There is lots of beautiful and interesting fish which are rarely seen in public aquaria. I wonder which fish Zoochatters would like to see more?
Basically any of the smaller endangered fresh water fish (that are "boring little brown jobs") which require ex-situ captive breeding programs to prevent extinction like : Devils hole pupfish Charco Palma pupfish Mezquital pupfish Cuatro Cienagas killifish Chapultepec splitfin Highland splitfin There are many more from places other than Mexico and the USA I suppose but I'm just going with the ones that I know about. I think colonies of these fish species could be maintained very well in captivity for a fraction of the cost of large marine species in big flashy aquariums.
Fangtooth Blobfish Celestial eyed goldfish Lumpsucker Numbray Giant oceanic manta ray Lampreys Dragonfish Sarcastic fringehead Straited frogfish Blue parrotfish Dwarf batfish Psychedelica Blue-winged lionfish Freshwater pufferfish Tigerfish (freshwater) Trumpetfish Chinese paddlefish
Whale sharks, mantas, and mola are the big ones and fairly rare in captivity, so those. Also, deepsea critters like snailfish and snipe eels as well as some of the cave fish.
Definitely the Salamander Fish, (Lepidogalaxias salamandroides), although it's a ray finned fish, care would be similar to lungfishes as it shares many habits. It's small, the only member of its family and also endangered and in need of captive research, right now the population is in good shape but in Australia one fire, cyclone or flood can wipe a species out so it is important to set up captive populations of limited range species such as this. If Australian aquariums had to choose an ex situ freshwater fish species this is what I'd recomend. Unfortunately, in Australia, there is little to no regard, even by Aquariums and Zoos about our endangered native freshwater fish species, the private trade has been successful in creating insurance populations for more common species such as certain goby, rainbow fish and gudgeon species but the Zoos and Aquariums need to step up to help our Galaxias and other endangered fish species. The only freshwater fish species that are given sufficent conservation attention are the Yellow Belly, Silver Perch and Murray Cod, why? Because they are all money fish and sportfishes, sportfishes and sportfishing is great, I go out fishing for yellowbellies (although ive never caught one) a couple times a year, but this is unacceptable and causing the decline of many many other natives. What disgusts me the most is the greed for money when it comes to trout which pose a massive threat to Galaxias and other small endangered fish by eating them and their eggs. Trout are stocked into man made dams which isn't too bad but they are stocked into rivers. Whats worse is they are actually protected during their spawning season, every school holidays thousands of trout are stocked. What's also concerning is there are no programs to eradicate carp from certain rivers and dams, although it would be near impossible to eradicate carp completely, it is possible to eradicate them from specific areas. Redfin (European perch) are another problem, but they are left alone, why?, because they are sportfish. The problem isn't so much lack of regulation but instead it absolute disregard by the government for the native fish of this country.
Never heard of this species before (not very good with fish anyway) so looked it up and it is fascinating indeed. It is listed as "endangered" by the IUCN but you mention that there is a lack of captive research so do you know if it has been established ex-situ yet ?
There has been a couple attempts by unfunded individuals with permission from the government. Apparently they aren't awful in captivity but not amazing either, no breeding success but their hasn't really been a real attempt. EDIT: I've found a couple minor articles with some funded work being done although it's very minimal in the grand scheme of things, and mainly involves hobbyists trying to collaborate with the government.
Seems like a shame (to put it mildly, perhaps disgrace would be a better word? ) that there hasn't been any real effort made to establishing an insurance population in captivity. Especially considering how amazing this fish is in terms of its behaviour and ecology. If some stochastic event does occur that wipes out the wild population it is inevitably going to go down in history as yet another incredible Australian creature that bit the dust thanks to an almost total indifference.
Theres a lot more Australian animals extinct than people may think. I'll make a quick list, this is post European settlement, although some of these animals would have already had their populations effected by dingos. Mainland Mammals Desert Rat Kangaroo Pig Footed Bandiccot White Footed Rabbit Rat Central Hare Wallaby Eastern Hare Wallaby Lesser Stick Nest Rat Toolache Lesser Bilby Long Tailed Hopping Mouse Big Eared Hopping Mouse Darling Downs Hopping Mouse Crescent Nailtail Wallaby Desert Bandicoot Broad Faced Potoroo Blue-Grey Mouse Gould's Mouse Dusky Flying Fox Birds Paradise Parrot Reptiles Victorian Earless Dragon Amphibians Northern Gastric Brooding Frog Southren Gastric Brooding Frog Sharp Snouted Torrent Frog Mt Glorious Torrent Frog Fish (Saltwater) Smooth Handfish Tasmania Mammals Thylacine Inverts Lake Pedder Earthworm This is just the mainland and Tasmania, theres TONS more on Norfolk and Christmas island.
