it.

What a joke!


So... I went to the Tetra Germany site http://www.tetra.de/index_gb.cfm?seite=51 and sent their president a link to the movie file of Tetra's U.S. rep making a fool of herself on American television. This is what I said:

Perhaps you would like to see a movie file of the U.S. Tetra representative making a complete fool of herself on American television: http://www.dash4cash-racing.com/fish2.htm Just go to that site and click on "Tetra Screws Up."

The Tetra rep dumped a Blue Tang, two Ocellaris Clownfish, two Seahorses and a Seastar into a tiny 5-gallon mini-bow aquarium. She called it a Nemo Aquarium and said the complete kit costs only about $50.

For some stupid reason, she added Tetra's tap water conditioner to this saltwater aquarium about 10 seconds before she dumped in the fish. She cautioned that you should always add tap water conditioner before you add your fish because tap water contains harmful chemicals. Remember, she added this to a saltwater aquarium on T.V.

She recommended that at home you would want to acclimate your new fish by floating the bag for 5 or 10 minutes before dumping them in your new 5-gallon aquarium.

Why does Tetra recommend keeping a Blue Tang in a 5-gallon aquarium? Have you no morals?

What kind of people do you have working for you in the States? Are they all idiots?

You people should be ashamed of yourselves. Such crass commercial opportunism is harmful to the hobby and reflects badly on the reputation of your company. No wonder Pfizer dumped you guys. Good move on their part.

I hope you enjoy the movie.



Post Script to the above: Tetra Germany has added a statement to their website:

Statement from Tetra The appearance of one of our Tetra US colleagues on Saturday, June 14th on the CBS Early Show in the United States has led to various different reactions from viewers around the world. The brevity of the segment presented on this show prevented us from covering all the points we would liked to have covered.

Tetra understands that setting up a saltwater aquarium is a complicated process and we always place great importance on referring people to responsible sources of information, such as local professional retailers or our internet site at http://www.tetra.net for more detailed information and references.

We would like to thank all viewers for their reactions. All mails and comments have been passed directly on to Tetra USA, who will reply to each user personally.

The TetraTeam

[Reefland]

What;s really funny is she even states not to add to many fish to your aquarium but then proceeds to use the 1" per gallon rule (obviously to be used for FW only).

That bag used must be a new Tetra product that allows fish to become acclimated to the water without even opening it and really speeds up the process by about 1.5 hours.

Just plain stupid.

[Penguin]

Thanks for posting this. I've been following the thread on RC a bit, but have been waiting to see the actual footage.

This is terrible. I found myself just shaking my head in disbelief as I was watching. No mention that the hippo tang will grow to 4x that size. Or proper acclimation techniques (float bag for 5-10 min!?!). Oh, and I'd like to get me one of those farm-raised hippo tangs that Ms. Weber mentioned. I wasn't aware that tangs were now being bred in captivity. Since they "haven't been captured from the ocean", I guess it doesn't matter that these fish will all die within days if not hours. We can just breed more of them. Then again, they probably just flushed 'em all down the toilet right after the segment was filmed, based on their ignorance and uncaring attitude. If Tetra wanted to cash in they should have sent someone who knew at least a little about saltwater fish, as it's obvious that she didn't. Did they think no one would notice? Nice tank set-up too, that had to be the most ridiculous looking thing I've ever seen.

[zhenya]

I just watched it on RC and couldn't believe my eyes or my ears

Heartless and stupid way to kill a tang and to think that Tetra is behind it... I personally will not buy any of their products from now on.

[Ninong]

Bumpity bump bump!

I just added new information to my opening post.

[Reefland]

Well among many others, I have sent my e-mail to Tetra; the "Media Crew". If I get any kind of response I will be sure to let you guys know.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Reefland

Well among many others, I have sent my e-mail to Tetra; the "Media Crew". If I get any kind of response I will be sure to let you guys know.

So far Tetra has sent the exact same reply to everyone:

Thank you for writing to us about Tetra's appearance on the CBS Early Show.The brevity of the segment prevented us from covering all of the points that we would have liked to cover. Tetra understands that setting up any aquarium is a complicated process and we refer people to responsible sources of information, such as a local retail pet professional or www.tetra-fish.com for more detailed information.Your point is well taken. I can assure you that we will consider your concerns in all of our future endeavors.Sincerely,Tetra Consumer Relations

[organicreefer]

fwiw -she was right about captive raised tangs(not captive bred)..they are available-the old ffexpress used to carry them quite regularly..i beleive they were from ORA

[Reefland]

Originally Posted by Ninong

So far Tetra has sent the exact same reply to everyone:

Thank you for writing to us about Tetra's appearance on the CBS Early Show.The brevity of the segment prevented us from covering all of the points that we would have liked to cover. Tetra understands that setting up any aquarium is a complicated process and we refer people to responsible sources of information, such as a local retail pet professional or www.tetra-fish.com for more detailed information.Your point is well taken. I can assure you that we will consider your concerns in all of our future endeavors.Sincerely,Tetra Consumer Relations

And that is the same thing they posted on their site per your post above. So much for personalism.

