Fish Survival Statisitcs

[shogun323]

So I was thinking...... (scary, I know) but I was wondering what percentage of fish actually survive the transition from collection through distribution to retail and then finally survive acclimation in the hobbiests tank? Anyone have any thoughts???
Xdave this seems up your alley.

 

[dc2mlbsm]

im with you
***)

:thinking:

 

[1journeyman]

It's going to depend on what type of fish you are talking about and how quickly you purchase it... the more handlers it goes through the higher the mortality rate.

 

[shogun323]

Good point. It would definately depend on the species and how hardy that species is. I'm sure the Threadfin Lookdown probably doesnt fair as well as a damsel. But I am curious for a general statistic. 50%?????? Higher????? Lower???

 

[mrdc]

I read in one of my books that clowns have a dismal collection rate...something like a 90% mortality which is why is best to get tank raised. I need to look it up to get the exact mortality rate.

 

[soto]

in regards to my tank......just about none.

 

[shogun323]

Bump

 

[xdave]

The species does make a difference, so I'll start at the beginning and look at fish as a whole. This does not apply to Hawaii or Australia. They squirt a barrel of cyanide over a reef, fish float up and they grab the ones that are still breathing. Thats about 10%-40%. They take them to a collection station (1-8 hours trip) who takes the ones that are still alive. Thats about 25%-50%. They are put in pens in the water, within the next 48 hours another another 10%-50% die. Then they ship either directly to a distributor or a larger collection station. My place served 5 states so we were big enough to get ours directly from the biggest and best collection station. What we used to get was usually about 10% DOA. We'd loose less than another 5% within 2 days. Almost all the fish we sent to stores made it. This does not take into account the eggs our food sources destroyed by the cyanide.
Tank bred fish have no impact on nature. Tank raised fish are from larval fish collected in the wild, only about 1% of them would have survived anyway so thats not too bad either. Fish from Hawaii and Australia are different because although wild captured, they are net caught only.

 

[nereef]

Originally Posted by xDave
The species does make a difference, so I'll start at the beginning and look at fish as a whole. This does not apply to Hawaii or Australia. They squirt a barrel of cyanide over a reef, fish float up and they grab the ones that are still breathing. Thats about 10%-40%. They take them to a collection station (1-8 hours trip) who takes the ones that are still alive. Thats about 25%-50%. They are put in pens in the water, within the next 48 hours another another 10%-50% die. Then they ship either directly to a distributor or a larger collection station. My place served 5 states so we were big enough to get ours directly from the biggest and best collection station. What we used to get was usually about 10% DOA. We'd loose less than another 5% within 2 days. Almost all the fish we sent to stores made it. This does not take into account the eggs our food sources destroyed by the cyanide.
Tank bred fish have no impact on nature. Tank raised fish are from larval fish collected in the wild, only about 1% of them would have survived anyway so thats not too bad either. Fish from Hawaii and Australia are different because although wild captured, they are net caught only.
thanks, dave.

 

[shogun323]

Thanks xDave. That is just the kind of stuff I was interested in. It's pretty sad to think about how many fish die in the process of one making it successfully to the hobbiests aquarium.
I think I'll make it a point to always buy aquacultured whenever I can.

 

[mrdc]

That's why I wish all fish were tank raised. I was unaware of the collection preocedures until I got my books. Does the cyanide destroy reefs?

 

[a&a2]

how do you know if they are aquacultured or wild?

 

[mrdc]

As for as I know, you have to go by the store selling them. They usually advertise whether or not they are tank raised.

 

[a&a2]

I didn't think many were able to be tank raised? What are the most popular to be tank bred / raised?

 

[shogun323]

Originally Posted by A&A2
I didn't think many were able to be tank raised? What are the most popular to be tank bred / raised?
I read somewhere that people have the most success raising Clowns.

 

[xdave]

Remember, tank raised and bred are 2 different things. Tank raised could be almost any fish. The wild lavae are collected and then raised in captivity. Besides clownfish, pigmy angels, cardinals, and a lot of gobies can be tank bred. Quite a few invert are tank bred as well. There is also "sustainably collected" fish. That's a vague term used for collection methods that don't harm the environment; net caught, slurp guns, trapping, etc.. There is also cultured live rock which looks just as good and about the same price as the rest.
Anyone who sells any of these will advertise them as such.

 

[mrdc]

I'm bumping because I am lazy to look in my book and if I have already read it, I can't remember the answer. Does the use of cyanide for collecting fish harm the reefs?

 

[xdave]

Yes, spraying an extremely deadly poison over a delicate reef damages it. :thinking:

 

[mrdc]

Originally Posted by xDave
Yes, spraying an extremely deadly poison over a delicate reef damages it. :thinking:

Well that's what I figured

Sorry for the dumb q!