Yes and every one of these (and all those that will probably be added to the list this century) is a tragedy.
Picking species close to home, I would like to see captive breeding programs for the Kiyi and Bloater. These two fish are endemic to the North American Great Lakes and were formerly common throughout them but are now very rare and only found in Lake Superior. They are under threat from invasive species and 3 close relatives also endemic to the Great Lakes have gone extinct. Also, the Kiyi and Bloater are virtually unknown even to fisherman in the area and it would be great to raise awareness for them, as well as to safeguard the species' futures.
I know this might come across as way too overidealistic but its a shame that it has to come down to hobbyists lobbying the government for collaboration to save this species though isn't it ? I think that this is something that the Australian government should ultimately be committed to doing themselves (and on a global scale so many other governments with other species). Also, why aren't zoos or aquariums within the continent doing anything for this species ? I bet that given how resilient it is to surviving droughts it could be quite easily maintained in captivity and (providing a bit of research was done to improving its husbandry) even bred too.
I wouldn't say the Australian government should be ultimately commiting but it is extremely disappointing that they are playing a very minor role.
Yes, it seems that their effort leaves a lot to be desired, maybe it will eventually come down to passionate aquarist hobbyists to save this species.
Unfortunately Australian aquariums aren't very conservation minded, especially when three of the five biggest aquariums are SEALIFE branded and one of the other two is a Seaworld. While most Australian aquariums have a native freshwater section it is almost exclusively focused on large freshwater fish (Murray Cod, Lungfish) or common smaller fish (Empire Gudgeon, Desert Goby, Archerfish etc), even then more than half the enclosures are taken up by 'pet shop reptiles' (Bearded dragons, shinglebacks, blue tongues, Peron's tree frog etc), Sealife demolished a perfectly fine exotic freshwater section for this substandard pet shop esque display, and don't get me started on SEALIFE Sunshine Coast...... The only fish (not including sharks) species I know SEAlife Melbourne has that is endangered and attempts to breed is the Spotted Handfish which is a beautiful species.
That is all very depressing to hear and especially considering all of the singular freshwater biodiversity of inland waters across the continent. It really seems like such a loss that so little is being done to conserve these species to me and chiefly when there are so many brilliant conservation initiatives for terrestrial biodiversity in Australia.
Most of the species I’d love to see are things that cannot be put on exhibit successfully, and it will be a long, long time, if ever, before an aquarium has the sufficient money, space, and technology to do it: Great White Shark Giant Oarfish Giant Squid Colossal Squid Humboldt Squid Greenland Shark Portuguese Man o’ War (adult) Beluga Sturgeon (adult) Lion’s Mane Jellyfish (adult) Ocean Sunfish
There are a couple of exhibits I don't know if exist but id like to see (if they do then someone please tell me where to look!). Firstly a good UK natives exhibit. A mix of pike, trout, tench, carp, roach, perch etc. The kind of things that would get dad's chatting with their kids about their young fishing days. Then I'd also like to see an exhibit with only common food fish, haddock, pollock, cod, sole, (tuna?!...swordfish?!).
Half of these aren't fish. The fish I've enjoyed seeing include Photoblepharon Garden eels Tadpole fish
Fish I'd like to see more often are: Small shoaling, pelagic species like anchovies. They seem to be more common in Japanese aquariums, but are rare elsewhere. They're just fascinating to watch. Deep-sea species. Probably unrealistic for most aquariums, the high expense and difficulty of obtaining and caring for deep sea animals is probably the only reason they aren't kept more. Australian marine (non-great barrier reef) species. More common in Australian aquariums but rarer elsewhere. There are so many cool species, old wife, moonlighter, rainbow cale, Port Jackson shark, sydney octopus, warty prowfish, dhufish, white-barred boxfish, long-snouted boarfish, western red scorpionfish, etc. Rare/obscure species in general.
