Where do they come from?

[angel]

I had read that saltwater fish don't breed in aquariums, but I do remember I was told tetras, danios, barbs, plecos, etc etc don't breed in aquariums too. Anyway, is it true that they don't? And if they don't, where do all the available fish come from? There can't be ppl out grabbing that many tiny fish and shipping them to pet stores, can there?

[sirknight]

Some saltwater fish are bred in captivity, an example would be the clown fish and there is a breeder in east Tennessee that breeds than.

There are also tank bred seahorses, gobies and dwarf angel fish that are bred in captivity.

However most of the other saltwater fish come from the tropical parts of the ocean, like Fiji, the Solomon island, Philippine's and in the USA Hawaii and Florida (but I think that collecting in FL is not legal).

Joe

[jgentry]

Anything tank bred in the saltwater world is usually listed a aquacultured. Most fish are still wild caught though. There are plenty that can be bred in aquariums though but a lot of them cannot or at least have not been yet. Most of the clown fish are now aquacultured. In fact fishey business in bowling green, Ky used to breed a lot of clown fish. At one time Mitch the owner was breeding several different types. He has sold a ton of the black percula's that he raised.

[angel]

Another myth dispelled! I can't believe how many fish spawn in captivity that I have been told do not. Really they can catch enough of the other fish to support the hobby for everyone who wants them around the world, though ? That's incredible.

[jgentry]

Aquarium trade fish collecting has never been as much of an issue as habitat destruction. Most of the time when collection is stopped it is due to habitat destruction or over fishing for food. I'm sure in some cases aquarium fish collecting is hurting certain populations though.

Next time you are in Bowling Green go to fishey business and check out there tanks. They generally always have a few tanks full of clown fish that they bred and raised right there in the store.

[sirknight]

The Philippine's is a perfect example of destruction. They were using chemicals to collect fish. The chemicals used not only killed the fish either immediately but the fish would die in a very short time after they were sold. Which in the beginning people were under the impression that these fish could not be kept.
This also destroyed some of the reefs.

[angel]

That sucks! Wouldn't want em if I did want them after hearing that.

[baisley101]

My clowns were tank raised.

[oldsaltydog]

I have a pair of buddah cardinal,s that are tank raised.Anytime you can acquire tank raised fish versus wild,go with the tank raised,they are usually much hardier

[samuelskelly]

I have a pair of yellow dot stingrays and they have breed in my tank.

[angel]

awesome then i will look for tank raised fish when i get started. gotta clear out the cichlid zoo first.