Corbie
Member
I received a batch of fish from Abyss Aquatics last week, and as usual all in good form and healthy looking, including a few Otocinclus vittatus (affinis). All have since settled in well except for two of the Otocinclus which I found dead yesterday. I only ever see one of this species at a time, there are too many hiding places. So I hope the others are alive and well. Reading through the forum and other sites it seems this fish has a reputation for being a bit fragile, although once settled in a tank they seem to be reasonably hardy. A bit of research shows it is not too easy, but not impossible, to breed, and that most shop stock is of wild-caught fish. The way that many catchers / dealers / importers treat this fish and its near relatives seems to be questionable at best, and it might explain why many people find them dying soon after introduction to their tanks.
While I acknowledge that supporting the small family businesses collecting blackwater fish in the Rio Negro, who might otherwise be destroying the forest to make a living, is a good thing (especially when considering the seasonal boom / bust population dynamics of many of the fish), should we as responsible fishkeepers be supporting the cyanide collection of large numbers of Otocinclus which are then not fed for weeks, and a large proportion of which apparently die soon after sale?
I suppose the follow on question is, are there any people out there selling ethically collected (or bred) Otocinclus?
While I acknowledge that supporting the small family businesses collecting blackwater fish in the Rio Negro, who might otherwise be destroying the forest to make a living, is a good thing (especially when considering the seasonal boom / bust population dynamics of many of the fish), should we as responsible fishkeepers be supporting the cyanide collection of large numbers of Otocinclus which are then not fed for weeks, and a large proportion of which apparently die soon after sale?
I suppose the follow on question is, are there any people out there selling ethically collected (or bred) Otocinclus?