# A nice link on wild caught vs tank bred cardinals



## spoonbeak (Feb 9, 2011)

Honestly, I prefer tank bred.


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## Swan900 (Apr 27, 2010)

Tank bred, little more ethical these days 

Swan


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## aman74 (Feb 19, 2007)

Swan900 said:


> Tank bred, little more ethical these days
> 
> Swan


Did you actually read the article though?


Every year, low water levels cause a natural collapse of the cardinal tetra population from which the few surviving fish spawn and regenerate the population. At their peak numbers, the fish can be safely harvested in large quantities with no significant affect on the end population.

“[The fishermen] are never going to catch every fish,” Dowd said.

Because of this reproductive cycle, cardinal tetra are an ideal sustainable resource, according to Dowd. When local fisherman harvest and sell this resource, they are not cutting down trees and destroying pristine rain forest, actions that are much more destructive.

"There couldn’t be a greener fish out there,” Dowd said. “They help poverty alleviation, and they’re connected to the environment.”


It's an interesting topic and one I'd like to learn more about. People automatically assume harvesting from the wild is detrimental and tank raised is better. I've got nothing against wild harvest if it's done in a sustainable and non-destructive manner. Problem is, how do we know most of the time?

Anyone know a bit about this or have any articles or references about aquarium fish sustainability? I'm only interested in owning eco friendly species.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

It's a great example of how 'green' is never as simple as it seems. 

People delight in driving a hybrid SUV but they would probably have a lower impact with a smaller and more efficient car. People come out to our island in Thailand and are so excited that we have no electricity, and call us 'green' - but we have 55 gallon drums sent out on boats to run our generator in the evening 

Tank-bred sure seems good for many species, but this could be an interesting exception.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

A surprisingly excellent article that contained much accurate and thought provoking information.

-Andrew


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## stsalerno (Feb 25, 2011)

When I got my cardinals I made sure they were tank bred and will do so again if I ever buy more. They are hardier than the wild caught cardinals. The fact that the locals use the fish as the main source of income doesn't really matter to me. Just like everywhere else the population there will grow and eventually the wild tetras will not be able to support the local economy. It doesn't matter if they will never catch every fish because one day there will be too many people fishing in the area for all of them to make a living. The locals will eventually turn to some other way to make money probably logging and then turning the cleared land into farm land. So in the end I don't feel like it will really make much of a difference to the environment where your fish came from. The only difference will be in the hardiness and lifespan of the fish.


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## aman74 (Feb 19, 2007)

stsalerno said:


> When I got my cardinals I made sure they were tank bred and will do so again if I ever buy more. They are hardier than the wild caught cardinals. The fact that the locals use the fish as the main source of income doesn't really matter to me. Just like everywhere else the population there will grow and eventually the wild tetras will not be able to support the local economy. It doesn't matter if they will never catch every fish because one day there will be too many people fishing in the area for all of them to make a living. The locals will eventually turn to some other way to make money probably logging and then turning the cleared land into farm land. So in the end I don't feel like it will really make much of a difference to the environment where your fish came from. The only difference will be in the hardiness and lifespan of the fish.


There's a saying that's appropriate here: "Don't always believe what you think".


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## stsalerno (Feb 25, 2011)

aman74 said:


> There's a saying that's appropriate here: "Don't always believe what you think".


 
Even if I'm wrong I still believe that tank/farm raised cardinal tetras adapt better to life in a home aquarium and for that reason I will only buy tank/farm raised tetras.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

The key for me acclimating wild-caught Cardinals is a UV. I always would lose about 50% during the first few days of acclimation. Many LFS reduced to carry them based on this. The following statement in the article rings very true with me.

_"At every transition point in the shipping process, the fish must be re-acclimated to their new environment, according to Gentile. This conditioning puts undue stress on the fish and makes them more vulnerable to disease, he said."_

A UV if set properly will kill many of the parasites that attack the fish while it's immune system is compromised. After a UV my success rate went up to about 90%.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

The article considers only the effects of the annual population crash on the species itself, and it may well be the case that humans collecting cardinals does not threaten the species. However, there is more to the issue than one species. Species don't occur in a vacuum - there are ripple effects. What other creatures depend on this annual crash for their own life cycles (I imagine it is a huge food source for other fish and birds, probably enough to even trigger their own reproductive cycles)? Is harvesting this wild species, all things considered, better than tank/pond raised (with energy use involved, etc.)? I'm not trying to answer that question or take a side on the tank-raised vs wild issue, just point out that there is no such thing as a free lunch.


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