Captive bred fish: Please Respond

Troy F · #1 06-20-2002, 12:32 PM

How many of you would pay more for captive bred fish? I'm sure the price would be considerably more and of course the selection is limited. Have a look at www.orafarm.com/ and see what is available.

Oops, try that.

[ 20 June 2002, 09:02: Message edited by: Troy F ]

BCReefer · #2 06-20-2002, 12:49 PM

Troy the link did not work for me? Anyone else?

Patrick

Troy F · #3 06-20-2002, 01:03 PM

That should work now.

Delphinus · #4 06-20-2002, 01:13 PM

Actually it's http://www.orafarm.com/

Personally I would like to see more of this kind of thing. I think it should be a two-way street: We as consumers should be willing and ready to pay more for captive raised; and retailers should be be willing to sell them for less than their wild-caught counterparts (whether this means subsidizing captive-raised, or artificially inflating the cost of wild-caught -- which way is the "better" ... well who knows. Retailers have to make a profit in order to stay in business .. more on this later).

I was quite disappointed to learn that C-Quest (another captive breeding facility) went under. The rumour I heard was that a cyclone, hurricane, or some kind of tropical storm basically wiped them out, they lost their broodstock, equipment was damaged, etc. and basically they just couldn't recover economically. So we lost one source of captive-raised fish. So obviously this business is rather precarious -- it's probably done more for the love of the hobby and "doing the right thing" rather than making a profit.

Ultimately, a business has to make a profit in order to be sustainable.

So, if being green is important to us, seeing captive-raised livestock over livestock that was recently plucked from the ocean, then we as consumers have to do our part, and support those businesses that are trying to offer this.

Just my $0.02 ... you asked if I was willing to pay more for this sort of thing and my answer is "yes."

[ 20 June 2002, 09:15: Message edited by: delphinus ]

Doug · #5 06-20-2002, 02:20 PM

100% agreement guys. My clowns are all captive bred, as are my 3 bangaii. The clowns are American, :D , while the bangaii are good ole Manitoba boys & girls. :D

Tony, I keep hearing that about C-Quest, then again, some time later, I hear they are still operational. :confused:

Cthulhu · #6 06-21-2002, 04:14 AM

Al my seahorses will definitely be captive bred, even if it should cost 2 or 3 times the price. For the ethic, and also becaue CB seahorses are much more easier to keep than wild caught ones.
For other fish, the only choice is usually only WC, except for the more common species like clowns. I dont think I'll be able to find CB scissortail gobies, but if I do I'll choose CB for sure.

DJ88 · #7 06-21-2002, 04:42 AM

I would pay more..

I have already looked into getting captive rasied. Trying to get a LFS to bring them in is difficult tho. Due to costs. Most people out there other than the more enlightened ;) won't pay top dollars for a captive rasied fish. Too cheap. and really don't care if it is taken from the wild.

ron101 · #8 06-21-2002, 04:44 AM

Considering we shell out 1000's on lighting, a large portion of which has to be replaced every 1-2 years I think paying 2-3 times more for captive bred fish is not out of the question.

Factor in that a healthy marine fish will outlive the average MH bulb by several times I think they are a relative bargain.

Another thing to consider is the losses associated with wild (aka drug) caught fish. These losses could potentially be drastically reduced. No more having to go through 2 or 3 fish in order to get a healthy one.

In short, I would definitely pay more for captive bred.

Ron

Bob I · #9 06-21-2002, 04:45 AM

Big Al's here in Calgary sells tank bred in Edmonton Ocellaris Clowns, as do Pisces. They are about the same price as wild caught. I had two, and found them to be the dumbest things on earth. They had no personality at all. My wild caught ones have lots of personality. All the captive bred ones learned to do was jump out of the tank.

Big Al's also sell tank raised Maroons and Tomatoes.

canadawest · #10 06-20-2002, 08:28 PM

As you could probably guess, I too am all for captive raised over wild caught.

Of course as a breeder of Bangaiis I am biased perhaps, but I do believe in the preservation of the species by reducing wild catches. My two Oscellaris clowns are captive raised.

But I too fall under the category of "price conscious" or even cheap. If my captive raised Bangaiis were being sold for twice the price of wild caughts, why would anyone (except for ethical type reasons) buy the more expensive ones?

I think that it boils down to increasing the awareness of the advantages of having captive bred livestock over their wild caught counterparts.