[Seek Opinion] Wild caught vs bred specimens

[eagleray]

Really sad to read what is happening to the "Galaxy rasbora". Was wondering besides this poor species, are there others that are also being driven to endangered status as a result of the aquarium trade

I am often in a delimea when i see "wild caught" specimens being sold in aquarium. Should I be buying them? How do I know that the specimens are not been over collected ?

I am sure this is not the first time this is being discussed ... but don't seem to be able to find much information to help one make such a decision

[budak]

it's hard to generalise actually. with the Galaxy rasbora, the concern is very real because the fish is only known from ONE key locality, so if this habitat is wiped out by collectors or destroyed by development, it's bye bye (save for captive bred specimens). With many other aquaria species (e.g. cardinal tetras, altums, many wild bettas, apistos) it may not be such an issue, as they have much wider distribution and natural populations are high enough to sustain collection.

A good read is: http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/biodiversi...rium_more.html

[eagleray]

Hi Budak
That was certainly a good read with a very balanced opinion. Thanks for the link. As with all trades, banning anything never seems to help and will only push up the prices of the trade, so I also believe that a balanced approach in the way to resolve any issue

Not quite aquarium trade, but was wondering if you have came across guides like this for freshwater or marine aquarium trade ? Certainly good if there is such a guide ...
Sustainable Seafood guides
http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp

Any idea what the marine aquarium trade is like ?
Being a diver, I know how difficult is it to look for something like a mandarin fish in nature... and was quite surprise to see the number of little jars with mandarin fishes/ baby octopus in a marine LFS in singapore. They seems to be treated a lot more "badly", kept in small jam bottles. Any idea if majority of these marine specimens are wild caught or bred ?

[Quixotic]

I would think banning can be a short gap measure, as it is much easier to implement. However, it must go hand in hand with other measures for a balanced long term success.

Heard of L46, Hypancistrus zebra? There was a supposedly high demand for this fish (in the trade) not too long ago that drives it to the endangered status. (Note: There is some contention whether the ban is due to the exploitation of trade or for other reasons)

The authorities then decide to ban the exportation of wild L46. Since then, aquarist are turning to home bred fishes and this may give some time for the fish to recover. However, the Brazilian government has plans to build a dam across the river and this supposedly will pose some threats to the fishes.

So I would say, most of the fishes that are endangered are due to the threat habitat loss rather than overfishing (as of now).

I am not into marine fishes but I think that the Mandarin fishes are definitely wild, as I recall that these are fishes NOT for the novice fishkeepers. Husbandry is already a great challenge, much less breeding them. As for other fishes, I have heard there are more farm bred fishes but your guess is as good as mine unless some scientific studies are made in this area.

[ahaetulla]

Hi Budak
That was certainly a good read with a very balanced opinion. Thanks for the link. As with all trades, banning anything never seems to help and will only push up the prices of the trade, so I also believe that a balanced approach in the way to resolve any issue

Not quite aquarium trade, but was wondering if you have came across guides like this for freshwater or marine aquarium trade ? Certainly good if there is such a guide ...
Sustainable Seafood guides
http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp

Any idea what the marine aquarium trade is like ?
Being a diver, I know how difficult is it to look for something like a mandarin fish in nature... and was quite surprise to see the number of little jars with mandarin fishes/ baby octopus in a marine LFS in singapore. They seems to be treated a lot more "badly", kept in small jam bottles. Any idea if majority of these marine specimens are wild caught or bred ?

Thanks for the link, budak!

eagleray, from what I've read, the vast majority of marine fish sold in the aquarium trade are, unfortunately, wildcaught. Some aquarists have managed to breed species like clownfish and seahorses, but I doubt that this is being done commercially because of the relative costs and effort required.

It's quite mind-boggling when one considers the fact that wild fish populations face so many other threats --overfishing for food, pollution etc... There is a Marine Aquarium Council that promotes responsible collection () , but I really wonder if the pet trade is sustainable in the long run. I suppose education would be the best way to persuade hobbyists to choose captive-bred or responsibly collected fish, but these remain considerably more expensive than wildcaught specimens, and it might be a difficult conversion to make.

[Jungle-mania]

Unfortunately, from my studies in my uni days, there is no real clear indicator to who is the real culprit is, but we generrally point vaguely to anyone who has a finger in the jar. The one with the most fingers in the jar would be the one that has either destroyed their habitat and/or create a demand on the market for them.