do you believe that all aquarium fish should be farm raised?
By oscarbartoni
@oscarbartoni (2581)
United States
August 1, 2007 11:12am CST
I believe that most aquarium fish should be farm raised but fish that are annual fish like the cardinal tetras should be collect from the wild by the people that live there. This may be their only source of income and if they collect the annual fish they will look after the land that the fish come from but if they cannot make money from this then other people will come along and destroy the land and all of the animal and plant life that live there. As long as the animals are sustainable by being harvested in the wild then I say lat the native people collect them and protect the land that they grow in or on. What do you think of this?
2 responses
@Puffer (92)
• Singapore
1 Aug 07
Hi, finally found someone in mylot who's in aquarium. To answer your question I think many species are now farm-bred especially discus where today we see so many different variants with bright colours. Personally, I prefer to rear wild but having farm-bred may be good in that the latter are more accustomed to our home water parameters, more flexible with food i.e. processed pellet food and more vibrant colours i.e. sunshine/fireworks discus etc. Recently, I know of a type of small fish called 'Microrasbora Galaxy' (now officially known as Celestichthys margaritatus) which had so much demand that its number is depleting fast in its natural habitat in Myanmar. Many aquarists are now encouraged to stop buying the fish, or have more home/farm-breeding for this fish.
@oscarbartoni (2581)
• United States
2 Aug 07
They have found more areas where the Celestichthys margaritatus have been found. Before they were "discovered" the people of Myanmar used them for food. I do think that these fish should be farmed a lot unless they can have restrictions on who will be allowed to collect and how many so that there is no habitat destruction. This way the fish (and other species) will not be destroyed in the quest top make the almighty dollars (or what ever kind of money that is used in the country that the collector and exporter is using.
I do agree that many fish including discus and angelfish have been bred to bring out many different varieties (or mutations) so that in general we do not need wild fish except to keep good genetics going. If you inbreed a species too much you run the risk of having traits that will not be good for the species. (This is why you are not allowed to marry your close relatives).
@Puffer (92)
• Singapore
2 Aug 07
Great insights from you concerning the Celestichthys margaritatus issue. I have read that there are now many successful breeding programs in Europe and some parts of Asia. It helps tons that this fish is considered hardy and rated easy to spawn. There is a very long discussion of this species in this website if you are interested: http://www.petfrd.com/forum/
1 person likes this
@Seraphine (385)
• Finland
2 Aug 07
I think all aquarium fish that can be farm raised should be, and those that cannot be and there are plenty of so collecting some wouldn't endanger the species' survival should be collected by the locals without the use of poison (like sodium cyanide) or anything else remotely dangerous to the eco-system.
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