Trouble in Paradise (link to article)...important read

[Workaholic]

With this talk of snorkel bob I found this while scanning through the article (honestly I started reading it and disagreed with it so much I didn't find it necessary to continue reading.)

"Casual aquarium owners are often unaware of the consequences of purchasing wild-caught marine animals instead of captive-bred freshwater fish. But those who profit from reef collection are willing participants in the destruction of fragile ocean environments. “It is a force of evil ... a dark hobby,” says Robert Wintner, a diver who owns Snorkel Bob’s, a chain of snorkeling equipment and rental stores in the islands. Years of seeing fish disappear from the reefs have turned him into one of the most outspoken opponents of Hawaii’s trade"

 

[sandswhitson]

Great hook spiffluk though I do commend you for that :yo:

So the question then is "If you feel this way why do you keep an aquaruim with fish in it'??

mojo

My feelings exactly. If you feel that you are contributing to the so called destruction of our ocean environments then why do you have a tank?

 

[spiffluk]

Good question....I don't know if you saw my first series of posts titled 'Sustainable Fishkeeping?' where I wrestled with the decision about whether to rejoin the hobby or not, but suffice it to say that I, like you, enjoy having living things around the house, and I've tried to establish and maintain an aquarium in the least 'harmful' manner I can think of, e.g. by using almost all used equipment, the simplest and most energy-efficient technology, stocked it with only a few specimens that were either tank-raised or ones I purchased through this forum. So, it's not perfect, but I tried my best. And I only ask people to consider doing the same, for the good of our beloved reefs.