Banggai Cardinalfish

[Fredlyfish]

I have known about the threats posed to the Banggai cardinalfish Pterapogon kauderni for a while, but it was not until reading the January and then February 2008 issues of Tropical Fish Hobbyist that I decided to do something about it. I have never kept these wild caught fish, but I thought that that was not enough. So, I wrote up this brief letter that I have sent to numerous online retailors, local fish stores, chain stores, and fellow hobbyists. I encourage you to edit the letter and send it on to as many other people and businesses as you can.

I also made this into a petition on Care2 http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/banggai-cardinalfish

Thanks,
Matt



I am an avid aquarist and I particularly cherish marine aquariums and the large number of saltwater species that are available for hobbyists to purchase. However, the Banggai cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni, is often available from you and other retailers as a wild caught animal. In 2007 this fish was listed as endangered under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Pterapogon kauderni was listed as a result of declining populations in its already limited range. The decrease in population is due almost solely to the collection of this fish for the aquarium trade.

Because of the threats to this fish, I encourage you, and other fish collectors, retailers, distributors, and hobbyists, to stop the trade of the endangered Pterapogon kauderni. More support for a ban on the trade in this species, is given in that this fish is one of the most easily bred marine fish for the aquarium hobby. So, I urge you to only offer captive bred Banggai cardinalfish for sale. If the collection of this fish does not stop, we will likely face the extinction of this species. The impacts of this possible extinction would be felt far into the marine and freshwater aquarium hobbies. There would likely be an outcry to stop the trade in all wild caught marine and freshwater fishes, a devastating outcome that none of us involved in the aquarium hobby and industry would ever like to see.

In the future, if other common aquarium fish end up being threatened or endangered in the wild, I ask that you also stop the sale of these fishes. Furthermore, at this time you should consider taking action to avoid any possible future catastrophes by adopting practices in which you only purchase and sell fish that have been sustainably harvested or captive bred. An excellent program that provides sustainability certification is run by the Marine Aquarium Council. Adopting these better practices will not only lead better animals in the hobby, but also healthier reefs, better livelihoods for collectors, and a healthier planet.

Most experienced and informed hobbyists already make the decisions to purchase the best available fish. However, when fish such as Pterapogon kauderni are offered from the wild at a relatively low cost, many uninformed hobbyists will make the mistake of purchasing this fish. Once again, I urge you and everyone else you know in the aquarium industry and hobby to immediately stop the trade of the Banggai cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni.

Thank you for your time and consideration on this important issue.

Sincerely,

 

[bigj11]

It is unbelievable that endangered species of fish continue to be collected in foreign countries. It is especially disturbing that retailers continue to sell them knowing their current endangered species status when they can be bred so easily in captivity. The only thing that can stop the trade of wild caught cardinal fish will probably be government intervention. I know that ORA is currently breeding the cardinal fish species, why not buy their fish instead of the wild ones? Cyanide needs to be banned throughout the world henceforth because of its detrimental effects on reefs. Ultimately, if the marine ornamental trade wants to continue, all ornamentals must be aquacultured/farmed (including tangs, triggers, angels). The science is there, it needs to be implemented! Sorry for going off on a tangent, but i am very passionate about sustaining our natural coral reefs.

 

[ReefBuilderNJ]

good job! its at least an effort

 

[Fredlyfish]

Vivid Aquarius http://www.vividaquariums.com/ has already removed the fish from its website.

 

[Fishfirst]

wasn't the banggai NOT listed on the red list? I don't believe they are considered to be "endangered"

 

[Fredlyfish]

I thought that it had not be listed, but the IUCN Red List website lists the fish as endangered. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/63572

Whatever the case, the fish is not doing as well as most, so do what we can to help it now.

 

[Fishfirst]

are you for or against the collection of bangaii's in non-native habitat?

 

[Fredlyfish]

If the Banggai cardinfish is found in the tropical Atlantic ocean, or somewhere where it is not native to, I would support the collection of the fish. Similarly, I strongly support the collection of lionfish from the Atlantic.

 

[billsreef]

It was listed on the IUCN Red List, however, that has no regulatory authority. There was an attempt by some to get it listed on CITES, however, that attempt failed and it is not listed on CITES. There also still is some debate about weather or not it should be listed as endangered. In any event, current collection and shipping practices deliver Bangaii's very cheaply and in poor condition with high moralities. That alone is sufficient reason to not buy wild caught.

 

[Thales]

They only seem to be endangered in their native habitats. There are booming populations in places they have been introduced like Lembah.

