As restrictions on importation of corals and fishes are increased and becoming more widespread, the future of the hobby is really in the hands of those who practice captive breeding either as part of their hobby or on a commercial basis.Already many countries have restricted the importation of corals and certain fishes. More are following that route. Only a few days ago Haiti placed restrictions on the harvesting of live rock. One source indicates that due to air pollution over the Indonesian reefs, measures are being considered there as well. Most US territories are closed already and nothing can be brought into this country from those areas. Hawaii is getting tougher, Florida already has banned most collecting.
CITES permits are required more and more, and so on. Not a rosy picture unless one considers that the solution lies in hobbyists and business involving themselves more and more with captive breeding and propagation.
This is finally starting to happen and several companies that dumped hundreds of tons of rock of the Florida Coast in the Gulf are now offering this maricultured rock for sale. This is 3 to 4 years after they made the financial investment to submerse this rock. I have seen samples and have some in a personal tank. The quality is excellent and the rock is full of life forms.
Companies have sprung up right and left that specialize in the propagation of corals and in the breeding of fishes in captivity. Whereas in the past there were few, more and more companies are now getting involved commercially in coral and fish propagation.
These are excellent developments and much needed ones as in the next one to two years the availability of wild caught animals will be real low. Some even predict that wild caught animals and rock will be off the market "totally" within the next 3 years.
This is not helped at all by the "El Nino" effect which, this year, appears to be much stronger than ever and is affecting the health of coral reefs all around the world. Watch the news on what is happening to reefs all around the world and you will soon be convinced that things are not rosy at all, in fact they are rather bleak.
Coral diseases are at an all time high, not only in terms of types, but also in terms of magnitude as well.
Diseases we had never even heard of are springing up in and on reefs, some of those which are not even visited by divers! These are diseases that coral researches had never seen and are actively busy trying to monitor and identify. How to arrest them is totally unknown at this time. In many cases the cause of the disease is not even known. I have placed graphics of Yellow Band Disease on our web site (in the Latest Site Changes section) that you may wish to download to see for yourself how bad the situation is.
To name just a few of the diseases coral researchers are reporting: white band disease (what we call RTN), rapid wasting disease, yellow band disease, black band disease, wasting disease. These are not limited to corals (LPS and SPS) but to other reef animals as well (fans, gorgonians and so on). Disease AND bleaching of corals are at an all time high. This can only lead to more restrictions being put into place to try to preserve the reefs around the world.
Tampa Bay Saltwater, Reef Encrustaceans, Scientific Corals, Aquarium Systems and The Aquatic Wildlife Company are but a few of the companies that are actively involved in bringing us aqua or maricultured rock and tank bred fish and corals.
This activity is necessary for the survival of the hobby and we should all support these companies by buying their offerings as that is the only way they will be able to continue these expensive endeavors.
Buy tank bred corals, buy tank bred fish, even if they cost a little more. These companies need all the help we can give them to be able to continue to bring us what we need the most to enjoy our hobby: fishes and corals.
I do not mean to scare you, and neither did those who talked on this subject, but the problem is very very real and getting worse as time goes on. We all need to become aware of this and pay greater attention to the animals we have so we do not loose them due to some tank condition that is not right, or some disease that sets in and destroys a whole colony of, for instance, Acropora.
The time has come for us to LEARN more about the animals we keep and to really spend some money on good books and obtaining information on the animals we already have and those we plan to acquire.
Since availability may be restricted we need to enhance our efforts to keep what we have alive. This is done by reading and learning and by asking questions.
Join groups on the Internet (such as our mailing lists). Learn and learn more. Remember that when you think you know the answers you suddenly also realize how little you actually know. That is my philosophy and that of many others.
Again, to ensure the future of the hobby, captive bred animals are the answer. Support those who are actively involved in doing so to enable them to continue.
For the last 18 months I have spend a great deal of time propagating LPS corals and have reached a level of success that leads me to state that it can be done by everyone. My new book explains many of the methods that need to be used. LPS and SPS corals can both be propagated by hobbyists and our focus should be on learning how to do so.
To contact Albert J. Thiel About Albert J. Thiel
 NetPets® Main Page |  The Fish Center |