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Thread: I need your Tropical Fish Knowledge!! A Quest for Conserva

  1. #1
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    I need your Tropical Fish Knowledge!! A Quest for Conserva

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    I hope a lot of people respond...I am kind of out of my league. Earlier in October I posted on another forum about applying for an educational grant to allow me to have a 75 gallon planted tank. (im a science teacher )

    Well most of the grant applications deal with some sort of project, which I was having trouble coming up with. Well after doing some research I think I have decided on some sort of Conservation with tropical fish….

    This is where I need your help!!! Do any of you know about a species of tropical fish that lives in soft water where they are becoming endangered because their habitat is declining or some other pressure…it doesn’t have to be fish either…maybe shrimp or something.

    Or here is another Idea… What about a fish that is popular and the tropical fish industry haven’t found out how to breed them in captivity.

    I dont know much about Killies but I read here earlier this week about some endagered bettas...



    Thanks for your help

    Ben
    ben

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    we'd probably be able to come up with literally hundreds of species fitting your description! So, what about the project, you needed a species of fish that is endangered, then what next?
    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

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    O.k…this is my thinking so far. Once we find a species that is endangered/threatened or is being harvested in its natural environment because there is no knowledge on how to breed it in captivity. I will try and set up a planted tank that is as good a replica of the fish’s environment as possible. During the school year my students will research a lot of topics about this fish and where its from. We will try and come with a hypothesis as to how they breed and try to implement that inside the fish tank. Its not the science of how to go about doing this project, but finding the right species.

    Here are some limiting factors that might narrow that list of one hundred down to a few

    1. I must be able to obtain several of these species in the United states
    2. The environment in which the fish lives in should be fairly easy to duplicated.
    3. The fish should be fairly small (the maxim tank size is 75 gallons)
    4. The fish should be fairly popular in the aquarium business
    5. It should be a freshwater fish (none that migrate to saltwater environments during its life cycle)
    6. If at all possible there should be some research done on the fish and its environment.
    ben

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    Hello Ben, you could start by contacting people from the AKA. I believe they're based in Mishawaka, Indiana. That's practically within your home state. Best time to get rare fishes is during fish auctions held by local aquarium organizations.

    There are several threatened and endangered species of killifishes. I am maintaining one myself. In fact, several of us maintain it in our tanks. It's the Simp. constanciae. Their natural habitat is in severe decline. There are at least 2 Aphyosemion species that are endangered, especially those found on Bioko Island.

    There are several endangered bettas, like those found on the Indonesian island of Bintan and like our Thai counterparts have said, their national treasure, Betta simplex.

    Wish you luck in getting what you need.
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

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    Quote Originally Posted by brbarkey
    During the school year my students will research a lot of topics about this fish and where its from. We will try and come with a hypothesis as to how they breed and try to implement that inside the fish tank. Its not the science of how to go about doing this project, but finding the right species.
    Ben, how old are your students? I think the project you are undertaking would be quite a tough one for young children. The limiting factors you described would by themselves, create a problem for you to find the right species. Most aquarium fish are bred commercially in fish farms. Those that cannot be bred in captivity are usually very rare and expensive. Wild fish can cost a bomb and usually, only die-hard hobbyists are prepared to pay the high prices asked of them.

    Anyway, there are 2 fish I know which may be suitable for your project. One is the Altum Angel, an Angelfish which is from South America and has not been bred in captivity by hobbyists, other than one fellow in Japan who wrote an article about it in TFH magazine. I've heard rumours though that the fish is being bred successfully by commercial fish farmers in Taiwan. The other fish which may be suitable for your project is the Endlers' Livebearer. It's almost a Guppy and you should be able to find them in your fish shops. The Endlers' Livebearer is an interesting fish because it's one of the rare species around that has not been hybridized. I've heard they are from Venezuela and their natural habitats are either already destroyed or in the process of being so.

    Loh K L

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