Red Sea Bannerfish Found Off Florida Coast

[Melody]

NOAA: Aquarium Trade Suspected as Middle Eastern Bannerfish Found Off Florida Coast (http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=07110853642)

When will people learn? If you can't find a home for it, euthanize. This type of behaviour will result in a heavily regulated hobby if it keeps up.:(

[thegrandpoohbah]

:rolleyes: Morons.

[Melody]

Uneducated, or I prefer to think that anyway.

[hp10BII]

It seems like Florida gets all the exotics (or uneducated!):

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1006_051006_pythoneatsgator.html

[Soggybottom]

Hawaii has it bad too. Some awful percentage of the islands are now covered in non-native vegetation. Thay also have some bad snail stories...
Australia has had it bad...New Zealand is so proud of their natural heritage they inspect and disinfect every container that arrives there. Would be nice if everyone did that...

BC's invasive fish story:

http://www.gofishbc.com/tips_articles/perch.htm
(http://www.gofishbc.com/tips_articles/perch.htm)

[Melody]

Yes, it appears a lack of education (and often a lack of concern) is going strong. I wonder what steps have been taken to educate? I mean, I had no clue when I started the hobby how bad it would be to release a non-aggressive fish. Aggressives I would have given thought to, but that's about it. Plants I was more aware of because of gardening before. However, before I got into gardening I hadn't a clue about that either. It was a pretty green world of sunshine and roses.:Embarassing:

Now I'm educated and I can't imagine doing this stuff. I can't help but think that the vast majority of hobbyists actually LIKE the creatures they keep, and would therefore be even more concious of what could hurt them if they only knew about it. One of the main reasons for hobbyist release is that they couldn't bring themselves to euthanize, or didn't even consider it when there is a perfectly good stream down the road. If they are that sensitive to the death of one fish, I think they have potential if they're educated about wild release.

A big factor is fish growing out of a tank or becoming too aggressive - this too could be addressed at the consumer level, as well as through forums and Fish Clubs. The new hobbyist reaches out to the internet for information more than ever now, so its a fantastic place to bring this to their attention from day one.

Although not tropical, we certainly have our share of invasive concerns. What alarms me is that our BC climate may support creatures that are labelled as unable to survive the Canadian Winter.

This is exactly the kind of thing that I'd like to see our forum address. Preservation, conservation, protection, awareness, etc., rather than be just another place to chat. I don't mean we need to strip and protest....lol...but we can be a source of information and a community that is concerned enough to educate when we can without attacking individuals.

Now you have me inspired so I'll go work on that :biggrin: , thanks. Now if someone could just inspire me to get the house decorated, I'd be doing alright.:rolleyes:

[Soggybottom]

Yeah good call, if people would rather take their fish to a lake than flush it, then they should have the compassion part down already....

Kill two birds with one stone...Christmas decorations with a message!