# Reef Keeping Hobby In Danger?



## OllieNZ (26 Oct 2014)

Hi All,
Just read the following: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23207896#post23207896 
It's pretty eye opening and could potentially have a massive impact on the hobby. I cant imagine anything of this scale occurring in the US and not having an impact here. Please take the time to read the link.


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## Crossocheilus (26 Oct 2014)

Infuriating.
A very well written and passionate article and although I've never kept marines I totally agree with him, removing some samples of coral and fish can have dramatic consequences and cause a lot of damage, but EVERY coral is affected by the acidification, rise in temperature and increase in phosphates/nitrates caused by other human activities. But because we are just a small, nerdy hobby government are happy to cripple us to show how they are keen to "save" the coral...
I just hope these sweeping and misinformed bans aren't introduced here or in the freshwater side of the hobby.

Thanks for sharing Ollie


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## sciencefiction (26 Oct 2014)

It seems they are after a group of people who are unlikely to organise themselves in order to protect their interests, so the government has seen an opportunity to shine and can say afterwards they've done something for the environment. There are far more damaging human activities that no one goes after because someone pays big bucks not to and no one does a thing about that.

But generally, I agree that the hobby does damage to the environment, from cross contamination by throwing back home bred critters, by farming fish/shrimp as well which has an impact on the surrounding environment, to totally exterminating species because of major interest for them on the market. But then again, the locals in certain areas have done the damage themselves.

I think fish or corals, or any critters we keep as pets should have the right to go to a responsible pet owner who has the facilities/abilities and passion to home them for life, and people should get sanctioned if they don't. take care of them. It shouldn't be an open market.
We've grown up enough as people not to keep bears, lions and wolves as pets, so why should we take corals or fish out of nature....Preserving species should be done in nature, not in fish tanks.


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## Bhu (28 Oct 2014)

If anything it's the marine hobby that will save coral reefs! Once mankind has finally finished destroying the natural reefs with pollution and greed and eventually feels remorse and changes the reefs can be re-seeded from all the hobby reefs which are mostly controlled farming of corals and fish any ways. Especially the corals and live rock. Look at Tampa Bay for example. Hundreds of tons of old coral bones from dry land high up from the mountains was brought down to Tampa Bay and dumped in the sea. After 10 years the results were amazing wi all kinds of corals and critters re seeding the rock. I bought some live rock from there when I kept a reef. It was loaded with critters, brittle stars, snails, crabs and soft corals. The SPS and LPS hard corals from Indonesia are farmed from lagoons that are seeded with frags from reefs that are found after storms. I studied reefs especially corals extensively and where they are dying out is in areas where in land logging and minders industrial farming is polluting the water ways that lead out to sea and to the reefs. They are clogging the polyps and killing them so the corals die and algae takes over.
I will agree that a lot of the fish are taken from the wilds as few can be bread in captivity and that the techniques such used need to be changed such as using cyanide etc. Another very destructive form on the reefs is tourism diving. Idiots punching through 100 year old gorgon ferns and scrapping past plate corals and snapping them off as they are such inexperienced divers.


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