this has been bugging me for a couple of weeks now....
we were looking at a quite large maroon clownfish....no intentions of buying, just had never seen one so large
anyways, the guy starts telling me how it was wild caught, where it was from and how he prefers wildcaught over tankbred...they are more healthy & on & on....he doesn't carry tankbred
he then went on to say the same about the corals...wildcaught corals are more healthy than fragging & blah, bah, blah
i have to admit, that i wasn't paying close attention to him, because by that point is was a little disgusted, because i believe whenever possible one should opt towards frags & tankbred....i believe we need to preserve whenever possible and that the arguement of wild caught being more healthy is false
anyways, i thought i would ask, are there others out there that prefer wildcaught?...and if so, why?
i know this could be a controversial topic, but am just curious
__________________ Wendy
___________________________ " Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine."...Buddha
one day, all wild specimens will be illegal.....i've seen this direction for years. my favorite lfs buys captive bred even though he would lose sales because captive bred is much more expensive. my personal experience is that wild corals and fish are much more susceptible to diseases, carry parasites, are much more stressed, and are much pickier in diet. maybe that lfs have never been into a livestock wholesaler..especially after unpacking a wild shipment. does he even know the process of fish and coral collection, harsh temporary conditions, and shipping logistics?
I love frags and love my clarkii (ORA) clown. The only wild caught I would do is a aggressive tank like triggers or harlequin tusks, lions and others. but thats about it, I would still be tickled to see these captive bred or raised. now that I would pay for.
see, i thought most would look at it the same i did
walrus, i agree with ya......someday here soon, it will all be illegal
maybe veriann can confirm this, i think in australia they trying to fish protected under the animal protection laws that protect cats, dogs & such....as far as i am concerned, great idea
they have been doing fish studies that show that these animals are thinking feeling creatures....they need to be protected, imho
__________________ Wendy
___________________________ " Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine."...Buddha
from what i know about australia, they are super protective about the reef. no corals, and now getting a personifer or scribbled angel is like pulling teeth. can't blame them, they had that crown of thorns starfish scare, the caulerpa taxifolia episode, global bleaching, and that's not counting the horse problems, rabbit epidemic and countless other scenarios. indonesia at this point is studying plans to eradicate all coral and reef fish trade by 2010. i can go on forever, but i'll piss someone off sooner or later.
all valid points of view, i have to agree with most! dreams, like anywhere, we face the hard fact that the government of the day dictates policy. we have some strict laws in areas, & believe me some people try to take more that is deem the law & bam, the EPA & Parks&wildlife will if caught red handed will take the boat the car, & if u re-offend to many times they will try to take your house & throw u in jail. but when they take the boat u were riding in, most learn to take the hit & move to another area or stop totally! we rape & pillage the reefs in general way to easy & without regard for how long it takes to replace that vacant area. even trees cleared in the forest can grow back quicker that the reefs.
im not going to get into a really big "welcome to my brain" spill, but i believe reef keepings should have a licence grading system & registration like reptiles, if u cant demenstate u can look after them, u dont get a licence!simple as that!
it opens up the black market more this way i guess, but considering they have to cover the tracks well if they want to continue harvesting in that area, its prob going to do less damage in the long run!
the sea to me is such a wonderful element of nature,& LFS although i know they need to make a living, but they sell to a mother or father of the kid who screams nemo, mum i want nemo. knowing full well that fish bowl size tank they just purchased cause they dont even want to hear of anything more expensive than that, is going to crash & the fish dead within a few weeks at best!
to put it simply as i can, we or nature or both are causing the heating of the oceans in places where reefs grow, and species of corals are being wiped out to the point of extinction without our dirrect interaction cause something as simple as a rise in temp can not be adapted to!
so, yes after all im for & against wildcaught! tank breed is prefered where ever & when ever possible, but on the flip side, if corals continue to die in the wild, maybe some would benifit in the hands of the experienced among us so we can ensure their continued survival!
I always ask the LFS about the origin of the species I am selecting. I decided early on that I would not purchase any wild caught items. Heck, I actually felt guilty when I had my live rock shipped in because I knew it was wild harvested.
unless u spend the time to seed your own out of limestone or equivilant, i dont see any other choice wildone! dont feel to guilty, ur providing the means to keep them tip top!
unless u spend the time to seed your own out of limestone or equivilant, i dont see any other choice wildone! dont feel to guilty, ur providing the means to keep them tip top!
aragocrete.
60-70% of my rock is home made... cement basically.. http://www.garf.org
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unless u spend the time to seed your own out of limestone or equivilant, i dont see any other choice wildone! dont feel to guilty, ur providing the means to keep them tip top!
Walt Smith exports lots of man made LR from Fiji that's been curing in the ocean for about a year and a half. Cool stuff and very interesting!
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