...the sharks would run in fear.

You ok, Greg?

Venting a little frustration about one of the fishtank inhabitants.

huh?

Damsel fish:

Domino:



3 stripe:



yellow tail:



sergent major:

Damselfish are probably the most common fish found in the marine aquarium industry. They are very hardy fish that can withstand elevated ammonia levels that other fish cannot. For this reason, they are many times used in new aquariums, where ammonia levels are high until the biological filter (bacteria) matures.

Damselfish are also very territorial. They become very aggressive once they establish a territory. The domino and three stripe damsel are great examples. Almost every aquarium store that deals in saltwater aquariums will stock these fish. When introduced into an aquarium, they will establish a territory similar in size to the one they would have in nature: about 2 square feet. In nature, that's not much space, in the home aquarium that's alot. These fish will abuse anything else introduced after them: i.e. more sensitive (and expensive) fish that cannot survive the initial conditions of a saltwater aquarium.

Anyway, I have been keeping saltwater fish and reef aquariums for 10+ years. I just broke down a 75 gallon reef tank and used some of the inhabitants to create an 18 gallon micro reef setup. A couple of damsels and a tomato clown went into this tank (I should know better than to overcrowd by now) and the damsels were not exactly seeing eye to eye. Things have calmed down quite a bit, though, so all should be OK.

I'm sure the flames will be coming from those opposed to the hobby. We are an easy target to blame for the reefs problems worldwide, where, in fact, the hobby has very little impact compared to destruction by overfishing, agricultural runoff, etc.

We all need hobbies Greg.
Mine?....I spend hours trying to touch my nose with the tip of my tongue. It hasn't been very rewarding so far, but at least it's a little more eco-friendly than yours.
I don't particularly want to throw the first stone, but I guess that some masochistic quirk in your personality must make you desperate to receive abuse, because I'm sure that you realise that the majority of us will think you're one helluva Delia*.
I've witnessed at first hand, local diving "fishermen" on the reefs of the Philippines. They use washing up bottles filled with a cyanide solution which they squirt onto the face of the reef in the direction of the fish they are attempting to capture. Not only does this immobilise the fish but it kills the even more delicate living coral in which they are attempting to hide. The fish are then gathered up & shipped to wholesalers before finding their way to aquarium owners tanks. A good few survive, but many never recover from the effects of the cyanide. Sometimes they die instantly but more often it will be a few weeks later, either in the holding tanks at the wholesalers or in their final prison (Joe Publics tank), as the chemical has caused irrepairable damage to their internal organs.
Now, I fully appreciate that not all aquarium fish are caught in this way & certainly not Damsels as they are so bold that you hardly even need to use a net. But some (& it's usually the more exotic & rarer specimens) are.
So I'd argue, that whilst I enjoy admiring them through the glass of an aquarium as much as the next guy, it's a luxury which we can ill afford. The cost to the marine habitat is simply too great a price to pay.
* For a definition of Delia, either buy the latest Oxford English dictionary, or better still see the "Honeymoon" thread in the Trip Report section.

Andy, the use of nets to catch fish has been introduced to local "fishermen" in the Philippines. There's an organisation (can't think of its name), that has been educating the Philippine people on the benefits of these nets over the use of cyanide. Past use of the cyanide has significantly damaged much of the reef, and this in turn has created job losses. As far as how the toxin affects the fish, well, the cyanide occupies the oxygen-binding site in hemoglobin, blood's oxygen-carrying protein. This makes the hemoglobin unable to transport
oxygen to the body's tissues and organs. If enough of the hemoglobin binding sites are blocked, the fish can't get enough oxygen to survive.. Local "fishermen" are also learning a little about reef ecology and fish biology. But, all that said, some local people are still using the cyanide! Sadly, many people that buy the fish, are unknowingly contributing to the destruction of coral reefs and marine ecosystems...S

Uh oh....Sandy is in the process of setting up the 55 gal. tank I bought her for Christmas. (last year it was scuba lessons, which led to a trip to Bonaire, which led to the aquarium....this is getting to be very, very, expensive).

Anyway, most of the fish for sale at our local aquarium store are "tank raised," and we will purchase only those which are.

Steve

You reeftankers already know about this I guess but I found this place interesting. http://www.tbsaltwater.com/

They are raising their own coral in the FL water. Tank raised fish sounds like a good idea. Where do you find the dedication to take care of those reef tanks?

The last few years has seen a great increase in the availability of both tank raised fish and captive propagated corals. It is certainly possible to setup a tank without using any specimens collected from the wild. To claim the marine aquarium hobby has zero impact on the reefs would be untrue, but if managed correctly, the impact can be extremely small. How many reefs have been damaged by scuba divers fins? Is that stopping diving? The real problem that I have with wild collection is the collection of species that simply will not survive in captivity. Take the flower pot coral (goniopora) as an example. This coral is very commonly found in stores, always wild caught, and never survives long term. This coral will last 6 months or so in a tank, but always dies after about this period of time. The reason? Nobody knows, but it is not getting something it requires to survive. It is species like this that sgould be left in the wild.