 

[kaptken]

well, in the mean time, instead of all shouting there outta be a law, I sugest all reefers who have them start breeding them. I had a breeding pair 5 years ago. Its relatively easy to raise them with a couple pitfalls.

Their problem in the wild is the same in the tank. they produce small batches of young(12-36), on a 5-6 week cycle. much less productive than my current pair of spawning clowns, who hatch 100-140 larvae every 12 days for the past 3 months now.

Their advantage is they are mouth brooders and pop out nice little fishies after about 18-24 days incubating in Dad's mouth. He releases the 2-4 day old fry, at night, and you have to catch them with a turkey baster and move to a new tank. it is tedious to raise them as they need new hatched brine shrimp feeding 4-6 times a day for the first 2 months, and a separate tank for each hatch of fry, so they dont pick on smaller ones.

It takes 7-9 months to raise to the typical size seen in LFS. so you invest a good deal of time, effort and equipment and upkeep to raise small batches of them in separate tanks. and the kicker is, between ages 2-3 months they seem to suffer anxiety attacks. the least thing will throw them into spasm and coma. they freeze up, mouth and gills wide open, stiff as a board, not breathing and settle on the bottom. some times they wake up in 20 minutes, sometimes they dont. I lost the ramains on one whole batch once at 3 months old, just by squirting food into the tank. very frustrating. But I loved those little fishies. very nice to watch. I raised about 150 for sale and trade over 18 months. then a storm power outage wiped out my tanks. lost the parrents too.

But anyone can breed them. the trick is finding a pair. time and patience to raise them. dont wait for wholesalers to do it. probably wont be cost effective for them until the fish hit much higher prices due to scarcity.

any way, like fragging corals, taking the time to breed your fishies , when they present the opportunity, can help. and it is fun.

Like Yogi Berra says: When yous comes to a fork in the road...Take it!

 

[Bluetangclan]

I dont know about other people, but I am more than willing to pay a reasonably higher price for captive bred anything and since this is already an expensive hobby,$10 bucks more shouldnt hurt anyones wallet more than it already does. In the case of these guys, I have noticed that its pretty obvious which fish are CB and which are WC. When the LFS has a bunch of smaller ones relatively uniform in size I think its a fair guess they are CB. They are definately something I am going to try in my new peaceful tank setup I am working on even though in the past I have been less than successful. I think Saltwaterfish.com had a good article or thread about them including numbers in the wild. It had listed a preserve they were in, plus normal grounds and a new area they were introduced to.
The conservative in me is yelling at me for saying it, but I think this is one fish that should be introduced in more areas just to keep the species alive. I dont see how aside from the pathogen thing it would be a menace to a new environment like the lionfish. It would suffer predation like anything else plus whatever we pull out for the hobby.
One numbers question i have is they mention needing 200k + to have a sustainable population. I really dont think lions had anywhere near that amount released and look how they blossomed.

 

[Fishfirst]

"The conservative in me is yelling at me for saying it, but I think this is one fish that should be introduced in more areas just to keep the species alive. I dont see how aside from the pathogen thing it would be a menace to a new environment like the lionfish. It would suffer predation like anything else plus whatever we pull out for the hobby.
One numbers question i have is they mention needing 200k + to have a sustainable population. I really dont think lions had anywhere near that amount released and look how they blossomed."

The problem is that disease isn't really the issue here, it is the bangaii's competing with the native cardinalfish, and putting them in danger as well. 200K is a bit high for minimum sustainable population, but for enough genetic material to be present I would probably say that at least 20K is needed to keep genetic diversity.
Unfortunately ornimental fish harvesting doesn't allow this low of a number to be sufficient.

 

[Bluetangclan]

One thing that you forget is bangaiis are very insular. they dont spread out that much so if you were to say start a colony somewhere like say a theoretical island in the Keys(yes purely theoretical, if someone goes diving and finds some, I had nothing AT ALL to do with it, I cant afford a buy and release program) odds are from what I have read, they will stay right around that island or even right in that say lagoon. they dont seem to spread out much or at least not at any great speed unlike lions who somehow managed to go from the Keys to New York in less than 10 or so years. Someone on another forum mentioned at a resort that he stayed at, they actively hunt them and have gotten 800 so far. Those things breed like rabbits(which appearently are also down there) unlike Bangs which while breed significantly, dont move.
Now I am not advocating we do this, but I just dont see it as that catastrophic if it does happen. I am not going to go look it up but does the Carrib have cardinals or a suitable fish to compare to them?

 

[yellowslayer13]

I breed banggais and the issue is breeding enough to make a profit. The best way to do this is strip the fater as he wwill cary again right away.