TheTenthDoctor
Fish Herder
"What do I do?" Get a job
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I reawakened my love for fish today
- Thread starter JuiceBox52
- Start date
Very true! I spend about 7-8 hours a week just on tank maintenance. However, when I can sit in my fish room at night and turn all the lights off except the tank lights, I feel like I’m in an underwater world. Stress can’t survive there.
Retired Viking
Fish Connoisseur
You need to start planing, what is your goal or goals and how do you get from here to there. Decide on what you need based on your ultimate goal and what it may cost. Research you goal and set up a reasonable time line to achieve your goal. Divide you goal into steps like walking up stairs. If you can not take big step do what you can and take small steps but stay focused on the ultimate goal.
OP
OP
I have a job
If you plan on keeping rare or endangered species, you need to set up new tanks for them that are clean and free of diseases found on common fish. If you put the rare species into a tank that has had other fish in, there might be a disease left in the tank and the endangered species catches it and dies.
Any plants, ornaments, filters, heaters, etc, that get put into the endangered species tank also need to be clean and free of disease.
You also need to keep the endangered species isolated from the normal tanks to prevent cross contamination between established tanks with common fish and the endangered species tanks.
------------------
Most freshwater fishes that aren't commercial aquarium or aquaculture species, are close to extinction. We have a number of endangered fish species in Australia and whilst the governments have banned collecting these species and fining people for catching them, they aren't doing anything to save the species.
Most of the native fishes are being driven to extinction because of the following:
1) Introduced species competing for food and preying on the native species.
2) The native fishes are dying from new diseases introduced with the non-native species.
3) Chemical runoff (herbicide, pesticide, road contaminants, rubbish dumped in water ways) is poisoning the native fishes, which are more sensitive to chemicals than many introduced species.
4) A drying climate caused by air pollution and chopping down all the trees has seen a reduction in water levels in rivers and lakes and this is leading to localised extinctions of fish due to lack of water. Water being taken for agriculture purposes is also reducing water in rivers and creeks.
-------------------
There is an issue on Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland. Fraser Island is a forested sand island and has massive sand dunes that are moving. The sand dunes are filling up the lakes and water ways on the island, and killing all the fish, shrimp and turtles in them. The governments (state and federal) know about this but won't do anything. They allowed logging and now some of the trees are gone, the sand is moving about. They have prevented organisations and individuals from going there and collecting some of these fish and other organisms to keep and breed in captivity. Subsequently, everything in these lakes will end up dying because of stupid political decisions.
The same thing happens all over the country with governments restricting the collection of native species so they could be used for a breeding program. Instead it is just a blanket ban on touching them and the fish are left to their own devices, which is wrong because they are being wiped out by human interference (introduced species, pollution, habitat destruction, lack of water).
Some government departments are even destroying native fishes kept by people. I was in Albany in 2016 and went to the local Department of Fisheries office. When I was there I saw a few native fishes in a poorly maintained tank in the office. I started talking to the fisheries officer about them. He told me they had been confiscated from a pet shop that had allegedly obtained them illegally (from the wild). The fish were not endangered species, but 90% of the fish that were confiscated, had been destroyed by fisheries. I asked why they were destroyed and was told the shop wasn't allowed to keep them and the law said they had to be destroyed.
Now I don't advocate releasing fish back into the wild if they have been in a shop or home aquarum due to potential diseases they could introduce into the wild. But surely, if the shop had them, why not let the shop sell them?
Adding insult to injury is the fact we are not allowed to keep a native fish called the pygmy perch (Edelia vittata) unless we buy them from a licensed fish supplier. So I can buy pygmy perch from a supplier on the other side of the country and those fish will have been exposed to numerous diseases in the suppliers tanks. But I can't keep the same fish if I catch them myself from my local creek. And I can't sell them if I breed them because I am not licensed. So basically, some people collect them in Western Australia, sell them to the eastern state's supplier, who then sells them back to shops in Western Australia.
----------------
Some years ago I used to survey water ways and collect introduced fishes from the creeks and rivers. The introduced species (mostly Gambusia) were sold to shops as feeder fish. There were a number of people that also collected Gambusia and sold them to shops. We managed to keep the Gambusia populations down to low levels and there were a few native fishes in the water.
The federal government decided to make Gambusia a noxious species, which meant you could not keep or sell them and any that were caught had to be destroyed on the river bank. This meant millions of Gambusia were left in the rivers to breed and eat the eggs and fry of the native species. Subsequently, most water ways now have Gambusia in and the native species are all disappearing.
I have written to the government about this and suggested they get off their backsides and do something, or let people collect and sell Gambusia as feeder fish again. I haven't had any responses. The government just doesn't care. They made Gambusia a noxious species and now the fish are left uncontrolled in the wild and they are decimating the native species.
Anyway, if you can get endangered species, go for it. Just give them their own clean tank, feed and water change them separately to the rest of your fish. Look after them and breed them and share them with other fish keepers.
Any plants, ornaments, filters, heaters, etc, that get put into the endangered species tank also need to be clean and free of disease.
You also need to keep the endangered species isolated from the normal tanks to prevent cross contamination between established tanks with common fish and the endangered species tanks.
