[LeslieS]

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist Foreword, Introduction, and Chapter One Introduction
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Click here to read the entire

[TimberTDI]

Quote: I pretty much agreed with everything he wrote except for one thing (it was only a partial disagreement at that) was when he talked about keeping butterfly fish that need to eat coral polyps. I don't want to be limited in what I can own based on the general consumer. I for one have always kept animals that others have felt "difficult" or "impossible". As far as my reef, I don't mind if I have zoo eating Nudi's. There may be someone who doesn't mind having a butterfly fish that eats some of their corals either. Of course this isn't the average hobbyist but it represents me

What do you do for the animal once it has consumed all the zoos & polyps in the tank? I think what he was trying to convey was that we don't have the ability to 100% provide what mother nature can.

Steven

[digitalreefer]

Same thing you do when you run out of fish food... go buy more and put them in the tank! If you're going to care for these animals, you have to be willing to feed them properly.

[TimberTDI]

Eric,

Of course that is the obvious answer but how many reefers are going to keep going out to buy corals so their CBBs can stay fed?

[Domboski]

Quote: Originally Posted by TimberTDI Eric, Of course that is the obvious answer but how many reefers are going to keep going out to buy corals so their CBBs can stay fed?

Some people are willing to do that (I do). So why shouldn't they be able to get the animal they want. I have sharks and you couldn't imagine how much frozen food they eat. I could have funded several reef tanks for the money I spent feeding them. I choose do do it though.

Isn't it feasible to say that if you had a large enough aquarium or pond that you could have enough corals growing and regenerating to feed a butterfly fish with out having to buy tons of corals? They say Purple Nudi's are impossible to keep but if you had the sponges growing in your tank to feed them, why couldn't they be kept? The particular sponges they eat grow like crazy. If someone wanted to have a tank loaded with pink and yellowish sponges, in theory, they should be able to keep a purple nudi.

[digitalreefer]

That's the point... responsibility to research and provide. I like the idea of keeping these animals, but people need to know what they require beforehand.

[veronique]

I'm not part of the book club because I wouldn't have the time to lead a thread, I'm afraid if I do my three kids will kill me, but I will follow your dicussions closely and will try to read the books.

Here is one report of UNEP it's long so glance at it first and when you have the time read it all, it's very interesting and very detail.
Collection_20Of_20Coral_20Reef_20Fish_20For_20Aqua ria_20(Wood_202001).pdf

and this one short about a bill that went before US congress InternationalCoralReefInitiative.mht (0.02 MB),

The first one is really worth reading

[veronique]

oops my links dont work sorry, will try to send them again

[Domboski]

It seems the problem really may be how do you warn / eduacte people on how to properly care for these animals? Maybe Albert was right, vendors may need to be more responsible and need to school potential buyers on the "real" care of the animal in question. I once bought a sweetlip (about 15 years ago) and I was told by the LFS it eats "brine shrimp eggs". Needless to say the fish died. I had my doubts on the care information provided but I trusted someone who sells the animals for a living.

[TimberTDI]

Quote: It seems the problem really may be how do you warn / eduacte people on how to properly care for these animals?

We can warn all we want, some people just won't listen. How many people have we seen come on this board, ask advice, when they don't get the answers they want, they go ahead and do it anyway.

Steven

[veronique]

hope it works this time