It may be only a matter of time before no wild caught fish are available

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
I had a long chat with Nico of freshwaterstingray.nl who is of the opinion that soon there will be a global ban on the trade of any wild caught animals, including fish. When you hear all the bad news about climate change, deforestation, over-fishing, pollution, etc., etc., it is believable.

A few years ago black rays, Siamese Tiger Fish D.Pulcher, or Fly River Turtles could be purchased. No longer. Maybe it is a good thing that we are moving towards captive breeding of most aquarium fish. Unfortunately there will be some fish that we find are just too hard to breed and so they will disappear from the hobby. I see that happening with the the Siamese Tiger Fish (D.Pulcher).

Another fish I wonder about would be the Tigrinus Catfish. And what of the flagtail prochilodus ? Anyone know if they are being captive bred?

Also, anyone have a list of wild-caught fish you'd like to keep? I know I want to get some Birchirs for sure, and maybe some really nice Geophagus sp. Who knows, maybe even try to get them to breed? lol
 
The problem with wild caught fish is with alot of them they are only available as wild caught because no one has been able to breed them in captivity. As far as I know I have never heard of a phoenix being bred in captivity(Yuppa would probably know for sure)

My Figure 8 puffers are wild caught and from what I have seen on the puffer forum is that no one has had success in breeding them. A ban on these puffers IMO would be ok because the majority of people who purchase them don't have a clue how to take care of them or just don't wanna bother with setting up a brackish tank. This really bothers me because yes a puffer can live in a freshwater setup and live for a few years but if kept in a proper brackish setup they can live upwards of 18 years:eek:. With the ban it's good for those who don't have a clue and shouldn't have the fish/animal to begin with but then the serious hobbists suffer for it.

Maybe what we need to do is promote breeding of wc fish in captivity:D
 

Yuppa

Super Moderator
I am unsure of phoenix being bred in aquaria.. I would like to say, not at all but i did come across some pictures of *tiny* phoenix in a japanese tank, it looked like he had bred them, however he may have just received an order of young ones.

there are some nice community phoenix tanks at the japanese aquariums, but I have not heard of them being bred in captivity..

I think part of the reason for this, is they are a salmonoid, they travel thousands of miles up the amazon, fly up waterfalls ect to reach their breeding grounds. -apparently seeing the phoenix's migrate on a sunny day is a breathtaking spectacle, seeing them go up waterfalls is an experience I want some day.

as for tigerfish, yes its a shame, however the king of thailand placed a ban on them for good reason, they were fast (and still are) dissapearing from the wild. They are still a food source for the locals, and its hard to change their ways. Harvesting them for the pet trade has not helped either..

Its my understanding that phoenix's are still quite abundant in the amazon and no where close to endangered.
 

protoxeno

New Member
I think if you buy a piece of the land near a lake and isolate it, that will be instant breeding facility for all the species in the area.
 

homebrewed

Super Moderator
I'm glad I've got my trio of motoros as I could see the ban on all stingrays happening in the near future. Its been a rumor for some time now, but is bound to happen. I'll be working on getting a few more just so I can have healthy breeding group.

If all wildcaughts end up being banned, for the hobby it will suck, but in the end its in the best interests of the species. We need to maintain the biodiversity in these rivers and lakes or we'll see alot more intances like the Victorian Lakes in Africa happening.

Hopefully if it does come down to this, it will promote better fish keeping so that we can prolong the stocks that are already in the hobby.

As for bichir species, I wouldn't worry to much. Most species are being bred in captivity in the East.

I'm sure there will be alot more focus on captive breeding naturally or hormone induced (ie clown loaches, endlicheri etc) to make sure some species remain a staple in the hobby.

Off the top of my head I can't think of to many wildcaughts I'd like to see in my collection aside from more black hook silver dollars and more rays (specifically black rays, high end motoros, and true hystrix). I know that red hooks have been bred, so who knows, maybe if I focus on my group of black hooks I can get some spawning action. Although I think I'm done with most breeding. Takes up alot of time and resources, but if it comes down to a ban, I'll do my part to try and preserve the species.

Tim
 
Last edited:

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
I remember having a Blue Eyed Pleco (Panaque) about 10 years ago. I ended up trading him after a couple years. About 5 years ago I decided to get another one only to be told, "Sorry there have been no reported sightings in the wild for years now. It is believed they are extinct!" :(

I think banning fish is way better alternative than waiting too long and having them go forever.

Global problems require global solutions. I think in future aquarists around the whole planet are going to have to cooperate to breed the exotic fish we love to keep. Prices will go up, but maybe then the people who keep the fish will have more incentive to properly care for them. Kind of the way it is for black ray or Asian aro keepers now.
 

EKen

Super Moderator
I am pretty sure I read on Aquabid that the Prochilodus they were selling was "home bred"...
 

GRANDDRAGON

New Member
I'm glad I've got my trio of motoros as I could see the ban on all stingrays happening in the near future. Its been a rumor for some time now, but is bound to happen. I'll be working on getting a few more just so I can have healthy breeding group.

If all wildcaughts end up being banned, for the hobby it will suck, but in the end its in the best interests of the species. We need to maintain the biodiversity in these rivers and lakes or we'll see alot more intances like the Victorian Lakes in Africa happening.

Hopefully if it does come down to this, it will promote better fish keeping so that we can prolong the stocks that are already in the hobby.

As for bichir species, I wouldn't worry to much. Most species are being bred in captivity in the East.

I'm sure there will be alot more focus on captive breeding naturally or hormone induced (ie clown loaches, endlicheri etc) to make sure some species remain a staple in the hobby.

Off the top of my head I can't think of to many wildcaughts I'd like to see in my collection aside from more black hook silver dollars and more rays (specifically black rays, high end motoros, and true hystrix). I know that red hooks have been bred, so who knows, maybe if I focus on my group of black hooks I can get some spawning action. Although I think I'm done with most breeding. Takes up alot of time and resources, but if it comes down to a ban, I'll do my part to try and preserve the species.

Tim

Just a question what is a Black hook silver Dollar??? Is it the same as a Black bar silver dollar???
 

Dragonguy

New Member
This will be good to everyone, as the price will drop down as more cative breed will go to fish trade. The only down side to this is some fish will have not be in perfect shape. More more mutant fish will start to appear.
 
Top