Ocean or tank bred?

knots

Member
I was under the impression that most fish and inverts are caught wild and are not tank bred. Is this true or are most fish and inverts tank bred now. Please straighten me out on this and if most are tank bred what are some fish and inverts that can't be bred.
 

drummerbum

Member
well i'll tell you this about tank breeding inverts. Some times it happens without intentions. for example I had 2 nassarius snails hitch hike on some live rock for my nano, and about a month later I saw about a million little tiny nass. snails barely visible to the human eye. so I dont know does that count as tank breeding inverts??
 

shawnhardy

Member

Originally posted by JtoZ116
i would say majority of fish are tank bred, but i dont know about inverts


I would disagree with this statement. Others may have more information, but I think the opposite is true.
 

knots

Member
That was my thought shawn, I thought most saltwater fish do not breed in captivity. I think I have heard people here say they don't buy fish that are caught in the ocean. I agree with the idea but I don't think they would have many choices then. Anybody else know?
 

harlequin

Member
99% of all marine fish in this hobby are wild caught. Clowns and one or two others are the only fish that thus far we have been able to breed on a commercial level. So far we just have not been able to find a way to breed most fish in a way that is economical. True a few people might be willing to pay top dollar for say a captive bred flame angel but most will would rather just pay $40 bucks for a wildcaught. Unlike fresh water fish whose habitats are relatively simple to replicate, ocean fish require much more in terms of resources and space and spend much time just getting past the larval phase. Very few motile inverts are tank raised either. Theres a few snails that can be but it i just too resource intensive to compete with the price of wildcaughts. Corals on the other hand are easier and you should be able to get tank raised corals of about any species you want, just be ready to pay for it. The quality though on all tank raised species is worth the price IMO.
 

greatfullreefer

Active Member
Very true that most species of fish will not breed in captivity, however many suppliers carry tank raised fish where the eggs are taken from the wild and hatched in captivity. Roughly out of a thousand eggs only a handfull will survive to adulthood in the wild where if the eggs are harvested and hatched in captivity many more will survive.
 
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