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Thread: Endangerment of species

  1. #1
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    Endangerment of species

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    Just like to ask everybody about some of the fish that we keep. Are any of them endangered or risk being endangered because of us? I mean our hobby is derived from the love of nature and it would be contradictive to our intentions if our hobby becomes the ends of some these fishes.

    I understand the wild angelfish, altum cannot be reared for some reasons in captivity, would we be exploiting them just like how some pet lovers would go to the extend to get rare and endangered frogs, turtle, birds, snakes and the likes.

    Is there a governing body on who decides what species are allowed and not? I am sure AVA doesn't have any restriction on fishes except for the obvious like piranhas.

  2. #2
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    Arrowanas are endangered. AVA only allows sale of licensed and tagged arros. There are others, but I am too tired to think...

    As for wild angels, think it's cos the domesticated ones are more colourful and spawn much more readily... Amazonian fishes are mostly safe from extinction. EXCEPT the arapaima, the largest fish in the world. But it is endangered cos of over fishing for its meat by the locals.

    Some of the African and Australian fish are somewhat endangered, though. An example would be the fish from Lake Victoria. Over fishing and introduction of competitive non-native tilapia had caused many species to become extinct or endangered. West African fish MIGHT be endagered but no one knows as the civil wars and unrest had restricted the exploration and exportation of fish from that area.

    Actually the reasons why most fish become endangered are mostly due to the following reasons:

    1) Over fishing for FOOD, not the ornamental trade
    2) Enviromental pollution
    3) Introduction of exotic species to compete for food ( )

    Brazilian fishermen are actually taught HOW to catch fish for the ornamental trade so as to prevent over catching. There is an University in Manaus, the capital of Amazonian ornamental fishing doing research on this.

    Thus, it is important to protect our environment from pollution and the introduction of non-native exortic species.

    There you go...
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  3. #3
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    Err... not really answering the question no?
    oh and arapima is not largest fish in the world.

    I think the short but imcomplete answer to your question is..YES.
    AS to restrictions.. i dont think so. Even if we had one.. if would be hard to convince the government to impose the proposals.. that happens all the time in any country...$$$ more important than species extinction... sad really.
    Doesnt mean we give up hope or give up trying to do what we believe though..

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    I mean to say, the ornamental fish industry does not contribute to the extinction of MOST of the fish. As for governing bodies, in Singapore, it would be AVA. They do not allow the sale of flora and fauna listed under CITES.

    Even if we do get our hands on the endangered species, it is our responsibility to captive breed them. So, suppliers can reply on captive bred fish and not the wild caught ones.

    Same with marine fish. A lot of people think that the ornamental fish trade is causing the near extinction of many fish is due to people catching them for the ornamental fish trade. In reality, pollution, trawling, over fishing etc causes MUCh more damage.

    Oh, and I also meant to say that the arapaima is the largest FRESHWATER fish in the world, if that is what you mean... Else, I'd heard that there are a couple of fish that can contest it for that title, but do not know if they had been confirmed to win it... Can't recall which, but I think one of them hails from Thailand...
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  5. #5
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    Think you mean the mekong catfish ah?? Already contested and won i think...

    I agree with you lah.. i mean i know the ornamental trade does not contribute much when compared to other factors out there but to some species it does.. albeit not much at all..but it still does. What i'm saying is taht although something is little doesn't mean it is correct or we can close one eye especially when it comes to species protection. Some species dont even make the CITES list until they are CRITICALLY endangered...

    If i told you that there is a fish that is easily caught ONLY in the singapore river, that when you catch 10 of them i will pay you 25,000...for all of them on the spot.. which is the average income for a middle calss person a year..will you do it?? DUh..quite no brainer right? even if you dont lots of other pple will. There will be others that will even, with the knowledge that that is the last fish (or last pair) in the river, will catch it up and sell it. This is what i'm sayig we shouldn't support.. nevertheless... ther will be others that support it..and the trade will go on..and some species MAY come close to endangerment.. but whats important to me personally is that i dont contribute to that... speaking specifically to species that ARE facing such treats.

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    The cat won? The last I heard, it is still unconfirmed... Anwyay, both are endangered...

    Yes, I agree that we, as aquarists, should exercise caution and restrain when buying fish that catches our eye. Check if they are endangered. And do not encourage their capture if they are. By displaying interest, we are actually encouraging the capture and dismise of them.

    If, unfortunately, you happen to have some, try to captive breed them... The rarer Mexican swordtails are now either can only be found in captivity ( responsible and capable aquarists' tanks) or in small puddles, waiting for extinction...

    If you do not have the expertise to breed them, dun get them.

    If you have them, can breed them, please do keep their genetics pure.
    Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/

    I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted! ), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted! ), C.tonkinensis(Melted! ), C.walkeri, C.wendtii 'Brown', C.wendtii 'Green', C.wendtii 'Green Gecko', C.wendtii 'Tropica' and Cryptocoryne x willisii

    Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...

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    I think the Mekong cat is the heaviest freshwater fish, while the araipama (and possibly the wels catfish and some sturgeons) are the longest.

    It's been said many times but still worth repeating: the aquaria hobby is a double-edged sword. It can provide native folk (e.g. in Indonesia, Brazil, Malawai) a long term and sustainable source of income (rather than simply selling or clearing nature areas for other purposes) if managed with care, offer hobbyists and conservationists greater exposure to tropical biodiversity and concern for their preservation, and serve as a buffer via the captive breeding of endangered species like Victorian cichlids and rare bettas. On the other hand, a lot of collection activities (e.g. what has happened with the dwarf botia, bala shark and big mac bettas) is unregulated (perhaps because local authorities don't realise or don't care that if managed properly, they can be a sustainable source of revenue [via duties and quotas] for local economies), the overwhelming profitability of sheer habitat distruction (e.g. the use of peat swamps in Borneo to plant oil palms) in comparison to the less tangible alternatives (e.g. eco-tourism) and of course, the bad habit of the hobby itself in wantonly releasing non-native in freshwaters all over the world (e.g. cichlids and South American cats in SEA, cyprinids in South America, livebearers in Australia and Asia...). For marine fishes, I am no expert, but again, there's a fine line between sustainable enjoyment of the hobby and overexploitation (e.g. live rock, hard-to-keep species like the Moorish Idol).

  8. #8
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    tks Budak.. i've actually seen one of those sturgeons...damn scary big man!

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    Thx everyone for your reply, really is great to see everyone here has an interest in the environment and nature. BTW how do you normally know which fish are endangered and are illegal? I know of an aloe vera farm in Yio Chu Kang that has a large tank with several arapaimas and pacus, I think he has a permit for them. But the question is how did he get them in the first place if they are endangered?

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    There is some irony in that some endangered species (e.g. araipamas, tigers) are actually quite easy to keep and breed in zoos, so you have healthy captive populations which can be traded, sold etc..... while the real threat to the wild animals is loss of habitat, hunting (for sport or subsistence or simply fear) and environmental pollution.

  11. #11
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    yes we are horrid horrid things

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