Zoo seeks mate for last surviving 'gorgeously ugly' fish

lizardfishman

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 15, 2005
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I'm not sure if this has been posted before or if this is where I should post this, but I thought y'all would like to see this.

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22468206

Text:

London Zoo is appealing to fish keepers to try to find a mate for a critically endangered, tropical species.

The Mangarahara cichlid is extinct in the wild but the three in captivity are all male.

Described as "gorgeously ugly", the Zoo is hoping to start a conservation programme if a fit female can be found for the captive males.

And with two of the males now 12 years old, the quest is said to be extremely urgent.

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I think there's probably a very slim to no chance of this fish surviving”

Brian Zimmerman
London Zoo
These cichlids were named after the Mangarahara river in Madagascar where they were first found.

The construction of dams on the river caused the streams they lived in to dry up and the fish is now believed to be extinct in its natural habitat.

Bachelor boys
There are two males in captivity at London Zoo and another in Berlin. There had been a female in captivity at the German zoo but attempts to breed ended in disaster when the male killed her.

"It's a fairly common thing with cichlids," London Zoo's aquarium curator Brian Zimmerman told BBC News.


The hope is that the much sought after female cichlid will be found in a private collection somewhere around the world
"They are unusual fish compared to many in that they practise pair bonding and parental care of the eggs and the fry, so there's a lot of tussling that goes on between them."

Having carried out a search with other aquariums around the world and failed to find a mate for their bachelor boys, the team at the Zoological Society of London are now hoping that someone may have a female in a private collection.

According to Mr Zimmerman, if you have one you're likely to know it.

"They are not a particularly beautiful fish - they are gorgeously ugly, they are unusual. They are more a connoisseur's type of fish. They need quite a bit of space; the males are bigger than your hand, and they need a decent tank," he added.

Given the age profile of the London males and the failure to find a mate in the world's zoos, Mr Zimmerman is not very confident for the future of the species.

"I'm not very hopeful. This freshwater fish crisis is huge worldwide, and as water becomes diverted for human use it becomes scarcer and fish generally lose out," he said.

"I think there's probably a very slim to no chance of this fish surviving."

London Zoo is asking anyone with information about female cichlids to email the team at fishappeal@zsl.org

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Big Jay

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jul 3, 2008
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Man I hope someone can help. The fish can be seen in this video:

[video=youtube;6n_xnMtPLn0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n_xnMtPLn0[/video]
 

Thelatinofishlover

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 17, 2012
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man i hope someone has a female for them boys!
 

Anchovie

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2012
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Jersey Shore
That's a terrible situation. But if someone had a female specimen of a species where there are literally three left, we would know who they were. Their best bet, sad as it may be, is probably to cross breed to a genetically similar fish to produce females, and breed females back to a male of the dying species. They'd still be hybrids, but by line breeding back to a male of the dying species several times, they may wind up saving a whole species.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
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dragonfish

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 17, 2006
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Very sad. Wonder how many species this happened to already and continues to happen without our ever knowing.
 
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projectile

Gambusia
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Oct 24, 2007
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lets hope MFK is able to help, who knows there might be more than one female with some body some where, i really hope things pan out positively here.
Fingers crossed!
 
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Miguel

Ole Dawg
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Dec 28, 2006
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Very much south..
Worthy effort! Hope someone out there has one

( has happenned with the Spix Macaw )
 

Miguel

Ole Dawg
MFK Member
Dec 28, 2006
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Very much south..
Have asked for this to be moved to Africnas. Might be a better chance there:)
 
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