Are These in Captivity?

He visited Grodno in 2016 as well as 2019, the Aardwolf photo is likely from the earlier year.

~Thylo

 

Yep.

 

wow.That's depressing. Does any zoo plan to exhibit the species infutre?

it's not. i know that for a fact.

 

How?

~Thylo

 

i'm subscribed with email updates from Zooinstitutes. A few months ago, i got the animal gallery updated for Grodno Zoo added 54 pictures email and Aardwolf was among these, with a few othe hyenas.

 

I see. Perhaps they have received an additional animal then!

~Thylo

 

Has anyone in history ever attempted to keep a basking shark or a thresher shark?

 

Brest's abyss box was limited to inverts rather than fish. However, depending on how people define "deep sea fish", there are either no places that have ever kept them or several in Asia, Europe and North America that have. All "deep sea fish" that have been kept were caught at depths of no more than a few hundred meters (often even shallower), although certain less vulnerable inverts have been brought up alive from somewhat greater depths.

The "standard" that have been kept by several aquariums in all three continents are spotted ratfish, deeper-living rockfish and pineapple fish, along with the occasional roughy, deeper-living seabat, hagfish and various species from the tropical twilight zone (best example is the tank at Steinhart Aquarium, which is unsurprising when knowing who's associated with California Academy of Sciences). That said, Japan is certainly ahead in this group with many others having been kept. Getting them to the surface alive is difficult. If that's a success they're typically no harder to keep than other marine fish; just need colder temperatures and darkness. However, once true deep sea fish—deeper than the few hundred meters depth that currently represents the limit—start appearing in aquariums (and I'm sure it'll happen some day, probably by an Asian aquarium), bigger versions of Brest's abyss box might be necessary.

A couple of Japanese aquariums have kept them. They're among the semi-regular deep sea animals kept in Japan. Not the same species as the one at Monterey, but in the same genus, look very similar and with similar lifestyle.

No to the last three. Deep-sea anglerfish has been kept once short-term at Numazu in Japan. Incidentally caught and was injured in the process; it didn't last long. None of these are regular within the depths that currently represent the approximate max for bringing up fish in good health.

First has been attempted with a level of success, but not even close to the point where it's full life-cycle (reproduction) is a realistic possibility. It largely follows the principles of keeping standard jellyfish, just more difficult. It's covered in International Zoo Yearbook 40. In addition to the box jellies that have been kept at James Cook University (not on public display), a few others have been kept short-term elsewhere very occasionally (as mentioned by others in this thread). The only regular is Chironex yamaguchii that is kept in Japanese public aquariums every year when its their season.

Comb jellies are regularly kept at aquariums and present no major issues compared to other jellyfish, but the one you've picked is both rarely seen and deep-water. Finding one would be difficult. Getting one alive would be even more difficult. And comb jellies in general are about as short-lived as other standard jellies. Additionally, although I don't know if it has been studied in the bloody belly comb jelly, there are at least some deep sea jellyfish (e.g., Periphylla) where the reddish color is caused by a pigment that becomes toxic to the animal if exposed to light. They quite literally die from light. Blue bottom has been tried in Japan, essentially following the principle of Portuguese man-o'-war and with similar levels of success. Firefly squid occasionally appear in Japanese aquariums and are as unsuitable for captivity as other pelagic squid. They don't live long.

The most common hagfish in Asian aquariums is Eptatretus burgeri, which is unsurprising since large numbers are caught locally for food. Other species also appear in aquariums of the region, but much less frequently.

Most places that have lampreys only keep them quite short-term. The only places I know of that kept them longer fed them their natural diet. In other words, they were kept in large tanks with lots of relatively large fish and would occasionally feed on their neighbours. Although I'm sure they didn't enjoy it and it does raise some ethical questions, it apparently can be done without risking the life of the victim, as long as it is relatively large and there are many fish in the tank, minimizing the chance of the same fish being targeted repeatedly.

No. Additionally, there are no public aquariums with a very big tank at the temperature range preferred by basking. Not that size necessarily would stop all Chinese aquariums from trying (as we've seen for whale shark). Thresher sharks are semi-pelagic to pelagic depending on exact species, have a peculiar feeding behavior that would be difficult to accommodate in captivity and their few semi-pelagic to pelagic relatives that have been attempted were either essentially impossible (mako) or possible but very difficult with a significant rate of loss (great white). Salmon and porbeagle are in the same group, but haven't been tried. I know one aquarium that planned on porbeagle, but has pretty much given up since sourcing them has proven impossible (they'd only accept an incidental catch). It's obviously difficult to know if porbeagle would end up in the seemingly-impossible group of pelagics (mako), very difficult but there are indications that it should be possible (blue) or can-be-done pelagics (oceanic whitetip).

 

No. If you look at the zoos he as visited so far this year, Grodno is close to the ones in Lithuania he has visited.

 

just ask him.

 

What species of polychaete worms are kept in captivity? I've seen a few small ones, mostly Christmas tree worms. I'd especially be interested in seeing a Bobbit worm.

 

Quite a few, but more by accident being brought in in rock or substrate. I think the private trade has more interest than the public aquaria.

 

Found the collection in Costa Rica that claims to have Great potoo. Toucan Rescue Ranch, just north of San Jose, as of December of last year. Best species list ever
https://toucanrescueranch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/TRR-Species-List.pdf

 

Does anyone know where and how many Japanese serows are kept in captivity?

 

A couple zoos in the US keep them.

 

How about African & Amazonian Manatees, or some freshwater cetaceans? I know the Amazon River Dolphin and I think an Amazonian Manatee too are in European zoos, but I can’t recall which right now.

 

Trevor Zoo in NY should still have one.

~Thylo