Cyanide Collection

I wonder if DD fish are all net caught or just same as all the others and they just sell the ones that makes it

DD uses quality marine which is supposed to be certified cyanide free. But who really know with some still coming from Indo/Philippines...
 
I appreciate people like "ilikefish34". It gives me a little bit of hope knowing there are a few of us that understand. Quote me on this, if you truly want to find out who is buying cyanide caught fish and who isn't there are plenty of resources to get you the information! If you're having trouble finding out wether or not your LFS is buying fish from cyanide, and other horrible collection method using suppliers, send me a PM and I'm more than happy to give you info on how to go about looking into it further.

I know I'm only one person and it would take a nation wide effort to make a noticeable difference but at least I am trying. I work closely with my local fish stores in my area and there are 3 of them in my area that are only ordering from suppliers with healthy collection methods. Your LFS in your area should realize the benefits of ordering from places that use these healthy methods. The dead loss from unhealthy collection far out weighs the little extra cost of better suppliers. If they can't see that then they should probably rethink their career.

By the way, has anyone seen what cyanide does to the reef? Scary that is going on. How many years do we even have left in this hobby if it continues the way it is? Yeah there are a few protected areas but the majority of places we get animals from are unrestricted and unprotected.

Agreed, and I think we are saying the same thing. You have illustrated an option to further educate the masses of consumers out here that purchase fish on a regular basis. Once we know, hopefully we can take action, or handle our purchases differently.

The LFS that I know of that deals with cyanide suppliers no longer gets my business (hasn't for a while). Here is where the LFS unfortunately thinks they are winning...
  • Customer purchases a fish and pays the LFS
  • LFS only guarantees the fish for 48 hours
  • Customer's fish dies one week later
  • LFS doesn't refund for the fish
  • Customer purchases another fish to replace the one that died.
  • LFS has now sold 2 fish to the same customer and doubled their profits.
  • Uneducated customer has since fallen in love with the fish, and enjoys the "challenge" of keeping the fish alive thinking they will gain experience once they learn to keep this "difficult" fish alive and will purchase another one if the 2nd one dies too...
From the LFS point of view, they often double and triple their profits from selling the same fish repeatedly to the same customer. What they don't realize is that even an uneducated or inexperienced person will eventually figure out that the LFS sells bad livestock. Unfortunately without the education you and this site can provide, the odds are that that customer will go to the next LFS that may sell the same cyanide collected fish. It's a bad cycle that can, in fact be broken with education...

Idea: In addition to going after LFS after LFS to see who is selling fish collected in a harmful manner, how about we figure out which suppliers use the harmful collection methods, and take it from there. It will take numerous LFSs using the same supplier to have any impact, but if we impact one harmful supplier, it will have an impact on multiple LFS.

Not trying to put any LFS into duress, but I know I would personally not mind paying extra at a LFS for a fish that has a better chance of living from a better supplier. If we get the LFS to work with better suppliers, the positive effect will occur much quicker...
 
LA and BZ (and others, I'm sure) are very up front about the origin of their fish. I avoid fish from Indonesia, the Philippines, and just labeled "Indo-Pacafic. I've bought all of my fish from good online sources for many years and will never change. It has been a long, long time since I had a fish I suspected was caught with cyanide.
 
Philippine collectors all have a bad reputation from a few bad eggs. Cyanide isn't as common as practice as you all are making it out to be. The government in Philippines are also starting to crack down on collection processes. Indonesia has had good collection practices for a long time now, they just need to work on their packing skills...

The mandarins are caught is odd, however they don't get injured from it. They are insanely hard to collect in between the coral heads so this method is a MUCH better alternative.

Most LFS have no idea where fish came from. Only wholesalers know the true origin, and it is up to the wholesalers to be dedicated enough to not buy from cyanide collectors.
 
I have recently changed LFS because of what you are all discussing.

I suspect my original LFS sold me bangaii's that were caught with Cyanide (I can't confirm this).

I confronted him and asked him why most of his fish appear sick in his tank (A lot of their fish had spots on them, swimming funny, etc...). He answered that's how it is in this hobby and that some are healthy and others are chucked away.

Finally, I asked him who his supplier is and if he can confirm that the bangaii's i bought we're captive bred. He said they were in fact wild and that the source doesn't really matter because most sources lie anyway.

That's when i decided to look elsewhere. I found an LFS that buys all their stock from Quality Marine which seems very reputable. It may be a bit more expensive but I am buying captive bred when possible and for the most part the fish are MAC certified.

I recommend anyone thinking seriously about the health of our ecosystems to consider purchasing from a MAC certified reseller or retailer (http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/)
 
I have recently changed LFS because of what you are all discussing.

I suspect my original LFS sold me bangaii's that were caught with Cyanide (I can't confirm this).

I confronted him and asked him why most of his fish appear sick in his tank (A lot of their fish had spots on them, swimming funny, etc...). He answered that's how it is in this hobby and that some are healthy and others are chucked away.

