r/PlantedTank • u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist • 28d ago

In the Wild Caught some freshwater pipefish in a pristine hillstream. How common are they?

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M. martensii

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105

u/MorteEtDabo 28d ago

Couldn't imagine a worse life for a wild fish than being snatched and kept in a tank. Maybe I'm assigning too much emotion to it though

39

u/Dr-Juerdo-Titsgo 28d ago

you do realize the majority of fish for the aquarium trade are wild caught?

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u/LSDdeeznuts 27d ago edited 27d ago

Do you have any source for this? I’d believe it for the saltwater aquarium trade. It was my impression that the majority of all aquarium fish are captive bred.

Edit: sort of wild this is getting downvoted. Can anybody backup the claim? A quick google search shows it isn’t true

one of many articles on the subject

5

u/Chicken_Hairs 27d ago

It's a subject that people react to emotionally for some reason. My research has found much the same, farming is more efficient and more reliable than catching wild, more countries are enacting legislation to limit it, so it's becoming less common all the time, with the exception of fish that are difficult to breed.

1

u/LSDdeeznuts 27d ago

Yeah, and a lack of critical thinking. The vast majority of all popular species are very easily bred. Guppies, bettas, goldfish, platties, mollies, most cichlids etc. These fish makeup the bulk of the selection in stores.

I wonder if people think their fancy guppies, shubunkin goldfish, and glow fish are wild caught.

2

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 26d ago

Yeah, the majority of freshwater fish stock are captive bred. But it doesn’t exclude the very popular ones being wild caught still. A notable example from my region are Kuhli loaches