Wild Caught vs. Tank Raised

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Calihawk

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 15, 2010
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I got this from livefishdirect.com and I love the points that is made. What are YOUR opinions on this?


Wild Caught / Vs Tank Raised
  1. Wild caught fish are usually slightly malnourished with their fins bitten off and nipped at. My tank raised fish are plump and healthy with pretty fins, eggspots, and color.
  2. Wild caught fish have to be shipped 3 to 5 times before you ever get them which stresses them out. My fish are only shipped once.
  3. Wild caught fish are not happy most of the time and cannot adapt well to captivity so they just hide. My fish are comfortable and will act pleased to be in your tank.
  4. Wild caught fish are less likely to breed and show their full breeding colors in captivity. My fish will get their full colors rather quickly and will definitely breed in your tank.

F1 fish / Vs Tank Raised
  1. F1 fish can be nice if the person selling you them is actually telling the truth. They may even think they are telling the truth only because they have been lied to by someone else.
  2. F1 fish are expensive and look identical to my Tank Raised fish. You will not be able to tell the difference. My strains are excellent.
  3. F1 fish are likely to be accidentally mixed with the wrong species especially when it comes to peacocks or certain haps.
When you should buy F1 or Wild Fish
Like I said earlier there are a few reasons for buying F1 or Wild fish. You would do this if you absolutely cannot find a certain species of fish anywhere else. Why are certain fish I carry F1? Because I could not find a high quality strain anywhere else. I've seen a really nice strain of Wild Ahlis and my F1 Ahlis are turning out to be gorgeous. I could not find Kelisa or Furcifer anywhere else so I went with F1's, but that is really the only reason. If my Cobalt Blues or Red Top Zebras were not drop-dead beautiful I would go looking for a better strain. OK, I hope you all can understand, as people are being duped into thinking they need F1 fish every day by people who only want to make a fortune off them.
 
well actually i like w/c because you dont know what your getting it could be a new super high quality blood line or crappy one , but wild caughts usually have awsome colors, and i buy f1 because i know the blood is pure and not line breed
 
i feel better knowing the origin of my fish rather than buying an lfs one which could be inbreedd or even worse "PAINTED":irked:
 
I keep native fish (sunfish and minnows) and all of them have easily adapted to tank life. My male green sunfish was caught at around 3.75" (the largest I've taken home) and within a day or so he was out and about in his tank and eating well. It took three days for him to start eating pellets. The minnows and smaller sunfish love tank life, took to micro-pellets very quickly and love exploring my hands during water changes.

All of these fish are wild caught, and none of them were beat up or scraggly looking in any way. Beyond the first day or so, none of them moped around or hid and the colors on the green sunfish are very nice.

The only time I'd have a problem with wild caught is if the native numbers of a fish species were decreasing due to capture/removal for the aquarium trade. But done appropriately, I have no problem with it.
 
I have a mix of WC and TR fish. Many of the WC fish I have are near impossible to find TR (H. psittacus for example). A nice fish is a nice fish, whether it was WC or TR. I do make sure I buy from reputable vendors/hobbyists for fish I plan on breeding. The species I don't plan on breeding I've purchased from LFS (though I had some great LFS where I was).
 
I'm a big believer of WC fish, provided they are caught in a sustainable and responsible fashion. In certain areas such as the Rio Negro region of the Amazon, collection of ornamental fish such a cardinal tetras can provide a valuable source of income to local people and a good alternative to working for logging companies.
 
There are SO many more aspects to this, captive bred fish can be bred in horrible conditions in large numbers and shipped from as far as Asia, held in a wholesalers tank where more diseases can be introduced, shipped to a retailer where more diseases can be introduced, etc. Some fish cannot be captive bred without hormones, some fish in the trade aren't ever captive bred.
Wild fish aren't neccessarily shipped 3-5 times, it can be as simple as getting collected and shipped to a guy like Jeff Rapps or whoever and then shipped directly to you.
Both wild caught and captive bred fish can have a multitude of problems... It really comes down to buying from a reputable source and both wild caught and captive bred have their place in the trade for sure. I would never say one is better than the other in all instances.
 
ceeej31 said:
I'm a big believer of WC fish, provided they are caught in a sustainable and responsible fashion. In certain areas such as the Rio Negro region of the Amazon, collection of ornamental fish such a cardinal tetras can provide a valuable source of income to local people and a good alternative to working for logging companies.
Click to expand...

Also really depends, using techniques like cyanide for collecting is known to occur in the trade. Some species can be over collected, it really depends. It's also really hard to determine exactly what's going on in collection points unless you're there collecting yourself. The human element introduces inherent unpredictability, money is a very strong motivator to people.
 
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