Cyanide fishing is not as common as you will be led to believe. In the past, it sure was. But importers and dealers have quit supporting suppliers that use these methods. Dead or dying animals do nobody any good.

I think you would find that among the dedicated reef aquarists, there is a deep desire to see minimal impact to the worlds reefs from this hobby. These individuals care and understand more about these animals more than the average diver in my opinion. To these people, the reef is not just a couple weeks a year diversion, but a daily part of there lives.

Thanks Greg for your response.

I have several tanks now and have had my oldest for about 6+ years. One of my tanks in located in my office and through which I have introduced dozens of folks to the beauty and intrigue of the coral reef. I go to great lengths to educate people about our marine world and just how fragile it is.

The vast majority of tank hobbiests and related service people I have met are all deeply concerned about the impact on the environment. Certainly an industry like this cannot exist without having some danger of willful exploitation of coral reefs but frankly I believe the benefits of responsible education and responsible ownership out weigh the downsides.

As a result of my tank hobby I became a diver and have turned no less than 10 others onto the sport. I give to 4 different ocean/sea life related charities and have spoken out to everyone who will listen (and I can run my mouth).

Of course the insanity of cyanide is alarming and somewhere way down (or way up) the cycle some poor guy buying a fish for his tank is involved but lets get real these uneducated folks in backwater 3rd world countries are destroying their reefs for a myriad of reasons and the solution is not to stop the acquariam trade but to educate them and help them find other ways to earn a living.. ways that have positive impacts on the environment.

I have "personally witnessed" bahamian fisherman pouring GALLONS of COLOROX on the reef to get the lobsters to come out into their nets. I confronted a guy in a grocery store in the Abacos who was buying 10 bottles of bleach. I said "Hey you are not going to pour that in the ocean are you?" to which point he just looked at me and rolled his eyes. When I related this story to another local at the watering hole he told me "listen it is not our fault lobster tails sell for $10 per pound.."

See the insanity?

It is not any different than the Brazillians who burn the rainforest for lumber. Is it?

What is the solution? Certainly not stopping the acquariam trade or stopping the use of wood in construction.

Acquariam owners have a responsibility to take their knowledge and passions to the streets and do everything they can to educate anyone who will listen.

Sorry for the blabber mouth but sometimes I get worked up!

Oh and on the Damsel fish thread...

About a year ago I had to tear down one of my tanks to get a very aggressive Damsel out of the tank.

Another solution is to just rebuild/rearrange the reef and therefore everyone has to find their "new own space" but there are obvious downsides to tearing your reef up anytime you want to introduce new friends into the tank.

I use tank bred critters and aquacultured corals and live rock

Thanks for the info & the web site. We have a yard pond and bring in some smaller goldfish to the aquarium inside over winter. I love the saltwater aquariums. But I'm not ready to commit time or money for anything larger. Many years ago (30) a friend had a salt tank I don't think he could keep anything longer than about 6 mo. One of the things I like about this site is the sharing of interests

The hobby has advanced alot in 30 years. Heck, the hobby has advanced alot in the last 5 years. A couple of great sites to gather info from others in the hobby:

http://www.reefs.org

http://www.reefcentral.com

These sites have very active message boards where you will find people ranging in experience from novice to expert. Some of the authors of the books you will find in pet stores regularly visit and contribute to these sites.

One thing I would like to point out, is be wary of what the local fish store tells you and tries to sell you. Living in Houston, we have dozens of stores that sell marine equipment and livestock. Only a couple would I purchase livestock from, and only one would I take advice from. I have been doing this for a long time, and have made all the mistakes. Many of the local fish stores still promote keeping marine tanks the way we did 15 years ago. Let me tell you, the hobby has advanced and these stores have not kept up. Marine animals can be kept alive in captivity longer than they can in nature. The lack of predators allows for this. This wasn't the case 15 years ago, with the husbandry techniques promoted at that time.

As for hardware purchases, buy over the internet. I regularly beat local prices by 50%. A couple of good sites:

http://www.marinedepot.com

http://www.premiumaquatics.com

As for livestock, I usually purchase over the internet as well. You cannot find everything locally that the internet sellers can get you, and the livestock locally is very often in bad shape. A couple places I use:

http://www.ffexpress.com

http://www.exoticfish.com

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to emial me.

I should probably add:

I believe in the next 5-10 years coral and fish imports will be banned by law. This will put alot of pressure on the hobby. For that reason, captive bred livestock will become the sole supply for the hobby. As I said earlier, captive bred livestock is readily available, but usually costs more than wild caught. Captive bred is usually more hardy though, as it does not need to adjust to aquarium life, that is the only life it knows. Here are a couple of suppliers of captive bred animals:

http://www.drmaccorals.com/

http://www.tropicorium.com/

Greg

Thanks for the links. Like many in this "expensive and high maintenance" hobby, I have evolved from the "retail guy" to the "service company" to now a "wholesaler" providing my stuff. I too focus on aquaculture solutions.

Fortunately, I ave had very little turnover in my tanks. The only new stuff coming in seems to be from folks getting out of the hobby and trying to find a home for the animals.

I have not made any purchases in quite some time either. Really, once the coral starts to grow you need to find somebody to take the excess.