[alt.aquaria] breeding marine fish

richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (05/01/88)

In article <3021@leo.UUCP> harald@leo.UUCP ( Harald Milne) writes:
>into this from sci.bio, perhaps we should cross post? At least in this
>newsgroup we are not trying to mutilate or alter mice !
>
>	What do you think ?
>
>	Any budding marine bioligists out here? Let's hook up!

Pardon my cynicism, but there's a difference between ichthyologists
and a bunch of programmers reading sci.bio

If anybody really can tell me whatever the resolution was with
genus Apistogramma, or what happened to genus Roloffia I'd
be thrilled all to hell and gone.



-- 
               "Words of wisdom Lloyd, words of wisdom"
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM                          rutgers!marque!gryphon!richard

sabol@reed.UUCP (Bryan Sabol) (05/02/88)

>	I would like hear more. I wish like hell we could suck bioligists
>into this from rec.bio, perhaps we should cross post? At least in this
>newsgroup we are not trying to mutilate or alter Gods creations!

	>What do you think Richard?

	>Any budding marine bioligists out here? Let's hook up!



	Yup, i really don't know if you could call me one, but I'm just
finishing up my thesis (in undergrad work) in Biology....my thesis was
doing a behavioral study of the process of acclimation of clownfish
(anemonefish) to anemones.  The whole study was a bit involved, dealt
with a lot of background research with previous experiments, and
actually was a good deal of fun.  I'd be happy to chat about it, if
people want to hear more...


bryan sabol
fishman at reed

dalka@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Ken Dalka) (05/02/88)

> 	The #1 class are the easiest. The fish do most of the work for you. They
> nurture and protect until birth. After birth, you have to seperate the "fry"
> or else the parents may accidently devour them. (Along with everybody else!)
> Clownfish are probably the easiest. I'm still waiting for my clowns to mature,
> so I can't report first hand. But I'm ready as an expectant father. Clowns
> are so easy, you usually can find tank breed in stores for 4 bucks. I don't
> think anybody bothers to capture clowns anymore, except for the more rare
> types.

Ive been told by a local pet shop that ALL marine fish are still caught
in the wild. Some time ago there was a company that breed clowns ( I think
its aquarium systems, the people who make instant ocean) but were 
unsuccessful at making money at it. It is easy as you say to breed clowns
and some other fish but very expensive to rear the young. The right foods
are difficult to come by in a large commercial environment.
(The same pet shop owner has a pair of goby mandarins that spawn monthy
in the store, but the eggs never hatch or something) So, strangely enough,
it costs more to rear the young than go out and catch the little buggers.
I suppose it cant be that hard to catch clowns, after all they just run
to an anemone where a diver can get both an anemone and the clown(s)
for the price of one!
-- 

					Ken Dalka (Bell Labs)
					ihnp4!ihlpg!dalka
					IE 2F-518  (312) 416-7437

richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (05/03/88)

In article <5305@ihlpg.ATT.COM> dalka@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Ken Dalka) writes:
>> so I can't report first hand. But I'm ready as an expectant father. Clowns
>> are so easy, you usually can find tank breed in stores for 4 bucks. I don't
>> think anybody bothers to capture clowns anymore, except for the more rare
>> types.
>
>Ive been told by a local pet shop that ALL marine fish are still caught

As Harals pointed out, we get tank bred clowns down here, almost to the
exclusion of wild clowns.



>in the wild. Some time ago there was a company that breed clowns ( I think
>its aquarium systems, the people who make instant ocean) but were 
>unsuccessful at making money at it. It is easy as you say to breed clowns
>and some other fish but very expensive to rear the young. The right foods
>are difficult to come by in a large commercial environment.

It's no harder to grow marine rotifers than fresh water rotifers.


>(The same pet shop owner has a pair of goby mandarins that spawn monthy
>in the store, but the eggs never hatch or something) So, strangely enough,
>it costs more to rear the young than go out and catch the little buggers.
>I suppose it cant be that hard to catch clowns, after all they just run
>to an anemone where a diver can get both an anemone and the clown(s)
>for the price of one!

Divers. Right.

