Fish-keeping: cruelty or preservation?

[Wyld-Fyre]

I've a long history of keeping pets, and the list is continually growing.

On viewing 'The Blue Planet' on DVD, there's a short film on the way marine fishes are captured to suit demand from 'Western' aquarists. This got my blood boiling as I saw the damage that was inflicted to reef fishes and the environment they (had) lived in.

I also don't blame the fisherman for using cyanide to capture these 'stunned' fishes because, at the end of the day, they need to provide for their families, and cyanide is the 'easiest' way to capture fish.

So, the question goes out to you all. Are we damaging the environment with our hobbies or doing our part to preserve it?

 

[Teelie]

I think we can accomplish both with some adjustments to the capturing of fish and then the treatment of them in the home aquaria. If they are captured without the damage, and properly kept, and the bigger part, they are properly acclimated and kept in home aquariums, this could be beneficial to both sides without a loss for either.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I don't like it. I will never keep a marine tank for that reason. I think the collecting of fish from the wild is wrong, but many don't. However, I think the method of collecting is very wrong and very harmful to the environment.

I hate that some of my fish are wild. But there's nothing I can do about it now. I didn't know at the time.

I think it would be better if some fish were caught from the wild but then they are bred in captivity to try and help the situation.

 

[Teelie]

The only problem with "catching wild fish is wrong" is at one point, ALL fish were wild caught and many are only capable of breeding in the wild making captured breeding either impossible or extremely difficult to accomplish.

I'm going to start a Marine tank in a few months though I'm going with tank raised fish, inverts, etc where possible.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Well, I dunno if that was in response to me but I did say that it would be better to catch some fish in order to breed them to stop them being taken out of the wild.

It's not a perfect plan but I imagine it can be done. I think it's sad to take a fish out of the wild and pit it in a tiny box. However, there's nothing that can be done for what we have now other than to breed them.

I am breeding my wild cichlids and giving them away for that reason. I know it's not much but there's not much I can do.

 

[Teelie]

Yes, directed to your post. I don't like how many wild fish are caught, both freshwater and marine but there's little to do against the trade. It's also the unfortunately circumstances that these fish have to be captured from the wild at some point though as my first post said, better treatment of them would go a long ways in properly balancing the trade.

 

[Auratus]

I read that about 90% of all sw fish in lfs' are taken from the wild. I don't know what to think about that.

Maybe if you have a tank big enough and all the fancy live corals and stuff the fish wouldn't know the difference, or even be happier because their are no natural preditors.

But I hate to think how many clown fish have been taken from reefs and died since Finding Nemo came out...

 

[gixer]

i am also very much against the keeping of wild caught fish for various reasons.

please read this.

thankyou

and if you have a lot more time...read this too.

 

[Teelie]

But I hate to think how many clown fish have been taken from reefs and died since Finding Nemo came out...

Not as many as you may think. Clowns are probably the most tank bred saltwater fish in the trade. They're among the first and easiest to be bred and are quite prolific when they do start to breed.

 

[gixer]

But I hate to think how many clown fish have been taken from reefs and died since Finding Nemo came out...

Not as many as you may think. Clowns are probably the most tank bred saltwater fish in the trade. They're among the first and easiest to be bred and are quite prolific when they do start to breed.

Teelie....did you read my link?

its pretty interesting..

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

I think what's been said is valid, but the major problem with keeping/breeding domesticated fish stocks would increase the chance of in-breeding. This leading to poorer family genetics, an increase in deformities (as I've read about livebearers), poorer immune systems, and sanitization of what was once a beautiful 'wild' creature. Genetic manipulation has also played its part.

In addition, the cost to the hobbiest would mean an increase in the average price of fish as these fish need to be kept/fed in breeding tanks, wheras in the wild, they are fed by mother nature. Would we be willing to pay for more 'expensive' fish?

 

[gixer]

Would we be willing to pay for more 'expensive' fish?

certainly.

what i find hard to believe is why people would want to keep fish that they know will not live a good life in a glass box in their living room.

People who keep reef tanks seem to pride themselves on this. Surely they realise the implications this has on the enviroment.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Actually, wild fish are more expensive that tank-bred.

If the price goes up, I would be willing to pay it. I would rather that than taking fish from the wild.

 

[gixer]

for anyone that couldnt be bothered to read the whole article in the link.. heres some points taken from it.

The clown anemone fish is just one of the 1,471 species of tropical reef fish captured for aquariums. Each year, over 20 million of these colourful fish are netted to supply the booming marine aquarium trade, earning cash for poor fishing communities but too often sending the fish to their deaths, a United Nations report said.

Hmmmm

Coral reefs, often called the rainforests of the seas because of their wealth of marine flora and fauna, are facing a plethora of threats from pollution and sedimentation to coral bleaching, overfishing and tourism. The reefs of South-East Asia are particularly vulnerable. The report warns that uncontrolled capture of reef life for the aquarium trade will compound these problems

nice

Unlike freshwater aquariums where 90% of fish species are currently farmed, the majority of marine aquariums are stocked with wild caught species.

A craze for marine aquariums is fuelling a burgeoning trade in marine organisms. Unfortunately, marine species do not live long in a glass tank, and have to be constantly replaced. This leads to even more harvesting of marine species in the wild. Harvesting from the wild, if uncontrolled, can cause irreversible damage to coral reefs, warns Colette Wabnitz, one of the report's authors

The report warns that the global aquarium trade can pose significant risks to coral reef ecosystems. Removal of live rocks (coral rock to which are attached algae and invertebrate species such as anemones, tunicates, sponges, molluscs and worms) can worsen coastal erosion and destroy fish habitat.

In Fiji, harvesting of live rocks have reduced some reefs to rubble. In other areas, algae proliferated and fisheries declined. During the collection of coral pieces for trade, many more colonies may be damaged or broken than are actually harvested. Often, corals are broken to ease access to fish for capture.

it really annoys me.

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

"Unlike freshwater aquariums where 90% of fish species are currently farmed, the majority of marine aquariums are stocked with wild caught species." (Gixers link)

No disrespect to marine tank hobbiests out there, but I'd like to know what your feelings are on this subject.