21.5.12
There are several common fresh water Aquarium fish that are extinct or nearly extinct in the wild. Quite often the collecting of fish for the aquarium trade is blamed. My own research suggests that this is rarely the main cause.
I should clarify this statement. I am specifically talking about fresh water fish, not about marine species. The collectors of fish for marine aquariums will sometimes use cyanide to knock out the fish so they can be collected. This is very harmful to both the fish collected and others in the immediate area. This environmentally evil practice is not used, as far as I have been able to determine, for freshwater species.
The most common cause of extinction is habitat destruction by human activities. Here are a few examples.
The Endlers Guppy
The Endlers Guppy Poecilia wingei, also called the Endlers livebearer, is found in a wetland area in Venezuela. This area is seriously threatened by a rubbish dump. The fish might already be extinct in the wild, or if some still exist, their survival is precarious. There are populations being bred for the aquarium trade, but unfortunately, this fish is also threatened in captivity both by inbreeding and by being hybridized with the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata.
The White Cloud Mountain Minnow
The White Cloud Mountain Minnow was believed to be extinct in the wild, but a tiny surviving population that may be native was found a long way from the White Cloud Mountain where most of the original population originated. The loss of this fish from its main area was caused by environmental damage by humans development rather than by the collection if this fish. This fish is being bred in the millions for the aquarium trade.
The Lake Eacham Rainbow Fish
The Lake Eacham Rainbow Fish was declared extinct in the wild. Predatory fish had been put into Lake Eacham and this beautiful fish all eaten. For a while the survival of this species depended on a tiny, hastily started, breeding program using a few fish illegally taken from the lake by aquarists. The status of this fish was later upgraded to "Critically Endangered."
The Redtail Black Shark
The Redtail Black Shark, Epalzeorhynchos bicolour is extinct in the wild because of degradation to its habitat by human activity. It is extremely difficult to breed in the aquarium, but there is a large and thriving trade in this fish. They are mainly bred in ponds in Thailand.
I should clarify this statement. I am specifically talking about fresh water fish, not about marine species. The collectors of fish for marine aquariums will sometimes use cyanide to knock out the fish so they can be collected. This is very harmful to both the fish collected and others in the immediate area. This environmentally evil practice is not used, as far as I have been able to determine, for freshwater species.
The most common cause of extinction is habitat destruction by human activities. Here are a few examples.
The Endlers Guppy
The Endlers Guppy Poecilia wingei, also called the Endlers livebearer, is found in a wetland area in Venezuela. This area is seriously threatened by a rubbish dump. The fish might already be extinct in the wild, or if some still exist, their survival is precarious. There are populations being bred for the aquarium trade, but unfortunately, this fish is also threatened in captivity both by inbreeding and by being hybridized with the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata.
The White Cloud Mountain Minnow
The White Cloud Mountain Minnow was believed to be extinct in the wild, but a tiny surviving population that may be native was found a long way from the White Cloud Mountain where most of the original population originated. The loss of this fish from its main area was caused by environmental damage by humans development rather than by the collection if this fish. This fish is being bred in the millions for the aquarium trade.
The Lake Eacham Rainbow Fish
The Lake Eacham Rainbow Fish was declared extinct in the wild. Predatory fish had been put into Lake Eacham and this beautiful fish all eaten. For a while the survival of this species depended on a tiny, hastily started, breeding program using a few fish illegally taken from the lake by aquarists. The status of this fish was later upgraded to "Critically Endangered."
The Redtail Black Shark
The Redtail Black Shark, Epalzeorhynchos bicolour is extinct in the wild because of degradation to its habitat by human activity. It is extremely difficult to breed in the aquarium, but there is a large and thriving trade in this fish. They are mainly bred in ponds in Thailand.
