Promotion of Fish Farms

Posted by Douglas DuHamel Aug 18, 2008

In the United Kingdom, university professor Jeri Fox is trying to breed certain Fox Face Rabbit fish in captivity. This is a rare and exotic saltwater fish with bright yellow fins, bulging eyes and puckered lips. These fish will soon mature and then the studies can really begin.

The aquarium trade will continue and it’s not going to magically disappear. Fox’s idea is to supply the saltwater aquarium trade with farm-bred tropical fish which is happening around the world now with freshwater tropical fish.

Potential extinction of saltwater fish is caused by over-fishing, collection of live rock and corals and the use of sodium cyanide to catch and stun the fish. Coral reefs are also endangered and support 1/3 of all saltwater fish in the world. Growing coral commercially helps reduce the stress on already over-stressed marine ecosystems and a host of under water saltwater fish. Only a very small number of 1500 species have been reported as bred in a home aquarium.

What they are doing in England should be going on around the world, learning how the fish breed is the start. The next thing is what stimulates them to breed in what type of conditions. Once all this is learned it will be easy to create these conditions and have the fish breed in a controlled environment thus making it easier to restock the sea and save some reefs in the process.