Finally, I asked him who his supplier is and if he can confirm that the bangaii's i bought we're captive bred. He said they were in fact wild and that the source doesn't really matter because most sources lie anyway.

That's when i decided to look elsewhere. I found an LFS that buys all their stock from Quality Marine which seems very reputable. It may be a bit more expensive but I am buying captive bred when possible and for the most part the fish are MAC certified.

I recommend anyone thinking seriously about the health of our ecosystems to consider purchasing from a MAC certified reseller or retailer (http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/)

Most of what you are saying is right and its good to see fellow hobbyists wanting to take action, but what prompted you to do this may be a bit misguided. As far as I know bangaii's arent traditionally captured using cyanide as they are one of the "easier" fish to catch en masse.

And I do agree entirely with 808 statements on the overblown labeling of Phillippines and Indonesian collecters as all using cyanide, when I think the evidence of current fish health and longevity points to less and less suppliers using cyanide than in the past.
 
Most of what you are saying is right and its good to see fellow hobbyists wanting to take action, but what prompted you to do this may be a bit misguided. As far as I know bangaii's arent traditionally captured using cyanide as they are one of the "easier" fish to catch en masse.

And I do agree entirely with 808 statements on the overblown labeling of Phillippines and Indonesian collecters as all using cyanide, when I think the evidence of current fish health and longevity points to less and less suppliers using cyanide than in the past.

The death of my fish prompted me to dig deeper. With the help of this forum and some literature, I was equipped to ask the right questions.

Whether it was cyanide or not, my understanding is that bangaii's are nearly extinct and nothing but captive bred should be sold AFAIK. I think we're all in this hobby to bring a piece of the ocean with us, not to wipe it out.
 
The death of my fish prompted me to dig deeper. With the help of this forum and some literature, I was equipped to ask the right questions.

Whether it was cyanide or not, my understanding is that bangaii's are nearly extinct and nothing but captive bred should be sold AFAIK. I think we're all in this hobby to bring a piece of the ocean with us, not to wipe it out.

Yes, they are near extinct in their native habitat of Bangaii atoll, but most for the trade are not even collected there. They have been introduced around Bali, which is where the Bangaii's from Bangaii are shipped from, and are an invasive species there. So even if fished to extinction around Bali that would be bringing balance dont you think?
 
Bangaii's are crazy common now all over indonesia due to specimens being let go for collection purposes. Around Bangaii atoll they were nearly wiped out which led the Indonesian government to allow the release of thousands all around Bali/other parts of Indo. Which the population took off and now they are one of the most common species exported (wild caught). There are a lot of TR ones as well since they are easy to raise and rear. It is unlikely they were caught with drugs since they are very very common and very shallow as well.

Bangaii's are not a strong fish to begin with and the way they pack them (hundred+ per box) doesn't help the chances either.
 
Damn. It just seems that there should be a less harmful way to catch fish other than cyanide and dynamite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtMs_6Z_jTE

Had no idea this was how mandarins were caught...:angryfire:

This makes the net caught fish that much more attractive, though I'm sure that is stressful as well. Again, I say: If there is going to be a difference made, it will require the majority of the hobbyist to take a stand...

This is the reason why I don't buy ANY fish from the Philippines!!!

So ridiculous! Totally poor minded divers.

Dealers should NOT get fishes from the Philippines anymore.
That's so disrespectful with the environment AND the consumers!

Grandis.
 
Philippine collectors all have a bad reputation from a few bad eggs. Cyanide isn't as common as practice as you all are making it out to be. The government in Philippines are also starting to crack down on collection processes. Indonesia has had good collection practices for a long time now, they just need to work on their packing skills...

The mandarins are caught is odd, however they don't get injured from it. They are insanely hard to collect in between the coral heads so this method is a MUCH better alternative.

Most LFS have no idea where fish came from. Only wholesalers know the true origin, and it is up to the wholesalers to be dedicated enough to not buy from cyanide collectors.

I just can't believe that you think like that.

Grandis.
 
I just can't believe that you think like that.

Grandis.

Yeah wow, so your saying cyanide is just fine for mandarines because they are difficult to get out from corals, so never mind the "coral" it was in is now dead because of the cyanide. Do you also leave your dog outside all the time tied up to a tree with no shade or water? You probably throw trash into the ocean too, because it won't matter or it is "easier"
 
Did you guys even watch the video or read his post. He is addressing the spearing of mandarins which is how they're caught. Not cyanide....
 
I was referring to cyanide AND spearing!

I'm sorry, but you have to be very very lazy to do that kind of gambling while collecting dragonets! Tanking about laziness!!!!
How many fishes do they spear correctly?
What about when they catch the eyes or damage the fins?
So unreal!
Jus get a net... I can't believe they are so poor they can't make a decent net!!

That video shows how those collectors are kidding us!
Shame!
My kids can collect dragonets and many other FASTER fishes, like wrasses, with one net!!!

Grandis.
 
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