this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2024
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Actually, so fucking many species of fish are disappearing from nature’s ecosystems, especially rivers and streams because of things like poisonous chemicals/pesticides.
The fish hobby is a way to preserve nature. Take it from Heiko Blehr, a German researcher, author, photographer, and filmmaker. He is best known in the scientific community for his contribution to the exploration of fresh and brackish water habitats worldwide. He literally wrote the textbooks for caring for many of the most famous and sensitive fish like discus and has traveled the world many times over and discovered thousands of new fish species.
Here is a great documentary on him and how he does it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3KccNiFIVQ
here is the time code for what I'm referring to: https://youtu.be/S3KccNiFIVQ?t=2554
downvote me all you want, nature is dying and it is up to us to preserve these creatures and protect them from climate and ecosystem disaster. But nooo, leave the fish in nature so it can die to poison or a decaying ecosystem and get completely wiped out. One of the world's leading researches is totally just full of shit tho right?
Being an activist for something you don't understand can easily do more harm than good and spread false information.
Axolotls are nearly if not already extinct in the wild. Hobbyists and researchers are the only thing keeping them in existence. Everyone adores seeing my axolotls and get emotionally invested in them almost immediately, which provides a very tangible in person thing for them to think about. It's a good jumping off point for talking about what's happening with lakes and rivers.
There are some things we shouldn't take from the wild. Like I believe sourcing completely natural live rock is unethical as corals have it hard enough and it's super easy to farm our own live rock. Some things it's fine and can even help preserve them or teach people about conservation. I learned so much back when I took care of a marine tank. I have a much stronger understanding of how intricate and fragile our ecosystem can be and people should be allowed to learn and see that for themselves
But captive axolotls are not really true axolotls, they are different from the near extinct wild ones (they have a bit of tiger salamander mixed in). And this really only holds true if people breed their wild-caught aquatic animals - otherwise you are just grabbing a living being from its home and putting it in a tiny cage. There is a place for wild caught fish, but it doesn’t seem very kind to remove them from their habitat to languish in an aquarium for a fraction of their normal lifespan, which is undoubtedly what happens a lot..