Captive-Bred Marine Aquarium Fishes--The Right Choice?

It seems it is really hard to sell a captive-bred animal in today’s marine aquarium industry, and I’m not entirely sure what that is all about.

Sure, a tank-raised fish is usually more expensive, but it is also generally a hardier animal. In addition to captive-bred fishes being better suited for aquarium life than wild-caught fishes, over the past few months there’s been a slew of press against purchasing certain wild-caught animals like the Banggai cardinalfish. In the case of the Banggai cardinalfish, concerns over stable wild populations have led the marine aquarium hobby press to call for a self-imposed ban on wild-caught specimens of this spectacular fish. And yet a sea change has not occurred, and hobbyists are still buying wild-caught fishes. Why is this?

In the case of the Banggai cardinalfish, it has everything to do with the fact that despite the press’ full-court press, nobody—and I mean NOBODY—is supplying tank-raised Banggai cardinalfish on a commercial level to the industry at present. I conducted my very own, unscientific survey a couple weeks ago by travelling to no less than seven local fish stores in the Los Angeles area. While many of these stores had Banggai cardinalfishes, nobody had tank-raised ones or even knew where they could get them. When I asked whether or not hobbyists had been requesting captive bred Banggais, the response was a categorical “no.”

I understand it’s hard for the hobbyist to buy something that is not available, but, by the same token, without the demand, where is the incentive for people to start commercially breeding Banggai cardinalfishes? Or to place the responsibility more firmly with the hobbyist, why are responsible aquarists not demanding captive-bred fish? When faced with the decision between buying a tank-raised fish and a wild-caught fish, why are aquarists not choosing the tank-raised animal more? Either aquarists 1) don’t buy the line that tank-raised fishes are, more often than not, a more suitable choice for the aquarium, 2) don’t believe that wild populations of some fishes are in a dangerous state of decline, or 3) aren’t willing to pay more money for a tank-raised fish.

While I hate to say this, I do believe it comes down to lack of education and money. Why do I say this? Because I don’t want to say that the marine aquarist doesn’t care. I believe that most marine aquarists are good people who have a profound appreciation for the ocean and the animals that live in it. Most aquarists I know want to do the right thing, even if that means paying more for a captive-bred animal. This is why I will be dedicating several blog posts here at SaltwaterSense to the topic of captive-bred marine fishes throughout 2009.

I will not advocate (as some recently have) that the industry should, in the future, depend entirely on captive-bred species. This is neither realistic, nor is it in the best interest of impoverished island nations where the marine aquarium industry provides a valuable source of income to local communities. I do believe we need to ramp-up commercial breeding programs for many popular marine aquarium fishes like dwarf angelfishes, certain tangs and, of course, Banggai cardinafishes, but I also believe we need to educate hobbyists on where upwards of 95% of marine aquarium fishes are collected. We need to begin initiatives to help local fishermen develop sustainable fisheries that conserve the ecosystem and supply a robust and sustainable marine aquarium industry. And of course we need to educate the hobbyist about why, in some cases, demanding and buying the more expensive tank-raised species is the right thing to do.

Comments

[Ret]

I hear you on all counts. It's very interesting to me that either the demand or the education is not there given the industry media's full-court press on boycotting wild-caught Banggais. To add another layer, however, I'm getting some information out of Indonesia that contradicts some of the stats recently published in the hobby rags. Stay tuned...

[Kim Prentice]

I have been searching everywhere for tank raised Banggai Cardinals. A few local fish stores (North Carolina) gave me the offhand comment that "sure they are tank raised" but when I questioned more closely about the source it became evident they were, in fact, likely wild caught. As I am sure you know, wild caught Banggais have a horrendous mortality rate right now as well as not being the right choice for this endangered species! I did track down a few online breeders including Inland Aquatics who do have tank raised Banggais for sale. It would be vastly preferable though to me to be able to see the specimen I want to buy, particularly because I am trying to find a breeding pair!