------------------
Most freshwater fishes that aren't commercial aquarium or aquaculture species, are close to extinction. We have a number of endangered fish species in Australia and whilst the governments have banned collecting these species and fining people for catching them, they aren't doing anything to save the species.
Most of the native fishes are being driven to extinction because of the following:
1) Introduced species competing for food and preying on the native species.
2) The native fishes are dying from new diseases introduced with the non-native species.
3) Chemical runoff (herbicide, pesticide, road contaminants, rubbish dumped in water ways) is poisoning the native fishes, which are more sensitive to chemicals than many introduced species.
4) A drying climate caused by air pollution and chopping down all the trees has seen a reduction in water levels in rivers and lakes and this is leading to localised extinctions of fish due to lack of water. Water being taken for agriculture purposes is also reducing water in rivers and creeks.
-------------------
There is an issue on Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland. Fraser Island is a forested sand island and has massive sand dunes that are moving. The sand dunes are filling up the lakes and water ways on the island, and killing all the fish, shrimp and turtles in them. The governments (state and federal) know about this but won't do anything. They allowed logging and now some of the trees are gone, the sand is moving about. They have prevented organisations and individuals from going there and collecting some of these fish and other organisms to keep and breed in captivity. Subsequently, everything in these lakes will end up dying because of stupid political decisions.
The same thing happens all over the country with governments restricting the collection of native species so they could be used for a breeding program. Instead it is just a blanket ban on touching them and the fish are left to their own devices, which is wrong because they are being wiped out by human interference (introduced species, pollution, habitat destruction, lack of water).
Some government departments are even destroying native fishes kept by people. I was in Albany in 2016 and went to the local Department of Fisheries office. When I was there I saw a few native fishes in a poorly maintained tank in the office. I started talking to the fisheries officer about them. He told me they had been confiscated from a pet shop that had allegedly obtained them illegally (from the wild). The fish were not endangered species, but 90% of the fish that were confiscated, had been destroyed by fisheries. I asked why they were destroyed and was told the shop wasn't allowed to keep them and the law said they had to be destroyed.
Now I don't advocate releasing fish back into the wild if they have been in a shop or home aquarum due to potential diseases they could introduce into the wild. But surely, if the shop had them, why not let the shop sell them?
Adding insult to injury is the fact we are not allowed to keep a native fish called the pygmy perch (Edelia vittata) unless we buy them from a licensed fish supplier. So I can buy pygmy perch from a supplier on the other side of the country and those fish will have been exposed to numerous diseases in the suppliers tanks. But I can't keep the same fish if I catch them myself from my local creek. And I can't sell them if I breed them because I am not licensed. So basically, some people collect them in Western Australia, sell them to the eastern state's supplier, who then sells them back to shops in Western Australia.
----------------
Some years ago I used to survey water ways and collect introduced fishes from the creeks and rivers. The introduced species (mostly Gambusia) were sold to shops as feeder fish. There were a number of people that also collected Gambusia and sold them to shops. We managed to keep the Gambusia populations down to low levels and there were a few native fishes in the water.
The federal government decided to make Gambusia a noxious species, which meant you could not keep or sell them and any that were caught had to be destroyed on the river bank. This meant millions of Gambusia were left in the rivers to breed and eat the eggs and fry of the native species. Subsequently, most water ways now have Gambusia in and the native species are all disappearing.
I have written to the government about this and suggested they get off their backsides and do something, or let people collect and sell Gambusia as feeder fish again. I haven't had any responses. The government just doesn't care. They made Gambusia a noxious species and now the fish are left uncontrolled in the wild and they are decimating the native species.
Anyway, if you can get endangered species, go for it. Just give them their own clean tank, feed and water change them separately to the rest of your fish. Look after them and breed them and share them with other fish keepers.
Last edited:
OP
OP
It definitely ticks me off that nobody does anything or cares about it, that's why I want to do this so bad!
OP
OP
Endangered freshwater fish on wikipediaOh heck, give me some names and I’ll try saving some.
Lajos_Detari
Fish Herder
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2017
- Messages
- 1,746
- Reaction score
- 1,422
Very true! I spend about 7-8 hours a week just on tank maintenance. However, when I can sit in my fish room at night and turn all the lights off except the tank lights, I feel like I’m in an underwater world. Stress can’t survive there.
How nice it is to have an underwater world in your house...
I heard of people who even have a small pond in their bedroom....
I watched a youtube video of high-tech aquariums... The particular fish store sells high tech aquariums...
One of their aquarium has water falling like the rain drops... It creates "raining effect" in the aquarium.
Another aquarium has water flow tht is like a stream or river... It's like having a river in your house....
OP
OP
Totally agree. It's worth it to just chill with your fishiesVery true! I spend about 7-8 hours a week just on tank maintenance. However, when I can sit in my fish room at night and turn all the lights off except the tank lights, I feel like I’m in an underwater world. Stress can’t survive there.
Tell them the truth.
OP
OP
Yeah I did. They thought it was cool but said nope cause it would need new tanks
OP
OP
But you will need more tanks... I though you weren’t able to get any more at the moment.
OP
OP
I know
OP
OP
Theres a free 50 gallon with hood brand knew that a friend is giving away and I might be able to get it
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