# Responsible Fish Ownership



## rejohnson53 (Sep 13, 2009)

Hey guys,
I was working for the park service in Everglades this summer, and I was shocked to learn that there are THOUSANDS of different aquatic species that have taken up residence there but which are exotics and don't belong there. They are having a huge impact on the native ecosystems there and decimating native fish populations. I was also alarmed to find out that about 99% of these fish are aquarium releases or the descendants thereof. That means that people are dumping unwanted fish and snails into our waterways and those critters are finding their way into our natural areas. Snails are especially a problem, as they breed like crazy in some aquariums and the unwanted young are often thrown out, but survive to reproduce just as quickly.

I know that everyone here loves their fish, so I just wanted to send out an invitation for all of you to be responsible pet owners and not turn your fish or snails loose. It's cruel to them and detrimental to the environment. Also, some exotic fish are being banned from being sold because they have become such a problem, so I guess if we don't want to lose the ability to own certain fish, we need to play by the rules.

I know you people here on this forum probably aren't the problem, but perhaps you could help me spread the word? After all, that's how change happens, right?

Sorry for the rant guys :lol: I guess I'm just feeling passionate about this issue right now.

You guys are the best. Feedback is always welcome!


----------



## Moldau (Sep 5, 2010)

I agree with you completely. I have heard of this sort of thing happening in many parts of the world. It can happen with plants, too. There are some species of plants that will completely choke out native plants if introduced. 

Where I live, tropical fish let loose in the rivers and lakes wouldn't take over because they wouldn't survive the winter. It's still cruel to subject them to that, though. :-( 

It seems so obvious: If you don't want the fish anymore for some reason, take them back to the pet store if possible or give them to someone who will take care of them. I doubt anyone here needs to be told that though.


----------



## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Yep, I agree 100%, not just with fish and snails, but any other sort of exotic pet. Florida has a horrible problem with all the pet constrictor snakes just being set loose in the Everglades and it's just getting worse and worse.


----------



## rejohnson53 (Sep 13, 2009)

nochoramet said:


> Yep, I agree 100%, not just with fish and snails, but any other sort of exotic pet. Florida has a horrible problem with all the pet constrictor snakes just being set loose in the Everglades and it's just getting worse and worse.


Tell me about it... I've seen said constrictors out in the Everglades (I'm a herp-lover) and it's scary how many of them are out there. They think there are several thousand of them. Also there are pet shops that I've heard of that release unattractive or unhealthy specimens instead of trying to sell them. Poor things, most of them wind up starving or as roadkill, and those that survive become part of the problem. ;(
I wonder if aquarium stores practice the same thing...


----------



## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Oh man, that's horrible! Those poor things! I'm a herp-lover too, I just only have space/time for my fishies right now. I've seen a lot of shows about it, and on the internet too. It's just... I don't even know the right word for it!


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

So, so, true.....most areas it is illegal to dump tropical species into native water ways, and not only can the non-native species hurt the native species from either pathogens or out competing them in the native habitat.

You also have to look at native species that have been in contact with non-native species, for example, you put native plants or animals in your tropical tank and then decide they are not working out. 
You can't release these native items that have been in contact with tropical pathogens back into the native habitat....because-they now could have contacted a tropical pathogen that the native species have zero antibodies/resistant to and it can kill off that ecosystem


To do the right thing by our wonderful ecosystem and native habitats....you must destroy anything that was natural collected and not re-release it back to its native waters......its is more than the plant or animal itself-be it tropical or native....it is pathogens/disease that the ecosystem has NO defense against.........and this can often be what destroys the ecosystem.........a person with a kind heart and good intentions but with little understanding of how that good intention just killed the ecosystem.....

Please be responsible.................


----------



## peaches3221 (Jun 1, 2010)

nochoramet said:


> Yep, I agree 100%, not just with fish and snails, but any other sort of exotic pet. Florida has a horrible problem with all the pet constrictor snakes just being set loose in the Everglades and it's just getting worse and worse.


yeah, the sad part is that people buy them as pets and don't do research first and they dont realize how big they get/how much work they are and they let them go.


