Hello everyone, I hope you're doing well. Today i'll be going to tell you about 5 aquarium fish that are either threatened or endangered in the wild or in some cases even close to extinction and we'll start off today.
1. Red Tailed Black Shark.
In western thailand as we have the red-tailed black shark. Now, this is a species that i've actually kept myself before and it's easy to tell why they're such a popular aquarium fish. But from my experience i can tell you that they can be very aggressive and they like to chase everything else in their tank. But, one of the things that this species has going for it is that they're a great member of the cleanup crew and really like feeding on algae. Now in the wild, this fish is normally found in small tributaries in western Thailand. But, today this species is listed as critically endangered. And in 1996 it was officially declared as extinct. And this was until 2011 when a small highly localized population was found in the wild and since then there have been a few other reports of sightings in western Thailand. And the reason behind the decline of this species is still unknown, it's thought that their popularity in the aquarium trade contributed a small amount. But the most likely reasons for its decline are the construction of dams and the draining of swamps which was prevalent in the 1970s. If there are so few specimens in the wild, how are there so many available in the aquarium trade? Well like with many other freshwater aquarium fish they captive bred. If you've kept the red tail black shark before, you'll know that they're not the easiest fish to breed. And most individuals produced for the aquarium trade today were bred on commercial farms through the use of hormones. As this species has bounced back once hopefully they can do it again and i hope is doesn't get declared extinct again.
2. Dennison's Barb.
Now this species is endemic to kerala southern india. And is normally found in pristine highly oxygenated headwaters. And this is certainly a fish that's almost been punished because of its beauty as its striking colours and streamline body make it a very sought after aquarium fish. And this is exactly what's caused its downfall as research teams in india have found that the species is being over exploited for the aquarium trade. And if it continues to be over exploited it could potentially become extinct. But in spite of it being listed as endangered the species has been promoted as an export item by several government agencies. As it was first thought to be exported out of india in 1996. And by 2007 the Dennison's barb made up around 60 to 65 percent of the total live fish exported from india. And this is thought to be worth around 1.5 million USD. And although the government of Kerala has since banned the fishing and export of this barb, is yet to be listed under the national wildlife protection act. And as this is another fish that's quite hard to breed in the aquarium. It's made capturing them in the wild even more lucrative but they're now a few successful farms in southeast Asia and eastern Europe which are thought to produce large numbers of this species through the use of hormones. And hopefully with a crackdown on the over exploitation the species will bounce back in the wild.
3. Tequila Splitfin.
Now in the wild this species was only known for one small river system in Mexico. And although it's not an extremely popular fish in the aquarium trade. The majority of living individuals of this species are thought to exist in home aquariums as there's thought to be less than 50 adult fish alive in the wild today and some experts even believe that this species is extinct in the wild. No individuals remaining and this might seem strange to many of you. As the tequila splitfin is a live bearer and if you've ever kept life-bearers before, you'll know that the one thing they're good at is breeding but the problem for this splitfin in the wild is other life bearers. As in its native habitat it was outnumbered by introduced guppies by factor of six meaning that they were outcompeted for food and space. But it's also thought the pollution and water extraction really put the nail in the coffin for this species. But despite this rather depressing news, captive population are maintained by aquarist. And there are plans to improve their natural habitat, and eventually release specimens back into the wild. So maybe the stroy isn't over for this species.
4. Banggai Cardinalfish.
The banggai cardinalfish is one of the most popular marine fish that you can find in the aquarium trade. Because of this you may be unaware of their peril in the wild. Knowing their native habitat they're found in shallow calm waters, amongst coral reefs and seagrass beds. And in thess areas they're normally found in small tight groups just like the Dennison's Barb this is another fish that's faced consequences for being pretty species. As their popularity in the aquarium trade blew up, resulting in thousands of these fish being exported globally. And in most cases their capture is very inhumane as some evil individuals use fish's bomb, which are typically made up of fertilizer phosphorus and cyanide to catch livery fish, and then sell them for the aquarium trade. And that's only found around a small group of islands in Indonesia with a geographic range of around 5.5000 km. They're quite an easy species to target and because of this over exploitation by 2016 their world population dropped by over 80%. And this hits the Banggai Cardinalfish a lot harder than it would for most other marine fish. As the Banggai Cardinalfish's breeding strategy is quite unusual for marine fish. As most marine fish lay thousand millions of eggs and show almost no parental care whereas to the female Banggai Cardinal fish only produces a few dozen large eggs which are fertilized externally by the male. The male will then put these eggs into his mouth and will keep them there until they hatch. So even though these fry are probably a lot safer, they don't breed in anywhere near the same numbers as most other marine fish. But fortunately this is a species that can be bred in captivity but as captive breed specimens are normally more expensive than wild caught specimens. Some people are more relucant to buy them.
5. Humphead Wrasse.
This species is capable of reaching 2 meters or around 6.6 feet long. It's not a popular home aquarium fish but they're popular in public aquariums and they are an iconic fish that is endangered in the wild. Now this impressive size makes the humphead wrasse the largest living members of its family and its natural habitat it's found in deeper offshore coral reefs and sometimes lagoons. And these areas this fish is known to be very inquisitive, and will often approach divers. But this friendly nature has aslo led to their downfall as this species is criminally overfished as they're both seen as a local delicasy and juveniles are captured and sold for the aquarium trade. And unfortunately just like the Banggai Cardinalfish, cyanide bombs are sometimes used to capture this species. And this killing and capturing is really unsustainable. When it comes to the humphead wrasse as although they can live to around 30 years old. It takes this fish 5 to 7 years to become sexually mature and all humphead wrasse are born female and eventually become males at around 9 years old. And as this fish can sell for around $175/kg. The over exploitation isn't going to end anytime soon. But as this species is such an iconic fish, there are plenty of ongoing conservation efforts. So hopefully the largest wrasse in the world will be with us for a lot longer.
Okay, maybe that's all i can tell for today. Thank you for reading, please support us by commenting the article in the comment section below. Bye.
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