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  1. #1
    Just an Egg
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    Wild Caught ethics

    Hi Forum.

    I have been browsing the web site (again) and I have been in awe of some of the Wild Caught Disus photos in that section. However, this question is not in there because the "Wildies" may be biased.... haha

    Does the Forum think it is ethical to strongly encourage Wild Caught Discus, that will result in poor local people searching every waterway in the Amazon, to supply the market ??

    The clear comparison is: Would Austrlaians like to see the Barrier Reef stripped of Marine Fish to supply the USA Market ??

    There are probably Discus Farms in the Amazon that breed and sell Wild "Caught" Discus, but many thousands will be removed from the Waterways !!
    Green Discus in Green Tank in a Green Environment means a Green planet !!

  2. #2
    Moderator Ben's Avatar
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    Very good point. Keeping anything from the wild is unethical IMO... but i am a hipocrit as i love my marine tank with wild caught fish....and my wild caught green discus look awesome in my 8 foot tank...

  3. #3
    Moderator
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    If enough experienced people get into wilds we'll soon have F1's, 2's, 3's.......... that are just as good if not better then the majority of wild stock thats currently available.

    Responisble husbandry and breeding on the part of true hobiest such as a few crazy people here will ensure the conservation of the species and of the strains for future generations.

    As habitat destruction is a constant threat to native habitat of these magnificent fish (much more then controled harvesting in stirct seasons) sooner or later it will come down to people like us to ensure that the species survive.

    much like my captive population of E.portoalegrensis and E.opacus sword plants, whose native populations have been all but obliterated by habitiat destruction.

    In response to your question would i like to see the great barrier reef stripped, NO, because there are safeguards here to prevent its destruction (though untill indonesia come on bord and protect their reefs theres only so much we can do).

    the amazon on the other hand is under a far greater threat and i for one would like to see these fish preserved rather then lost to extinction, even if its only in home aquariums across the world.

    i'll get off my box now, sorry for the rant.

  4. #4
    Moderator
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    Rubbish the scumbags in the Amazon would just be boiling them up to make soup otherwise. The whole region is full of the lowest common denominator in humankind and the sooner Discus are removed from any contact with them the better.
    "If it isn't a wild its way too mild ! "

  5. #5
    Just an Egg
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    Illusn - I think your ranting box is placed at about the same level as mine !!

    I can see the point about it being down to a few lucky fanciers to be able to preserve these wonderful fish, and improve on them AGAIN, but the very demand for being one of the fanciers may be a major part of the problem !!

    I am not guilt free myself I may add, since I used to have a fine pair of spawning (only) Heckles when all you could buy were Browns. But whether I could justify to myself to obtain Wild Discus out of an endangered Amazon water course is anothe rmatter.

    Perhaps someone without the guilt complex can sell me some pure cross F1's to help preserve the species .....haha !!
    Green Discus in Green Tank in a Green Environment means a Green planet !!

  6. #6
    Moderator samir's Avatar
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    Re: Wild Caught ethics

    Quote Originally Posted by GreenDiscus
    There are probably Discus Farms in the Amazon that breed and sell Wild "Caught" Discus,
    There are people who do that, (but before they are allowed to breed wild strains right next to a place where they can catch them for a hundredth of the cost and effort) they must apply for, and be accepted as the sole idiot of a suitable village.

  7. #7
    Tiny Fry
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    Quote Originally Posted by taksan
    Rubbish the scumbags in the Amazon would just be boiling them up to make soup otherwise. The whole region is full of the lowest common denominator in humankind and the sooner Discus are removed from any contact with them the better.
    Interesting view you have of indigenous people Taksan

    I do hope you're joking ... Man and fish must have lived together in equilibrium in the Amazon for many centuries, if not millenia, before we worked out how to keep Discus in tanks, pollute their waters, and bulldoze their ecosystem.. Makes me wonder who the 'scumbags' really are

  8. #8
    Just an Egg
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    The Amazon is being obliterated through farming and forestry at an alarming rate...within a generation or two there won't be much left. When their natural habitat is stuffed, what are the discus going to do...
    Responsible keeping and breeding of wilds is preservation of the species in itself. I only used to like the hybrids and all the 'pretty' colours, but since being on this forum I have a new found appreciation for wilds. I know what my next purchase (when I either have a spare tank, or more likely buy another ) of dicsus will be - Wilds.

  9. #9
    Just an Egg
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    [Would Austrlaians like to see the Barrier Reef stripped of Marine Fish to supply the USA Market ?? ]

    Having worked in the marine fish collecting business for a 9 mth period I can tell you it is the same as all things , there are good collectors that care about the enviroment and the future of the reef and its inhabitants and there are cowboys that don't give a @#^* about anything but the dollar, this is the world we live in and I am sure that it is the same with discus collectors. Whilst working in this trade I was told a story of a collector that arrived at an outer reef where a certain fish ( flame hawk )could be obtained at certian times of the year this fish lives in the finger corals and can be quite tricky to catch. As this collector decended to start his collection he was greeted by the site of many broken coral finger that had been broken as to provide easier access to this certain type of fish. Did the person that did this not realise that they where destroying the habitat of this fish and had probably driven it out of the area for years to come or was it that the lure of a good payday out weighed any rational thoughts. There are many responsible collectors out there but it always seems to be the dickheads the tarnish the reputation of the good.

    well thats my little rant for today, but without these wild caught discus none of us would be keeping any of these magnificent fish wilds or tank bred.[/quote]

  10. #10
    Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by rwel4809
    Quote Originally Posted by taksan
    Rubbish the scumbags in the Amazon would just be boiling them up to make soup otherwise. The whole region is full of the lowest common denominator in humankind and the sooner Discus are removed from any contact with them the better.
    Interesting view you have of indigenous people Taksan

    I do hope you're joking ... Man and fish must have lived together in equilibrium in the Amazon for many centuries, if not millenia, before we worked out how to keep Discus in tanks, pollute their waters, and bulldoze their ecosystem.. Makes me wonder who the 'scumbags' really are
    Been there recently? ..... I have and I stand by my comments.
    "If it isn't a wild its way too mild ! "

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