HOPE....
A conservation project
by
Nigel Hunter, (Ricefish)
We all hear about habitat loss and the destruction of rain forests in far off lands
But in Nov 2010 I was invited to attend the 1st International meeting of the Goodeid working group in Barcelona a group as you can guess working with the conservation of Goodeids with attendees from several countries
I was there as a delegate from the Fish Ark Project concerned with the conservation of Mexican freshwater fish mainly livebearers started by the late Ivan Dibble
Whilst there I met several Spanish and ex pat fish keepers that are working to preserve the last relic populations of the Spanish killifish Aphanius Iberus, which due to land drainage,building and the introduction of alien species has already been lost from much of it’s former habitats
Male and female Aphanius Iberus
They have had to lobby and work for several years to get permission to breed and re-introduce them.they invited us out to see the work they are doing we were overwhelmed by their dedication and passion
Breeding Pools
This is their breeding pools 3 pairs were released into each of the 3 pools the furthest one the fish disappeared
They were not fed whilst in the pools but water changes were performed gammerus shrimp and insects were their food supply
Copious amounts of live-food.
Of the 2 remaining pools a nice surprise unfolded before them
104 females 109 males in the second pool 298 males and 379 females not bad from 3 females
new pools had to be dug and other habitats found that might give them a fighting chance
New pool
The release site
Latest release site note how close it is to the sea on the right of the picture
Work is still ongoing and they receive no funding for this project it has been a hard slog but it is good to see that someone actually cares and is doing something about it
Here is the some of the team surveying areas that could be used for potential release sites
Roberto preparing the release
Matt capturing the release
I would like to thank the members of http
/www.soesic.org/ for allowing us to see what they are trying to do and Matt Ford of http/www.seriouslyfish.com for images and information.
Nigel.
A conservation project
by
Nigel Hunter, (Ricefish)
We all hear about habitat loss and the destruction of rain forests in far off lands
But in Nov 2010 I was invited to attend the 1st International meeting of the Goodeid working group in Barcelona a group as you can guess working with the conservation of Goodeids with attendees from several countries
I was there as a delegate from the Fish Ark Project concerned with the conservation of Mexican freshwater fish mainly livebearers started by the late Ivan Dibble
Whilst there I met several Spanish and ex pat fish keepers that are working to preserve the last relic populations of the Spanish killifish Aphanius Iberus, which due to land drainage,building and the introduction of alien species has already been lost from much of it’s former habitats
Male and female Aphanius Iberus
They have had to lobby and work for several years to get permission to breed and re-introduce them.they invited us out to see the work they are doing we were overwhelmed by their dedication and passion
Breeding Pools
This is their breeding pools 3 pairs were released into each of the 3 pools the furthest one the fish disappeared
They were not fed whilst in the pools but water changes were performed gammerus shrimp and insects were their food supply
Copious amounts of live-food.
Of the 2 remaining pools a nice surprise unfolded before them
104 females 109 males in the second pool 298 males and 379 females not bad from 3 females
new pools had to be dug and other habitats found that might give them a fighting chance
New pool
The release site
Latest release site note how close it is to the sea on the right of the picture
Work is still ongoing and they receive no funding for this project it has been a hard slog but it is good to see that someone actually cares and is doing something about it
Here is the some of the team surveying areas that could be used for potential release sites
Roberto preparing the release
Matt capturing the release
I would like to thank the members of http
/www.soesic.org/ for allowing us to see what they are trying to do and Matt Ford of http/www.seriouslyfish.com for images and information.Nigel.
