Where to get humanely raised fish?

HI all,

I am still educating myself since I can't set up my first tank before September and read a lot here as well.
I guess I didn't realize that a lot of fishes are still wild caught, e.g. otoscinclus, rubberlip plecos , ... with questionable methods.
This is something that I don't want to support. Does anyone have an idea how to find out which fishes are from the wild?
My stocking is still not set, most likely Ember tetras, Bolivian Ram and Corydoras (Panda or habrosus) but that could change I would like to rule out any that are wild caught.

Thanks!

 

Good thing you aren't looking for saltwater fish. A very, very large majority of them are caught in the wild.

It's difficult to determine whether or not they're caught wild- you can really only inquire a local fish store (most petco/petsmart employees have no idea where the fish come from besides the shipment center).

If your only requirement is that they're bred rather than wild, you can do some googling on a certain species. Most freshwater fish are bred (and it's much cheaper for the stores to breed). The rarer the specie, the more likely they'll be caught wild.

You can only ask, really.

 

Good thing you aren't looking for saltwater fish. A very, very large majority of them are caught in the wild.

It's difficult to determine whether or not they're caught wild- you can really only inquire a local fish store (most petco/petsmart employees have no idea where the fish come from besides the shipment center).

If your only requirement is that they're bred rather than wild, you can do some googling on a certain species. Most freshwater fish are bred (and it's much cheaper for the stores to breed). The rarer the specie, the more likely they'll be caught wild.

You can only ask, really.

That certainly explains the price difference!

 

HI all,

............................I would like to rule out any that are wild caught.

Thanks!

Why? You are taking an oto for example and giving it a good home where there are no marauders to suck it up as a snack and you are feeding it regularly. BTW, I took 35 plecos to my local store for credit and about 12 otos.

 

Thanks! Yes, I will definitely ask and want to support local stores anyway.

Jim, so your otos bred? Cool, I would take those I read otos are being caught by cyanide poisoning, lots die, more die because they don't recognize fish food as food and consequently starve. Just not for me.