OP
OP
It's sad, almost every day someone comes into our store that bought a fish at another store and introduced a parasite to their tank that kills all their fish. We preach about doing a QT and buying aquacultured, but sadly most folks don't, that is until they lose big.
The quality of wild collected fish nowadays is pathetic and I refuse to stock them anymore.
I have been a marine aquarium hobbyist since 1965 and worked in this industry since 1968 and the quality of most wild collected fish has deteriorated in recent years. There are a few exceptions but not enough to make selling them worthwhile. My opinion now is that it is cruel to bring those fish from the wild just to kill a large percentage in captivity.
Importers and wholesalers bring in hundreds or thousands of fish weekly. Their systems constantly have an influx of new fish, potentially reinfecting their systems regularly. Despite, or because of, constant medications and UV sterilization the fish harbor these parasites and become resistant to many popular treatments. The systems are seldom if ever completely cleaned. I've been to nearly every wholesaler, some are better than others and some are just horrible. The big box online retail vendors drop ship from or are a retail outlet of these wholesalers. As a vendor I can not profitably sell most fish and compete with a vendor that drop ships from a wholesaler or is the wholesaler selling retail under an assumed name. The unsuspecting hobbyist receives fish directly from a wholesaler's tank. It may have arrived to them that very day or the day before from a long international journey. That fish may have been swimming on the reef just a few days earlier and is now confused, totally stressed, vulnerable, and not eaten and is unfamiliar with the foods you might offer it. Your fish has been in the wholesaler's tank for a short period of time. It likely has not been fed and it is swimming in water that circulates with every other fish in hundreds or thousands of other tanks and even though it may be clean it comes in contact with a constantly refreshed supply of "bugs". As someone that has spent my whole life dedicated to helping animals I just think the whole process is disgusting now. Sure, fish breed and produce hundreds or thousands at a time in the wild, but being a part of this dirty trade that often includes using dangerous chemicals to collect these fish is too much for me any longer. OK, I'm getting old and crotchety!
As a participant to a recent MACNA, it opened my eyes about how many types of fish are now captive-bred and tank-raised. While you still can't get many desirable fish aquacultured, the selection is such that now I think you can have a beautiful reef aquarium with enough diversity of all cultured fish. The more we support aquacultured fish then the hatcheries will produce more and greater diversity.
So, put your money to work to help change things. The price difference for an aquacultured Yellow Tang or Coral Beauty is still significantly higher than their wild collected cousins, but you are getting a better quality fish with no diseases or parasites. We do not stock any wild collected fish in our systems, we do not keep copper or other chemicals or drugs in our systems, we do use traditional filtration and good husbandry practices including feeding several times a day with high quality Reef Nutrition products appropriate for each individual fish.
OK, that's my preaching for today. Bash or tear it apart if you wish, but I will not stock or sell wild collected fish, there are tons of places that do any that's up to them. I turn away customers every day that come to our retail outlet that ask me to get certain fish for them that are only available wild collected. Some can be convinced that other similar aquacultured fish are better and others will go to the local disgusting pet shop and bring home an infected fish and kill their tank and then tell everyone that saltwater aquariums are impossible to keep. But we know better, don't we???
The quality of wild collected fish nowadays is pathetic and I refuse to stock them anymore.
I have been a marine aquarium hobbyist since 1965 and worked in this industry since 1968 and the quality of most wild collected fish has deteriorated in recent years. There are a few exceptions but not enough to make selling them worthwhile. My opinion now is that it is cruel to bring those fish from the wild just to kill a large percentage in captivity.
Importers and wholesalers bring in hundreds or thousands of fish weekly. Their systems constantly have an influx of new fish, potentially reinfecting their systems regularly. Despite, or because of, constant medications and UV sterilization the fish harbor these parasites and become resistant to many popular treatments. The systems are seldom if ever completely cleaned. I've been to nearly every wholesaler, some are better than others and some are just horrible. The big box online retail vendors drop ship from or are a retail outlet of these wholesalers. As a vendor I can not profitably sell most fish and compete with a vendor that drop ships from a wholesaler or is the wholesaler selling retail under an assumed name. The unsuspecting hobbyist receives fish directly from a wholesaler's tank. It may have arrived to them that very day or the day before from a long international journey. That fish may have been swimming on the reef just a few days earlier and is now confused, totally stressed, vulnerable, and not eaten and is unfamiliar with the foods you might offer it. Your fish has been in the wholesaler's tank for a short period of time. It likely has not been fed and it is swimming in water that circulates with every other fish in hundreds or thousands of other tanks and even though it may be clean it comes in contact with a constantly refreshed supply of "bugs". As someone that has spent my whole life dedicated to helping animals I just think the whole process is disgusting now. Sure, fish breed and produce hundreds or thousands at a time in the wild, but being a part of this dirty trade that often includes using dangerous chemicals to collect these fish is too much for me any longer. OK, I'm getting old and crotchety!
As a participant to a recent MACNA, it opened my eyes about how many types of fish are now captive-bred and tank-raised. While you still can't get many desirable fish aquacultured, the selection is such that now I think you can have a beautiful reef aquarium with enough diversity of all cultured fish. The more we support aquacultured fish then the hatcheries will produce more and greater diversity.
So, put your money to work to help change things. The price difference for an aquacultured Yellow Tang or Coral Beauty is still significantly higher than their wild collected cousins, but you are getting a better quality fish with no diseases or parasites. We do not stock any wild collected fish in our systems, we do not keep copper or other chemicals or drugs in our systems, we do use traditional filtration and good husbandry practices including feeding several times a day with high quality Reef Nutrition products appropriate for each individual fish.
OK, that's my preaching for today. Bash or tear it apart if you wish, but I will not stock or sell wild collected fish, there are tons of places that do any that's up to them. I turn away customers every day that come to our retail outlet that ask me to get certain fish for them that are only available wild collected. Some can be convinced that other similar aquacultured fish are better and others will go to the local disgusting pet shop and bring home an infected fish and kill their tank and then tell everyone that saltwater aquariums are impossible to keep. But we know better, don't we???
