wild caught fish

[sharkbait]

I just learned on another post that my cardinal tetras are wild caught. I had assumed that most fish in the LFS were captive bred. I don't feel at all happy about taking fish from the wild.

Are most fish hoovered up from some S. American river?
Apart from guppies, which aren't.
or is it easier to ask which species are? (I hope)

 

[Lateral Line]

Very many fish are captive bred, particulaly in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia also Florida in the US. There is also a wild fishery and some species are threatened as a result. It is quite possible your Cardinals were wild caught as they are somewhat tricky to breed, however, I am certainly aware of breeders in Singapore that sell them.

 

[cichlidmaster]

The main reason wild caught fish are brought into the hobby is to keep the gene pool strong!!

Without this "new blood" the fish available would surely not be as colorful or hardy and would surely show some type of deformity!!

In the case of endangered species, I am all for captive bred breeding programs to try and repopulate the species in their native waters.

Food For Thought...................

For those who are concerned about fish being removed from the wild............how do you think the fish available in the hobby came to be?

Where do you think the fish that are being used by breeders came from???

One last thought...............

By purchasing fish (even captive bred) you are actually contributing to the continuation of fish being brought in from the wild!!

breeders (even those in singapore) will continue to aquire wild specimens to keep the bloodline strong and to produce healthy fish for you to buy!!!

CM

 

[Lateral Line]

>>>
breeders (even those in singapore) will continue to aquire wild specimens to keep the bloodline strong and to produce healthy fish for you to buy!!!
<<<

Certainly very true. The often very weak, poor quality fish from captive breeders is evidence of the fact.

A good few years back, I was lucky enough to get some wild caught Rosy Barbs, man these shined like jewels compared to the washed out silvery things we see most of the time.

 

[Alien Anna]

Cardinal tetras are taken from managed fisheries i.e. although technically "wild", the fish-catchers manage the waters they come from to artificially boost the numbers. I suppose an equivalent in Britain would be game birds such as grouse. I don't want to get into the anti-hunting and shooting debate but it is a fact that without managed grasslands for grouse, the wild grouse would probably be extinct.

 

[teknikz]

i went to a fish shop yesterday in bolton UK and they had wild fish and they looked excellent

the point of fish keeping imo is to provide an environment that would mirror the environment in the wild that ur fish would be living in

so i think that if u have spent time and money making an exact replica of the environment then it would be brilliant to have wild fish to make it more natural looking and interesting

Tek

 

[CFC]

The wild caught fish issue is a difficult one, while i do have some semi rare catfish that must have been caught from the wild it does upset me to think that they were once swimming in a huge expanse of water and now they are confined to the 5 and 1/2 feet of my tank.
One very depressing tale of wild caught fish is when one of my lfs imported 3x12"+ wild caught frontosas, this was over 6 months ago and 2 of them are still there in their tiny 18" tanks, the reason ? They are priced at £160 each while in the next tank they have 3" tank bred frontosas for £6. Whos going to pay £154 more for what as far as anyone is concerned is the same fish ? Any serious breeder will get their stock direct from the importers for less money.

As for trying to recreate the natural enviroment of the fish exactly, its impossible in almost all cases. Most rift valley cichlids come from deapths of 30 - 40 meters down, not many tanks that size around i think, and even the longest tank could never recreate the natural flow of the amazon or congo rivers. If your into recreating exact biotopes youd better stick to killie fish, bettas and other fish which live in tiny puddles, other than that all you can do is try to make the fish feel as comfortable as possible and keep the water conditions perfect.

 

[teknikz]

obviously i wasnt talkin about pin point accuracy

you obviously cant keep a tank the size of the congo river or lake malawi in ur house

i was talking about gettin water, substrate and decor as near as possible to that of the fishes natural habitat....and if its a community tank where fishes would have different types of the above you go for a look that looks natural

 

[cory]

I have no poblem with non-endangered species of fish being taken from the wild, only to be worshipped in high-dollar aquariums all over the world.

My redhooks, my pride and joy, are mere gutter fish, in Central America, and, food for natives along the Amazon....so, since they can't be bred in captivity, I have no problem with them being scooped out of a ditch somewhere, so I can bring them home, spend all my money on them, and treat them like arc angels harolding the second coming of the Messiah.

 

[teknikz]

hahahaha i think uve made a very good valid point ther cory....well done

 

[cichlidmaster]

Who said red hook(Myleus rubripinnes) as well as any of the other many Metynnes species can't be bred in captivity?

CM

 

[cory]

Who said red hook(Myleus rubripinnes) as well as any of the other many Metynnes species can't be bred in captivity?

CM

Every book, web site, and lfs that I've ever consulted. They all say that captive bred redhooks are unheard of.

 

[cory]

hahahaha i think uve made a very good valid point ther cory....well done

Oh, I wanted to say that I'm glad that you posted about that fishprofiles.com site. After seeing you talk about it, another poster steared me in that direction, it's a very informative site.

 

[teknikz]

i think its one of the best profile sites going.........if im ever thinking of buyin a fish i always consult to that site first to make sure the fish i want will be okay in my tanks

 

[CFC]

My redhooks, my pride and joy, are mere gutter fish, in Central America, and, food for natives along the Amazon

Your redhooks are not alone in being food fish in their native countries, you would be shocked to find out just how little fish we pay hundreds of pounds for are sold for in small local markets all over the world. One example is the M.tigrinus (zebra shovelnose catfish), even small specimins cost in excess of £200 to buy (if your lucky enough to even find one), but in S.America they are just another food fish for the native indians.
Bala sharks, gouramis, snakeheads, many large cichlids and hundreds of other fish we keep from all over the world all find their way into the cooking pot of hungry natives