The new movie that literally everyone that was born in the '90s was waiting for finally opened in June 2016. "Finding Dory" hit the theaters and everyone went crazy. It was packed with all the characters we loved from "Finding Nemo," and many more new sea creatures to join in on all the wild adventures. But there is a price to pay for the little Dory fishes. Because the sales of clown-fish rose tremendously after "Finding Nemo," Australian conservationists are worried that the same thing will happen with the Dory fish.
The Dory fish, also known as the Pacific Blue Tang have many special needs in order for it to live happily and healthy in the environment. This is because they come from the wild. They have a completely different diet than goldfish, and that is why it is so hard to keep them as pets. Another reason is how big the Blue Tang get. They can reach up to an entire foot long, this makes them very uncomfortable to live in house aquarium. In the wild they can live up to 20-30 years but in captivity, they are estimated to live only a few years. Blue Tang cannot reproduce in captivity, making this a larger issue than the clown-fish problem. The Pacific Blue Tang release their eggs and sperm into the sea and this action cannot be done in the captivity environment.
Due to the high number of clown-fish that were imported in 2012 after the first movie came out, conservationists are afraid that the Blue Tang will swim into the same problem, causing the already struggling fish because of warmer sea temperatures to really hit a downward slope. Catching these fish would make the catchers have to use a cyanide poisoning or a type of anesthetic to put the fish to sleep to catch them easier. The poison often kills coral and other sea animals. Exporting these fish from the wild can also have a negative effect on the mortality rate — 90 percent of the fish caught while using the cyanide poisoning never make it into a home
All the negative set aside, Disney is partnering up with PetSmart and Petco to release a "responsible pet ownership" guide that you can get digitally to spread awareness of this issue and the real life consequences of wanting a pet Dory. Pixar is also working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to produce a short film that will air on Disney's social media sites. This short will teach viewers how to pick the right fish to take home.
So, before you think it would be cool to have your very own Dory fish to forget where she came from or to remember 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney, remember that having them alive is much better than having your own.
