What do salamanderfish eat?

[elephantnose3334]

What is the diet of the endangered salamanderfish? Any tips on how to feed salamanderfish in captivity after I might get them from the wild? Does the fisheries department give permits for getting salamanderfish to hobbyists and scientists? I understand that some of them may say no, but it's the luck of the draw.

 

[Colin_T]

Fisheries WA does not give permits to take any fish and certainly not freshwater fishes of the south-west of WA.

Salamanderfish eat small flying insects that land on the surface and aquatic insects like Midges and their larvae, as well as small crustaceans (copepods) in the water. Most of their diet is from the insect larvae and crustaceans on or near the bottom of the waterway.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Fisheries WA does not give permits to take any fish and certainly not freshwater fishes of the south-west of WA.

Salamanderfish eat small flying that land on the surface and aquatic insects like Midges and their larvae, as well as small crustaceans (copepods) in the water. Most of their diet is from the insect larvae and crustaceans on or near the bottom of the waterway.

Interesting. Midges and their larvae. Do I need to trap them for the food source of captive salamanderfish to try and make them survive in a captive environment?

 

[Essjay]

Just to point out that Colin said

Fisheries WA does not give permits to take any fish and certainly not freshwater fishes of the south-west of WA.

so how are you going to get these fish?

 

[elephantnose3334]

Just to point out that Colin said

so how are you going to get these fish?

I don't know yet. I might have to do a special operation on seeing a real salamanderfish, face to face. No one except a few people have seen this species before. I understand that the fisheries may say no to the permits, but sometimes we have to sacrifice our time and effort in order to save these fishes from extinction.

 

[GaryE]

The last thing an endangered fish needs is to be kept in a tank if there is any option at all to save its habitat. That should be your goal. You are reading selectively and ignoring the reality of this. No one should discuss how to feed a fish that you should not keep. A public aquarium might have the resources to do this properly, but not an individual. Some fish need to be protected from us.

If the laws or application of the laws are badly done, then it's on us to agitate for changes. That's hard. But keeping critically endangered fish is illegal for a good reason, and I don't think we should be indulging in fantasies about breaking those laws.

The salamanderfish (Lepidogalaxias salamandroides) was last evaluated in 2019 and is listed as endangered with falling numbers. The next category for it would be critically endangered, followed by extinct. The IUCN Red List is important for aquarists, as it tells us what we should not buy as wild caught fish, and what we should not remove from nature. If you are dreaming of keeping a rare fish, always check its IUCN Red List status before you start discussing it.

 

[elephantnose3334]

The last thing an endangered fish needs is to be kept in a tank if there is any option at all to save its habitat. That should be your goal. You are reading selectively and ignoring the reality of this. No one should discuss how to feed a fish that you should not keep. A public aquarium might have the resources to do this properly, but not an individual. Some fish need to be protected from us.

If the laws or application of the laws are badly done, then it's on us to agitate for changes. That's hard. But keeping critically endangered fish is illegal for a good reason, and I don't think we should be indulging in fantasies about breaking those laws.

I understand that. And sorry for doing that. I understand that the law's the law and I'm trying not to break them. It's difficult to get salamanderfish, and I get that. I will be more careful next time. I just wanted to help save the salamanderfish...

I just wanted to know what they eat in the wild. @GaryE, I understand that the situation will be dire for these fish if we don't take action. But I do agree that these fish must be protected from us. However, no public aquaria have been keeping these fish due to some circumstances. And that's unfortunate for a unique prehistoric fish that will be extinct in the next few decades. We don't want it to become a lost piece of biological history, like the dinosaurs did 66 million years ago.

More awareness for the salamanderfish is needed, in my opinion. I have heard of this species on this forum, and online, but I have never seen it in-person. Habitat protection is the best thing for an endangered fish. I wonder if there are charities that involve habitat protection of this rare fish.

Some freshwater fish species are overlooked because of certain circumstances. That includes the salamanderfish. I just wanted to play my part (and hopefully I will not break laws) in saving the species but I understand that they occur in national parks, which is a no-go for hobbyists. I'll just have to wait for now.

 

[elephantnose3334]

It's time to move on from the thread. I'm trying not to do the wrong thing regarding laws. I wanted to help the salamanderfish, hopefully this time without breaking any laws... I'll wait until I'm old enough to be a scientist and try to save the species.

 

[Colin_T]

The last thing an endangered fish needs is to be kept in a tank if there is any option at all to save its habitat. That should be your goal. You are reading selectively and ignoring the reality of this. No one should discuss how to feed a fish that you should not keep. A public aquarium might have the resources to do this properly, but not an individual. Some fish need to be protected from us.

There's no option for saving its environment. Climate change is going to wipe them out, and a number of other species from down there too. A uni student at Murdoch University did a research paper on climate change affecting the salamanderfish, the link is below. The fish are going to become extinct.

The article was done in 2015. In 2016 and 2017, Main Roads Western Australia widened about 100km of the South-West Hwy in the area where the fish occur. They cleared about 50-100 meters on either side of the road and covered it in limestone and then bitumen. This was done in summer (during the dry season) when the fish were aestivating. Those fish died because they can't get any water. In 2018 there was a peat fire in the area that burnt for more than 6 months. With no trees or shrubs left to protect the soil from the sun and wind, it will dry out even faster than normal, reducing the time the fish can remain dormant. During the last 5 years, there has been a lot less rain down there and the temperatures have been significantly warmer. If there are any salamanderfish left in that area, there won't be many and I don't know if anyone has surveyed the area during the last 5 years.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/77136865.pdf

 

[Colin_T]

Interesting. Midges and their larvae. Do I need to trap them for the food source of captive salamanderfish to try and make them survive in a captive environment?

I found the fish ate small live foods like micro and grindal worms, and some of them picked at frozen (but defrosted) bloodworms and brineshrimp. If you oculd culture small species of rotifer and daphnia, add some microworms and newly hatched brineshrimp, you should be able to get them to eat.

When I was down south I used to collect swarms of midges in a fine mesh fish net, then put them in a plastic bag and seal it up. When I got home I put the bag in the freezer for a few hours and then poured the dead midges into a smaller ziplock bag to use later.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Hi everyone watching this thread, I understand that the salamanderfish is endangered and will be extinct in the next few decades. I also understand the laws regarding this situation and I wanted to play my role for saving the species, but without breaking the law. But I am concerned about the species going extinct faster than we thought. I need to play my part in freshwater fish conservation and become a volunteer for a charity that specialises in freshwater fish.