Differences in what region a fish comes from

[BRSBrokeMe]

So I have been looking at fish to purchase for my reef tank and was wandering after looking at the fire fish on live aquaria
They have the option in what country the fish is from what does that mean are there differences in the looks or size of the fish
I have herd that all fish from Fiji are brighter colored that fish from other locations
Can anyone shed some light on this for me
Thanks

 

[threebuoys]

Sometimes the color variations are definitely different, not sure if that means Fiji fish are always brighter. Also, it can be an indication of whether the fish was caught using cyanide. Its illegal in some countries but not others. In some cases fish caught by using cyanide may experience difficulties several weeks later, even death without obvious reasons.

 

[MONTANTK]

I wouldn’t say all fish from Fiji are brighter but there are absolutely differences in coloration depending on where they were taken. Some areas provide better coloration for certain species but they’re not easily accessed so they don’t make their way into the hobby very often.

One of my favorite examples is the Regal Angel. Specimens collected from the Red Sea have very vivid coloration whereas Indo specimens are a little more pale

 

[Zionas]

Oh have you personally had any experiences with cyanide caught fish? If so which species were they and where were they collected? Sucks that it’s still a thing.

 

[threebuoys]

Just to clarify, Fiji doesn’t use cyanide. Walt Smith is the exporter there, and he is a strong net collector user. American Samoa is similar. The primary cyanide regions are Indonesia, Philippines, with Eritrea, Cook Islands and Vietnam being suspect.
My long term cyanide studies indicate that almost all of the mortality from this happens in the first 45 days upon arrival in the US.
Jay

Oh have you personally had any experiences with cyanide caught fish? If so which species were they and where were they collected? Sucks that it’s still a thing.

Zionas,
This is a quote from a post in a different thread concerning continuing use of cyanide..

I've had a couple of suspicious fish deaths that make me think this could have been the cause. Last summer I got a Coral Beauty dwarf angelfish sourced from Indonesia that was beautiful, eating well, very active, the star of the tank. After 3 weeks, overnight she became very sluggish, started hiding, stopped eating and died in 2 days. No way to confirm this was due to cyanide but no other fish in the tank had any symptoms of any illness, no similar behavior. Instant death is hard to identify cause, particularly when no other indicators. Thing is, I replaced the coral beauty with another and exactly the same thing happened again. At that time I also go a bi-color dwarf. The two swam together and got along fine until the Coral Beauty died. Its been 3 months since and the bi-color is still alive and healthy as ever. So, I'll never know for sure.....

 

[BRSBrokeMe]

Sometimes the color variations are definitely different, not sure if that means Fiji fish are always brighter. Also, it can be an indication of whether the fish was caught using cyanide. Its illegal in some countries but not others. In some cases fish caught by using cyanide may experience difficulties several weeks later, even death without obvious reasons.

Do you know what what location are known for using cyanide seems people wouldn’t buy from those locations

 

[MONTANTK]

Do you know what what location are known for using cyanide seems people wouldn’t buy from those locations

Indonesia is a big one if I’m not mistaken

 

[GlassMunky]

So I have been looking at fish to purchase for my reef tank and was wandering after looking at the fire fish on live aquaria
They have the option in what country the fish is from what does that mean are there differences in the looks or size of the fish
I have herd that all fish from Fiji are brighter colored that fish from other locations
Can anyone shed some light on this for me
Thanks

It’s more just a way for them to keep track of the fish they got from their suppliers. Sometimes the same fish from a different region will cost more because of shipping/export reasons.

If there are physical differences it will(should) note that, but generally it’s just for their record keeping

 

[Zionas]

It’s sad what people would do to make a quick buck. I’d be willing to go to great lengths, if I had the power, to force them to adopt good collection methods, or risk sending in teams from Western countries (and pay them much more) to collect properly.

Their livelihoods are the issue of their governments, we just want healthy fish.

 

[MONTANTK]

It’s sad what people would do to make a quick buck. I’d be willing to go to great lengths, if I had the power, to force them to adopt good collection methods, or risk sending in teams from Western countries (and pay them much more) to collect properly.

Their livelihoods are the issue of their governments, we just want healthy fish.

The governments in those areas are actively trying to ban cyanide fishing but it seems as if the locals are not willing to comply. I agree that the practice needs to end. It’s not worth jeopardizing livestock

 

[Zionas]

Have you had any personal experiences with cyanide caught fish?

 

[MONTANTK]

Have you had any personal experiences with cyanide caught fish?

None that immediately stand out. When I worked at an LFS we would occasionally get shipments where certain species wouldn’t make it which could have been attributed to cyanide. Only thing that specifically comes to mind is we received an adult crosshatch trigger that was blind. Cyanide poisoning seems like it made sense since a blind fish would likely not have survived very long in the wild

 

[Zionas]

I see. Which other species do you suspect were caught that way?

 

[MONTANTK]

I see. Which other species do you suspect were caught that way?

Honestly it’s impossible to say. So many species come from multiple areas of the world. I think a safe assumption is anything from Indonesia runs the risk of being exposed to cyanide

 

[threebuoys]

If a fisherman uses cyanide, he will most likely use it for all the fish he catches, not just some, since he is unlikely to target just one species on a dive.

 

[Zionas]

Really hope this whole practice goes away. It would suck to lose a fish to circumstances beyond our control.