The reason marine fish are so cheap is they pay third world people
sub slave wages to drug the reefs by throwing cyanide in the water
when they then scoop up the stunned fish and ship'em.

Ask your local dealer if he GUARENTEES his marine fish wern't captured
with drugs. Of all the ads I've seen, only a very few state their
fish were captured without drugs.

Drugged fish has a very small chance of surviving more than 6 mos.
Fish drugged with cyanide will have a greeish, grainy, deteriorated
liver, while healty fishes liver will be the color of "normal"
liver.




-- 
               "Words of wisdom Lloyd, words of wisdom"
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM                          rutgers!marque!gryphon!richard

richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (05/03/88)

In article <9145@reed.UUCP> sabol@reed.UUCP (Bryan Sabol) writes:
>
>>	I would like hear more. I wish like hell we could suck bioligists
>>into this from rec.bio, perhaps we should cross post? At least in this
>
>
>	Yup, i really don't know if you could call me one, but I'm just
>finishing up my thesis (in undergrad work) in Biology....my thesis was
>doing a behavioral study of the process of acclimation of clownfish
>(anemonefish) to anemones.  The whole study was a bit involved, dealt
>with a lot of background research with previous experiments, and
>actually was a good deal of fun.  I'd be happy to chat about it, if
>people want to hear more...

decent.

Ok, a guy called, I think, Peter Davies was suposed to have revises genus
apistogramma (south american dwarf cichlids) in the late seventies,
early eighties. Any clue as to wheather this happened ?

Also, what happened with genus Aphyosemion/Roloffia ?

Signed,
Anxious



-- 
               "Words of wisdom Lloyd, words of wisdom"
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM                          rutgers!marque!gryphon!richard

Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (05/05/88)

In article <5305@ihlpg.ATT.COM>, dalka@ihlpg (Ken Dalka) writes:
> Ive been told by a local pet shop that ALL marine fish are still caught
> in the wild.

This couldn't be doing much good for the survival of these species or the
ecological balance of our planet (so what else is new?).  When you consider that
some species (most African cichlids, to take a freshwater example) are endemic
to one small region of the earth (often a single lake), and there can't be that
many of them, it's a shame that they are caught and imported in such large
numbers rather than bred.  Of course, one still needs to catch some to breed
initially, but this should be restricted to a few licensed biologists or
ichthyologists.

-- Ashwin.

ARPA:    Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu
UUCP:    {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,cmcl2,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin
BITNET:  Ram@yalecs

halo@cognos.uucp (Hal O'Connell) (05/09/88)

In article <3777@gryphon.CTS.COM> richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) writes:
}In article <9145@reed.UUCP> sabol@reed.UUCP (Bryan Sabol) writes:
}}
}}}	I would like hear more. I wish like hell we could suck bioligists
}}}into this from rec.bio, perhaps we should cross post? At least in this
}}
}}
}}	Yup, i really don't know if you could call me one, but I'm just
}}finishing up my thesis (in undergrad work) in Biology....my thesis was
}}doing a behavioral study of the process of acclimation of clownfish
}}(anemonefish) to anemones.
}
}decent.
}
}Ok, a guy called, I think, Peter Davies was suposed to have revises genus
}apistogramma (south american dwarf cichlids) in the late seventies,
}early eighties. Any clue as to wheather this happened ?
}
}Also, what happened with genus Aphyosemion/Roloffia ?


Ok, I'll come clean. I guess I sort of qualify as a biologist.
I do have an Honours BSc and I did specialize in Ichthyology
(Specifically, salmon toxicology and embryology). But, hell, I
work with these stupid machines these days, so I'm a little out of
touch with the real world 8-}.

Despite this, I have no idea of the answers to Richard's questions.
In fact, I didn't realize that there was a revision occurring with
Apistogramma spp. Anyway, since you can still get Dwarf Rams
(used to be Apistogramma ramerizi (spelling?)), despite our
best efforts to impose an artificial taxonomy, the fish continue
to rise above it...

-- 
Hal O'Connell		decvax!utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!halo
Cognos Incorporated	P.O. Box 9707
(613) 738-1440          3755 Riverside Dr. 
			Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, K1G 3Z4