Locals raising salt water fish?

[little fishes]

I thought I remembered someone talking about someone local that had raised/ attempted to raise Seahorses/ Pipefish. Or just anyone set up for raising fry. Anyone remember who that might have been? I have a breeding pair of bluestripe pipes- the male is always holding! Doesnt seem to be many people even attempting to raise them and not really any success either. Just hoping to talk to people who have attempted raising something close.
Thanks,
Tracy

 

[soyadrink]

Vicky has dwarf sea horses(and others) she's breeding. you should talk to her about that

 

[jnarowe]

YYeah, Vicki is the one with the hundreds of clowns, shrimp, etc.

 

[little fishes]

Thanks- I have PMed her
Cheers,
Tracy

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Elmo (Ilham) is another active clownfish breeder and has an entire thread on them.

 

[jnarowe]

Hey, I thought Elmo got out?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Really, I had no idea.

 

[jnarowe]

Maybe just a rumor and it was a while ago. I see that BR just got in 12 Ocellaris from ORA, and I wonder why they do that when they are being bred locally?

 

[Eric Boerner]

I've had some success with my clowns, yet after querying a few LFS's in the area about store credit, I've been soundly denied. I 'think' theres some agreement that ORA makes with LFS's that requires them to purchase a number of fish in order to recieve ORA frags. Don't quote me on that, it's simply a guess.

 

[jnarowe]

That certainly is a possibility Eric. I know Vicki has run into that as well. That can be turned around by savvy consumers (US) that ask for locally grown fish. We could also set up a thread to support our local growers. My point is, why buy a fish that has had to make a cross-country trip and endure the related stress, when you can buy one locally and have a better chance of getting a healthy specimen?

The only way it will happen, is if we MAKE it happen.

 

[little fishes]

Yes- ORA requires a minimum order of regular livestock before a store can order the premium or limited stock that everyone requests(such as picassos, blue spot squamosas, duncans, etc. I believe the minium required before being able to order premium is $200 which is quite a bit considering the limited types of fish there are to fill that. It is a sticky position, for the retailers. They can only sell so many clowns and have to choose if they will buy them from locals or from ORA so they can bring in other stock that customers request. I like that locals are raising fish and I like that there are companies able to compete in the market selling captive bred animals- I think it is all a service to our reefs- it is just unfortunate that the local breeders have to work so hard to market there fish on there own- the companies just have so much more time to figure that marketing stuff out and are able to better compete-obviously this marketing scheme by ORA is working out quite well for them! I am sure you have hit the nail on the head Eric, with why you can’t sell yours to LFS. I am sure BR got a lot of clowns to fill the minimum because they got a ton of stuff off the premium list including 12 Picassos and several limited frags.

I have been talking with Vicky about my blue stripes and I am going to try to set up another system for them. Otherwise Vicky might just be getting a gift- It would be awesome to see if someone with more talent in this area could actually raise some fry!

So Vicky helped answer my questions- maybe we could turn this thread to the new debate of commercial VS individual captive breeding. I am sure I could learn something new from such a discussion! I know you are a member of DIBS Jonathon- any imput?

Cheers,
Tracy

 

[jnarowe]

You know how dangerous it is to ask for my input? :lol:

To me it's about the same except for how much stress the fish goes through and the cost of shipping fish built into retail prices. Typically LFS will double their cost and often triple to arrive at a retail price. So these fish are being sold fairly cheap on the wholesale market, but one trip into a wholesale/distributor theory and you will understand why.

It is indeed stunning to see thousands and thousands of animals in holding tanks and to realize what "acceptable loss" really means. The argument goes back-and-forth about having to support LFS vs cost vs healthy specimens. It's not easy to make a profit as an LFS and we do need them in our lives. And it's not easy to pay $50 for a $15 fish and have it drop dead when you get it home.

DIBS is about getting the consumer and industry as a whole to re-think what kind of animals it sells. It's about accountability of the entire pipeline in terms of selling animals that have little to no chance of survival in a captive environment.

I personally prefer to help out local enthusiasts especially when they are pushing the envelope like Vicki.