One of the components of an upcoming aquaponics school project is the raising of fish, preferably endangered ones or of conservation value. This is a major project, and we have a 75 gallon tank. What are some good candidates for endangered fish we could be keeping? I am already thinking of either the Cichlid or Pupfish/killifish group. Preferably, we would like to either tie in the fish with a food crop we are growing in part of an aquaponics system, so they crop and fish be from the same region. So what species are recommended or would work best? Preferably they will not be too hard to keep or obtain, but ideally be endangered or in need of conservation.
Interesting project for sure. I can't give you any advice on fish species but I definitely encourage you to go for this opportunity.
I would suggest that you could contact your local public aquarium for advice and possible contacts with local fishkeepers/breeders. One tank will not work for a breeding programme for most species, as you generally need separate tanks for breeding and rearing, but you would be able to rear some young fishes until they reach breeding size. However there is one exception, if you choose the species and specimens carefully, you can breed and rear one of the Goodeid livebearers in one tank. These fishes produce small numbers of very large fry, which are usually ignored by the adults, and they are not too hard to keep. They are native to the higher altitudes areas of Mexico and several species are endangered in the wild, but fairly common in aquaria. The butterfly goodeid, Ameca splendens, is probably the easiest species to obtain, keep and breed. The breeding biology of these fishes is very interesting, but I don't know how well they could be integrated into an aquaculture system.
True, not every fish can be like guppies. However, if needed, we could use addition tanks, etc., but it is really not preferred. Some cichlids could also be housed with their brood, right?
A lot of Asian species can be found in rice fields and are endangered to boot, but most of them are egg-scatterers that will eat their own eggs and fry. Most fish will eat eggs and fry kept in the same tank, there are exceptions. Apart from the cichlids and a few others (bettas for one), raising young in the same tank as the parents will not be successful. Most cichlids can, yes. They care for their brood and are typically good parents. However most species are not endangered. Also most larger cichlids are rough on live plants; smaller ones are frequently more delicate. Also many larger cichlids might be difficult to get rid of when the project is over; their belligerent nature can limit their appeal.
I agree with @Great Argus.There are also some cichlids that live colonially, with parents and successive broods of fry living together, for example several of the Tanganyikan Julidochromis and Neolamprologus species: but they aren't endangered and they live in rocky habitats where plants don't grow. They also need rather more care than some of the larger American cichlids.
I should mention that the plants will not actually be in the aquarium, but rather the tank will act as a water reservoir of sorts. The water from the tank will go through an aquaponics rack, before getting filtered and reentering the tank. We still have some before fish are needed. The Butterfly Goodeid is a good candidate but is rather pricey. I will see if we could have the option of additional breeding tanks.
We are looking to pick the specific species by next week. As it looks right now, we will probably pick an African Cichlid species. The option is still open for us to do more extensive propagation.
Update: We are choosing a cichlid from the Haplochromis genus. That narrows it down to 223 or so species The focus will be about the invasive Nile Perch in Lake Victoria, and how invasive species can damage ecosystems, as well as the previously mentioned aquaponics function. We will have a rack next to the tank and pump water between the rack and the tank. At this point, I'm not confident that we will have much opportunity to breed the fish, and the main function will be for education.
We've ended up keeping Yellow-tailed acei (Pseudotropheus acei), in order to talk about the invasive Nile Perch and invasive species.
A slight update on this project, It was successful. The cichlids also bred and we were able to distribute many young.
