Banned Tropical Fish And Plants.....

[Ludwig Venter]

I have just read through 63 pages of tropical fish and plants which are totally banned here in SA as published in the latest Government gazette.....
 
I just wonder who the people are making these laws and what criteria they are using to decide that this or that species will be banned??... Do they have any input from aquarists... or do the just randomly pick their fish and plants to ban... We are not even allowed to mention any of the listed fish on any of the local fish forums....or stand the chance of being banned from such forum.....  (if not being arrested.....)
 
It is ridiculous... and... many, many of the species which I have kept in the past... are listed in this latest publication.... (do I now flush those fish if I still have any)....
 
They are killing the hobby here... and... restricting us to basically keep Guppies & Goldfish with Vallisneria and Anubia to decorate... even shapely sandstone rocks picked up on mountains or in nature are not allowed in our tanks.... I am loosing interest....
 
Fortunately... it is not strictly policed.... but... keeps you aware that you are in transgression.....

 

[star4]

I think this goes world wide. It is a sad fact that some irresponsible fish keepers have given the hobby a bad press. Releasing non native fish, invertibrates and plants into local waters has resulted in a knee jerk reaction from governments across the globe. Many of the fish do not survive in certain climates, just take the ban on apple snails in the UK. I find it ironic that governments find, in some cases, an odd few fish in waters that should not be there then panic.
 
Yet when some government numpty thinks it is a good idea to introduce a none native species there is no problem. Take the silver carp introduced in the US, the pacu introduced on purpose and accidentally across the globe. Here in the UK the wells catfish introduced into lakes purely for sport fishing, these are just a few examples I can think of off the top of my head, and yet its the aquarist that is always to blame.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Dumping or flushing would be far worse than keeping them. It is a shame that a few morons ruin it for everyone.  (I'll let you decide who the morons are... )

 

[RRaquariums]

Yeah it's like how piranhas are banned in my state but even if someone let some go in a lake or pond if the temp didn't kill them right away then winter would.

 

[TallTree01]

I know that here in Australia, we've had major problems with foreign fishes invadig. Up in the Northern Territory, a wild population of bettas has been established and is invading. Dreadful stuff. Our government has now made it very difficult to get new fish into the country to prevent any further damage. A few stupid people ruining it for the group.

 

[star4]

Channel cats are now banned in the uk...
 
http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=6257&oo=0

 

[DreamertK]

It's understandable. If a species is going to overtake the environment and cause imbalance to the current ecosystem, they're trying to protect the natural habitat. Duckweed, najas grass, water lettuce are all banned in CA as an invasive species. Though it might not even have been from aquarium use. People frequently use those species in ponds, which can get overfilled during rainy season and sweep some of those plants away into rivers and such. Sure it sucks for someone like me who only has an aquarium and wants to please my gourami with some floating plants, but ultimately it's for the good of the environment (maybe).
 
If anyone across the pond is interested, here is a list of plants by species name that are banned by state: http/iwgs.org/invasive-species/

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

even shapely sandstone rocks picked up on mountains or in nature are not allowed in our tanks.... I am loosing interest....

You'd be surprised that slate rock and other slab like rocks are illegal to use here unless it is to be used for infrastructure purposes (as in for buildings only. Not even for fishpond usage) with which permits are issued lol.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Suddenly... I do not feel all alone in the world.... Thought it only applies to us unfortunates....

 

[Baccus]

Things are so rough in Australia that AQIS was looking at banning bristle nose catfish, so far I don't know of any feral populations but I dare say with so many floods the last few years in Queensland literally sweeping through houses and entire towns it is only a matter of time before we do start hearing about pest bristle noses.
As a kid I remember seeing and trying to catch feral populations of gouramis in my home town. Even the humble gold fish is a major pest in Australia, thanks to people using them as live bait to catch trout and either letting the left over fish go in the lakes/ dams they where fishing or fish getting off the hook and surviving, plus the odd exfish keeper deciding to do the "nice" thing and release their unwanted pet rather than rehome or kill it. But all is not bad news about pest carp, there is now a good industry collecting the pests and turning them into fertilizer.
 
Sadly I can see both sides of the coin and know its a tight rope of managing what will and wont cause financial and environmental disasters later. Which is why even though I bemoan the fact that all the beautiful shrimp available overseas are not allowed into Australia. I can understand the reasons behind the bans.

 

[star4]

The problem is it is easy to put the blame upon fish keepers dumping unwanted fish, but what about the uk at the moment? All these homes that are under water. How many aquariums have had to be abandoned? how many have broken or are under water accidentally releasing none native fish? ok sad fact is hundreds of fish have perished in the flooding but we have all heard stories of fish surviving under extreme conditions.  Then what about garden ponds? how many goldfish, koi and other freshwater ornamental fish are now swimming about in flood waters? The "safe fishing lakes" containing wells catfish etc how many of those are flooded releasing these fish into the waterways once the flooding subsides. Is this all the fault of the aquarist? me thinks not!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Of course it is star.  Aquarists are responsible for all environmental issues...

 

[coolie]

I can confirm the RSPCA helped catch a large number of Koi in the recent UK flooding. Whether it is because they will be high and dry as the water recedes, or for ecological reasons I can't say , but if you goggle it, you might find out.
 
In general it is a shame we can't keep any fish, but people aren't all the same. We might want to import a special fish and take it seriously. Someone else thinks it's "fun" to release a mating pair of something or other into a particular environment, just like a fire starter, they just do it.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Tilapias though raised for food have also become pests. But who would have thought that these food/pest fish are now being menaced by invasive populations of common pleco and that N.chitala knifefish here haha