----------



## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

So true.

Still, I cant imagine fancy bettas ever being able to survive in the wild... maybe plakats, but definitely not the long finned variety.

I cant remember but there is a city somewhere in the US that has a big problem with budgerigars (those little parakeets native to australia).


----------



## Laurenie (Aug 5, 2010)

Alex09 said:


> So true.
> 
> Still, I cant imagine fancy bettas ever being able to survive in the wild... maybe plakats, but definitely not the long finned variety.
> 
> I cant remember but there is a city somewhere in the US that has a big problem with budgerigars (those little parakeets native to australia).


You'd be surprised lol. I have a friend who was out at the park one day and her friend found a long-finned betta in the pond. She caught it and took it home. No way of knowing for sure how it got there or how long it had been there.

Also, I want to stress again what OFL said. Once you bring a plant or animal into captivity, even if it is a native species, you legally (at least where I live) release it back into the wild. Many people do this with animals like turtles and snakes, etc. This is dangerous to our ecosystem for all the reasons OFL listed. Wildlife rehabbers have special permits to release animals into the wild, I'm guessing most of us don't.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree with everything that has been said. Thanks, rejohnson for bringing this to our attention.


----------



## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I agree totally. We have a problem here with Loosestrife (an invasive plant). I see that one of my neighbors has it in her garden and now it's starting to creep along the bank of the creek behind my house. First it was one plant, last year it was two. This summer I count 5 or 6. On the bank of the Raritan River it's everywhere.

I would never release an animal into the wild be it fish, or otherwise. I hope everyone here takes rejohnson's story to heart and does the responsible thing.


----------



## ReyesBetta (Aug 31, 2010)

Is that stuff like kudzu?


----------



## rejohnson53 (Sep 13, 2009)

ReyesBetta said:


> Is that stuff like kudzu?


I'm pretty sure Loosestrife if a flowering plant, right? Kudzu is a vine. A nasty vine that grows at an ungodly pace. But they are alike in that they both can grow out of control.

Down here we have a huge problem with Brazilian Pepper, a tree/bush that grows so thick it kills off anything else in the area. I've watched this one patch of it grow into a few acres. And it's related to poison ivy...

In that area there are also a TON of plecos (sailfin catfish/"algae-eaters") living in the canals. I actually went and checked it out and these are the biggest plecos I have ever seen in my life. Larger than my forearm at least. And they're everywhere! And those canals are no place for a fish, the water is disgusting.

I've always wondered why when a pet store tries to sell you a pleco they never ever tell you how BIG these fish get. People just assume they'll stay small and manageable forever and no one will tell them otherwise until it's too late... same thing with most poor unwanted pets that get dumped. They just get too big and no one had the courtesy to warn the potential owner from the get go.


----------



## BlueHaven (Jul 17, 2010)

Gahh, i've heard of people doing that but I didn't know it was that bad. I agree with you too.


----------



## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah, Loosestrife has big stalks of purple flowers. You'll see them on the side of highways a lot with a ton of cabbage butterflies hovering around them.
http://www.macalester.edu/environme...es/Invasive Pictures/Purple Loosestrife 3.JPG


----------



## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

Every year during the springtime we get a MASSIVE flock of parrots. Im not sure what kind but they're very pretty. Only for a while though. They stay for a few weeks and make such a loud racket its so annoying. I live in California we dont have any native parrots here.


----------



## sdg30064 (Sep 5, 2010)

Anyone that dosent believe the negative affects can just look at our history books, how many natives died from the common cold when Europeons first came to the Americas.


----------



## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Yeah, around here we have kudzu and it is an absolute HORROR


----------



## ForbiddenSecrets (Aug 15, 2010)

@Alex09

Mind me asking the general area where you live? I also live in Cali and my school in OC used to have parrots all about like crows during part of the year. It was astounding and extremely annoying at first since they are chatty birds.