Later,
Scott

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by organicreefer

fwiw -she was right about captive raised tangs(not captive bred)..they are available-the old ffexpress used to carry them quite regularly..i beleive they were from ORA

I am aware of those "tank raised" tangs, however this was not what she said. She specifically said all of the fish "were raised on farms" and "were not captured from the ocean." This is wrong, and will mislead people. As you know, tank raised fish are still taken from the wild, just at a very early stage. She's probably not even aware of the difference.

[organicreefer]

those fish are farmed raised..which is the correct term,not captive bred -which would be a false statement..also those fish are taken from the ocean as basically plankton..not the same as collecting fish from the ocean -as most probably wouldnt live if they werent collected.it is much more "eco freindly" than taking breeding fish out of the ocean .jmo

[Poseidon]

I'm with Zhenya lets hit Tetra in the Wallet!!!!!

We might be discredit them a little by word of mouth and this Link, but Tetra really markets to the average freshwater keeper anyway!!!

It is disturbing that Tetra is just sending a form letter to everyone who complains!!!

My .02

Mike

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by organicreefer

not the same as collecting fish from the ocean -as most probably wouldnt live if they werent collected.it is much more "eco freindly" than taking breeding fish out of the ocean .jmo

I agree with you, I am kind of splitting hairs. We should be more concerned with the abundance of blatant misinformation given in the segment.

[zhenya]

I think it's irrelevant in this case where the fish came from,the fact that she just dumped a blue tang and two ocelaris clownfish in a 5g tank and then added a seahorse and a starfish did it for me.
I were in a store yesterday and overherd a kid screaming from the top of his lungs: Oh, oh, I want a Nemo,mom...I want a Nemo...He must of been 6-7 years old.I give credit to his parent who replied that it is a saltwater fish and requires much more care then freshwater fish and that the case is closed But, I can imagine that not all parents have the patience or the stamina to refuse a childs demands that cost only fifty bucks. As cute as the movie is it didn't do this hobby any favor nor it was designed to do so FWIW, I did not see any Nemo set ups in my LFS wich in itself made me shange my mind about them.
Hitting Tetra in the vallet would not be very easy I think, but I just made my personal choice and will not buy their products,in addition I've told my son that has two freshwater tanks to do the same and he agreed.
FWIW.

[Ninong]

And another thing...

At the end of that clip you will notice the Tetra rep walking over to a nice piranha tank that she has set up. Wasn't that filmed in New York? It is illegal to possess piranhas in New York unless you are granted a special permit for scientific work. Did the Tetra rep have a special permit for scientific work?

And why would you push piranha on the same segment that you are appealing to all the little Nemo kiddies? Sicko!

[Ninong]

Here is a copy of today's email to Tetra:

Stupid Tetra Tricks (continued):

Dear Team Tetra:

Wasn't that CBS segment filmed in New York? Are you guys aware that it is illegal to possess piranha in the state of New York unless you have been granted a special permit for scientific work? In fact, it is illegal in fully half the states.

And why would you push piranha on the same segment that you are appealing to all the little Nemo kiddies?

I'm surprised Carol Huntley-Weber didn't suggest putting one of the piranha in her itsy-bitsy 5-gal Nemo aquarium with the Blue Tang, two Ocellaris Clownfish, two Seahorses and a Seastar, to say nothing of the Statue of Liberty and the American Flag.

You people are SICK!!!

[organicreefer]

ninong-piranhas are legal in new york-im pretty sure anyway.i know at least two people in new york that have piranhas..i think fishkid -on this board or used to be-had piranhas -he lives in new york.

i know they are illegal/regulated in warmer states -but i think they are mostly legal in states where they wouldnt survive if released to the wild.im not positive but im pretty sure anyway

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by organicreefer

ninong-piranhas are legal in new york-im pretty sure anyway.i know at least two people in new york that have piranhas..i think fishkid -on this board or used to be-had piranhas -he lives in new york.

i know they are illegal/regulated in warmer states -but i think they are mostly legal in states where they wouldnt survive if released to the wild.im not positive but im pretty sure anyway

Actually they are completely illegal in half the states now and in three states, including New York, it is illegal to possess them without a special permit issued by the state for scientific research purposes:

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/nycodes/c37/a32.html

6. No person shall import, export, own, possess, acquire or dispose of live piranha fish (Serrasalmus, Rooseveltiella or Pyrocentrus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) or hybrid grass carp within the state without a license or permit issued at the discretion of the department for scientific, biological or exhibition purposes.


FishKid did have piranhas but he was fully aware of the fact that it was illegal for him to have them.

The ASPCA Legal Department has been advised of this infraction and is looking into it.

[organicreefer]

well you learn something everyday it was a couple yeasr back when i told someone they were illegal and they said-not in new york..either they were mistaken or the law has changed since then -anyway-i still know two people in new york that have them-does that make me an accessory ??

i didnt say anything-this conversation never happened-dont report me to the aspca

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by organicreefer

i didnt say anything-this conversation never happened-dont report me to the aspca !

I wasn't the one who reported them, someone else on another board reported them. I posted all of this info on that other board but I figured some people may not have seen it since some people don't visit that other board anymore for some reason or another.