sirdarksol

My Multi-Genre Project (a large piece of writing containing various types of media, such as news articles, fiction, memorandum, etc...) is about ethics and keeping fish, focusing on environmental impact and tank requirements.

What I'm looking for right now is an example (or some examples) of a fish that no longer exists in the wild... preferably because of overharvesting for the aquarium industry.
I'm also hoping to find an example of a fish, invert, or other aquarium animal that has successfully been reintroduced to its native habitat.

Thanks in advance for your help.

bolivianbaby

Aren't endler's extinct in the wild?

I came across another species the other day doing research. I think it was a type of South American cichlid, but I'll see if I can dig it up and let ya know.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your homework and hopefully we'll be able to come up with some good examples to lend ya a hand

sirdarksol

According to Wikipedia, Endler's are rare, but have not yet reached "endangered" status, but is in danger due to pollution and destruction of habitat.

That's very helpful, and I would love it if I could get the SA cichlid info. Thanks

Gouramiguy17

Wcmm are one but there is an article in tfh about this stuff

mathas

Red-tailed sharks are thought to be extinct in the wild, according to IUCN: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/7807/0

I haven't found any claims that this is due to overharvesting for the aquarium trade, but I can't imagine what else it would be.

Gouramiguy17

Neon and cardnal tetras are slowly getting extinct due to overfishing

Tavel

white cloud minnows are extinct in the wild...and I feel like i've read somewhere that someone's re-introducing them.

edit: not technically extinct...but they thought so for a while.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...act_sheet.html

Red1313

I was just going to say that Mathas :P
Everything I've read has suggested that the RTS is nolonger seen in the wild. However the exact reason for this is unknown but it's blamed on the aquarium industry. That said it's something very interesting since they should have a population doubling time of 15 months (i think) here's a link to fishbase.org

Another fish that might be of interest may be betta Malachai, they're not extint yet but at the rate at which their habitat distruction is occuring they're predicting that there's a chance they'll be extinct in the wild before they're even proven to be a distinct and sperate species from Betta Spelenden. (And protecting them is difficult without that recognition) Just an idea, not sure if that's what you're looking for or not.

GOOD LUCK

mathas

For a little more info:

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u....php?news=2073
http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?zr09033

edit: it makes me wonder how many other animal species of all types, not just fish, we think are extinct but actually have minute populations hiding in remote areas

Butterfly

Banggai cardinalfish( Pterapogon kauderni ) population is severely impacted by collection for the aquarium trade. There was a great article about them in the Feb 2009 TFH.
There's even a petition going around to stop harvesting them from the wild
Agsansoo (Andy) has a breeding thread for them.
Agsansoo's Banggai Cardinalfish Breeding Log

All Goodieds are only from Mexico and many are extinct (living only in aquaria) in the wild but again it is from destruction/pollution of their habitat.
Hope that helps.
Carol

Annadvn

Here is a website on SW fishes, that are endangered or close to becoming extinct.

http://www.reefprotect.org/

I have not done much research on these people, but from the looks of things there information seems reliable and backed by research and scientists.

Anna

iloveengl

What about the axolotl? Ummm, not sure if it's extinct in the wild, but it only lives in one place in Mexico and it's really endangered from human encroachment, pollution, etc.

Good luck with your assignment!

gremlin

Here are some links that might be helpful for you...

This one talks about the bala shark as well as other fish that have been impacted by the aquarium trade.
http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/biodiversi...rium_more.html

http://www.iwokrama.org/business/aquariumfish.htm

This one is on the silver arowana
http://journals.cambridge.org/action...ine&aid=440897

and here is one from Costa Rica
http://www.x-ray-mag.com/en/content/...ish-population

Hope these help...

btate617

Cryptoheros Myrnae would be a good one to research.

I know they come from very few rivers in Costa Rica and Panama, which now have many banana plantations right on the river. From the pesticides used on these plantations it has been said they have caused these rivers to become sterile. About 3-4 years ago I read an article and the last time these rivers were visited for collecting there were none of these fish to be found. If anyone sees these fish get them and work with them and try and breed them, it would be great to see people working with this potentialy endangered/extinct spciecies. I had a pair around June 2006, after I spawned them I gave them to a friend, and I believe now there are only about 3-4 pairs around the city.

Hope that helps some.

Brian

ABCDemily

The Banggai Cardinal is practically extinct apparently, according to a news site over here a few months back. Due to over fishing and natural habitat deprivation apparently.

sirdarksol

Thanks for the help so far.
Gremlin, the sites that you listed in your last post have been particularly helpful. This is turning out to be an interesting project.

As far as the red-tailed shark goes, it appears that the primary reason for its extinction in the wild is due to the damming of the rivers in Thailand. This emptied the swampy basins they used to live in.

gremlin

I'm glad that they are helping. I used to love doing research projects in school. I would do research on stuff just for the fun of it...and that was without the internet!

sirdarksol

I actually prefer doing research without the internet (or at least, on collegiate search engines). The problem is that there's not much about aquarium fish on the collegiate engines and too much bad information on them on non-collegiate websites. I can't afford to buy a number of reliable books, and my library doesn't have many of them. In this case, I'll take as much help as I can get.