[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Now Never returned to the wild

While I do concede the need to be concerned about disease introductions from
aquariums and a little reluctantly the once caught never released theme for
native fish.  I think we need to put this in perspective, ich is not a rampant
fish killer in the wild like it can be in an aquarium.  The unnatural crowded
and sometimes less than perfect conditions of an aquarium contribute
considerably to ich's success in killing fish.  From what I've read so far it
seems that fish hatcheries are the greatest danger due to fish husbandry
problems and mostly cold water hatcheries.  I would bet that most dedicated
aquarists would not have most if any of these problems.  At least I have never
allowed a fish that was sick and incurable to live or to mix with my other
fish.  I have bought fish with problems that turned up during quarantine that
were so strange that after considerable effort at a cure I just destroyed
them, once it was maggots inside the fish and another time it was a wasting
away even though the fish were eating well, a few other times fish have had
balance problems that didn't go away, all were destroyed.  Yes, I sterilize
the nets I use in my quarantine tanks, with hydrogen peroxide.  I don't have
(or at least very rarely have) any problems with ich, even power outages that
result in tanks dropping in temperature don't usually result in ich.  I think
we can give the ich theme a rest, It may have been introduced but it isn't a
rampant fish killer and no populations of fish are endangered by it.  Saying
all that, I still think that all reasonable means should be used to prevent
release of diseased fish to the wild, if that means once caught never
released, so be it.  On the other hand I have a small hatchery I am trying to
make a little money at, I am in a slump right now because of unexpected
weather problems, but I occasionally get it right and have fish to sell to pet
shops and farm ponds.  I'm not sure how this policy affects me.  Any thoughts
from on high as to how I can grow fish and not be limited in where I sell my
fish?


                                                                              
Michael