----------



## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I got a live plant with snail eggs on it, snauls haven't hatched yet. It does get cold in the winter so would they be ok in a 300 gallon pond (all the offspring except for four or five per tank, so about 20-30 being kept)?


----------



## rejohnson53 (Sep 13, 2009)

*Snails can be dangerous...*



MrVampire181 said:


> I got a live plant with snail eggs on it, snauls haven't hatched yet. It does get cold in the winter so would they be ok in a 300 gallon pond (all the offspring except for four or five per tank, so about 20-30 being kept)?


Can you determine what kind of snails they are? If they are exotic snails, I wouldn't recommend putting them in an outdoor pond mostly because some would probably wander off and escape. Then you have loose exotic snails. I'm not sure if that would pose a large ecological threat where you are, but better safe than sorry. A lot of snail infestations in wild areas were started because it was assumed that escaped or released snails would never survive to breed. Here in Florida we have exotic apple snails (a.k.a. "Mystery snails") invading our wetlands, so please pardon my paranoia when it comes to aquarium snails getting loose.

Also keep in mind that if you have several snails per tank, soon they may start breeding (rapidly) and they become an infestation. Then you wind up having to kill most of them anyway just to keep their numbers under control.

I would definitely figure out what species they are first. If they are a species you like, then keep as many as you feel you should, but if they are an undesirable species and no one else wants them, you may have to dispose of them :-(. I know it sounds cruel and heartless to kill unwanted baby snails, but if they are a pest species then there is no way around it. 

Or maybe you're lucky and they're trumpet snails or something cool like that, and your local pet store may take in the extra snails you don't keep. But in answer to your question, I would not put any kind of non-native snail in a pond of any size.


----------



## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

rejohnson53 said:


> Can you determine what kind of snails they are? If they are exotic snails, I wouldn't recommend putting them in an outdoor pond mostly because some would probably wander off and escape. Then you have loose exotic snails. I'm not sure if that would pose a large ecological threat where you are, but better safe than sorry. A lot of snail infestations in wild areas were started because it was assumed that escaped or released snails would never survive to breed. Here in Florida we have exotic apple snails (a.k.a. "Mystery snails") invading our wetlands, so please pardon my paranoia when it comes to aquarium snails getting loose.
> 
> Also keep in mind that if you have several snails per tank, soon they may start breeding (rapidly) and they become an infestation. Then you wind up having to kill most of them anyway just to keep their numbers under control.
> 
> ...


I've never had snails, but I've been breeding bettas for a while so I'm going to use them with my new babies. I'll contact the breeder who sent them and ask what kind.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

This is a great thread.

Down here we have Kudzu.. it grows so fast that they have to burn it back because it will creep over roadways during the night. In Savannah we also have spanish moss.. its really pretty but its a pain because it is on EVERY tree.. no matter what size. Its almost impossible to get rid of.


----------



## sdg30064 (Sep 5, 2010)

not to mention redbugs nest in the spanish moss 1f2f, we had someone come visit and wanted to take some back up to the atl with them and when we told them that they wanted to take ten showers...lol


----------



## rejohnson53 (Sep 13, 2009)

sdg30064 said:


> not to mention redbugs nest in the spanish moss 1f2f, we had someone come visit and wanted to take some back up to the atl with them and when we told them that they wanted to take ten showers...lol


Redbugs nest in spanish moss?  I think I'LL go take a shower now. We were just getting that stuff out of our yard yesterday. ych.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

You won't always get them if you touch the moss (they're not on every moss) but its always a good precaution to wear gloves if your going to touch it.


----------



## sdg30064 (Sep 5, 2010)

however if you do get bitten rub the bite down in alcohol(best way to kill them if they imbed themselves.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

or you can cover it with nail polish.. that will suffocate them.


----------

