Tank Bred or Wild Caught

[emeraldking]

I do have my preference but it can go two ways. I do love wild caught fish but taking them out of nature is also a doubtful thing. But I do have to admit that I've done that. On the other hand, captive bred specimens are easier to maintain. So, I do love wild caughts but there's also this moral thing. But hey, all captive bred ones wouldn't be there if we never used wild caughts.

 

[GamerGoldfish2]

Wild caught because they are without question healthier. Now, I should qualify this by saying that I kept very soft water fish, primarily Amazonian, and I had the ideal water parameters for these fish. It is no coincidence that the only time I ever had serious disease introduced to my tanks from new fish was when they came from chain stores or were the species commercially raised. South America has the Project Priaba, worth a read (we had a thread with videos on this several months back).

The diseases introduced on commercially raised fish involved internal protozoan, something that spreads through hatcheries like wild fire, and especially the SE Asian market. The only wild-fish disease I encountered was gill flukes in some Corydoras once, easily cured. And this over 30 years of fish keeping.

Now, if you are into livebearers, you will usually be dealing with commercial fish, you have no choice, though knowing a reputable local breeder should help. And I do not consider it coincidental again that the problems with fish like neon tetras, which are so weak these days and prone to disease (just look at the threads on TFF) is due to being commercially raised. The generations of inbreeding weakens the fish, adding to the problem.

Why would you fuel an enviorment runing buisness for your entertainment? Especially when you can get cheaper healthier fish from local breeders.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

For me the decision depends upon the species. But any fish we buy originated at some point in the wild.

So I will ask folks here the same question I face when acquiring zebra plecos. They were almost impossible to find tank raised. Plus, with wild fish the genetics are less likely to be and issue in terms of inbreeding.

I had two groups of breeding L173 plecos. One were wild caught and the other tank raised. Both groups were similarly prolifc but the wild caught line fish were a bit larger than the tank raised ones.

One cannot get wild caught zebras any more. Plus they are mow endangered in the wild due to the dammong of their habitat. However, Bellenz Farms in ndonesia now breeds them in large numbers. I know they are healthy fish because a few years back with a a partner we brought in 324 framed zebras. 25 were for me, I lost 2 sold 9 and have 14 that are spawning now and then.

When I was getting altum angels, you could count on your fingers the number of people on the planet able to spawn them. Today I have 5 altums. One is a wild caught and the other 4 were bred and born in Las Vegas. Interstingly, the gent used to contact me for help with breeding zebras and other issues around them. I never understood this because I could never spawn altums even in my wildest dreams and zebras are not difficult to spawn.

Finally, in relation to what Byron has written in this thread, it is even more involved. Fish in the wild v.s. captive bred fish are exposed to different dominant pathogens etc. As a result, their immune systems develop differently. By this I mean that the immunity to any disease is normally the result of getting it and beating it, sometimes for generations. Noody offers fish in the wild vaccines. Fish which have beaten off ich will develop a temporary immunity to it is a perfect example of this sort of thing. So, what we can assume, in most cases, is that wild v.s. captive bred can have a hard time fighting off diseases prevalent in the other one's habitat.

To the extent I can, I prefer to buy fish from home based breeders. These are either folks I know or else folks people I trust have told me to seek out. Many imported fish do not get treated for anything and they are sold pretty fast. Live inventory can die. So most places want to move out fish as soon as they can. The better ones may do a brief quarantine and some do treat proactively.

I also worked with somebody who imported a lot of fish. They worked through a variety of the suppliers and over time developed a knowledge of which ones to avoid and then which ones to choose because they would have the best quality for a given species.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Why would you fuel an enviorment runing buisness for your entertainment? Especially when you can get cheaper healthier fish from local breeders.

Read the entire thread. I believe this is explained adequately. As usual with environmental issues, it isn't that simple.

Many of us don't have "local breeders." Simple as that. Many"tank raised" fish available are raised in conditions that are little better than the factory farms that (used to) give us cheap chicken and eggs.

Habitat destruction is a MUCH greater threat to fish populations than collection for the aquarium trade. That isn't an opinion; it's a demonstrable, scientific fact. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single species that has gone extinct because of aquarium collection. (I'm sure they exist, but they're rare and I can't think of any) On the contrary, there are several species of fish that are extinct or nearly so in the wild because of habitat destruction, but that continue to exist thanks to the aquarium trade.

This is a bit of a simplification, but habitat destruction happens because people need to make a living. Blackwater habitats in Oceana and SE Asia are being destroyed for palm oil plantations, and species are going extinct because of it. What's the solution? Give the local people a way to make money while preserving their local environment. Responsible, sustainable fish collection can help provide that, as proven in many locations across the Amazon/Orinoco basins.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Personally, I see it as a trade-off. Wild-caught fish tend to have more vibrant colors; they are less likely to have genetic problems from inbreeding; they tend to be more expensive, and they often have a low survival rate because they arrive from shipping in terrible condition. They usually have limited and/or seasonable availability, which can be very frustrating. There are also some valid environmental concerns; if a fish is from an endangered habitat, for example, I am reluctant to buy wild-caught unless I plan on breeding them. (I'm terrible at getting fish to breed, so that's seldom an issue) On the other hand, wild-caught fish from imperiled habitats can give locals a reason to preserve said habitats, so one can play the environmental card either way.

Tank-raised fish are easily and consistently available. They are often factory-farmed and riddled with diseases. They are much more prone to inbreeding, especially with the popular, domesticated species. They are usually much less expensive, which is realistically a factor for most of us. If purchased from a reputable seller, they are often in much better condition than wild-caught species, and assuming they are healthy when you get them, they tend to be a bit more adaptable and more resistant to the common fish diseases.

My advice is to buy from a seller with an excellent reputation, do your research so you're able to provide excellent care, pay your money and take your chances.