Diversity Article

kwl1763

Premium Member
I have to say that I think your diversity article is spot on when discussing the absolute need for "species type" saltwater tanks.

I wanted to bounce a few things off you to see what you think but before I'll do I'll warn you that I'm a relative newbie that has had FOWLR tanks for about 6 years and a reef tank for about 3 years but fortunately I have been pretty successful. I personally have found myself setting up multiple tanks just for this purpose. I have 4 tanks now and they are very distinctly different tanks. I could think of dozens more to set up but haven't the time or the money to do so!


In talking to most hobbyist I think that they have very good intentions. Even the ones who aren't "fish nerds" (as my wife calls me, even though I much more of a coral guy but I digress) generally tend to want to know about an care properly for the animals. The problem is when you get down to it is a pretty complicated hobby. The fish side is hard enough but to understand even the basics of corals requires a quite a bit of time and effort in my opinion. Now before anyone gets upset I'm not saying that people shouldn't spend that time and effort, only that the need for it exists. I enjoy reading about it for hours and surfing RC for hours but many don't! I have many many people know ask me when getting into the hobby about my opinion of what they need. My first response is always what are you going to keep! Get a livestock list together, what corals are you keeping etc. Sad part is less than 10% even have a fish list much less a clue of what corals they want to keep. Many just want something pretty! That is why most people fail in my opinion.

I also think this is why it will be a very long time before LFS workers are knowledgeable to the point of knowing the differences you refer to in the article. All have good intentions but spend their non work time doing other things besides learning about coral environments.

Having said that people in general do not like waiting and are impatient! Non aquarist freak out when I tell them it will be 3 months before I'll have fish in my new tank! It simply seems like forever to them.

Another reason I think it will be difficult to promote what you are saying is people change. I know a bunch of people (myself included) who thought they would never need Metal Halides. I would be content with Softies and some LPS. Ya right less than a year later I was buying halides and obsessed with acropora! You also see it in how often people change tanks. Most people start small (which I think is a big mistake by the way) and the within a year are either out of the hobby or upgrading!

I think more of the burden should be put on the researchers, scientists, wholesalers and importers to educate LFS owners and employees and consumers about the needs of the animals because to be perfectly honest the list of books with adequate information in them is rare. Most are a list current: high, lighting: high ,etc. Tyree's Reef Building Stony Corals book is excellent but I bet you less that 5% of the reefers on this site have read it.

My question then becomes is this hobby simple enough to be mainstream? Can we get to the point where a LFS says well if you want that corals your tank really needs to be set up like x and can only have these other y corals? I don't know. We are an awfully long way from it now! I tend to be the optimist from your article so I think it can be done. So, I agree it is much needed but is also an uphill battle that will be extremely frustrating and slow in coming to fruition.

Great article once again!
 
Hi,

You state:

I think more of the burden should be put on the researchers, scientists, wholesalers and importers to educate LFS owners and employees and consumers about the needs of the animals because to be perfectly honest the list of books with adequate information in them is rare.

Collectors, distributors, LFS owners, employees, and their consumers simply don't care about the diversity issues or, in many cases, how to take care of the animals.

Researchers and scientists do try to educate people. See the articles by Eric Borneman and myself in <b><a href="http://reefkeeping.com" target="_blank">Reefkeeping Magazine</a></b>. To a large extent, these articles are simply ignored. The best book available for corals is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890087483/reeflink" target="_blank"><b>Aquarium Corals</b></a><br>Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History<br><i>by Eric Borneman</i><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890087483/reeflink" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1890087483.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg"></a> but, I will bet real money that most of those who have it, haven't read it.

After 15 years trying to help hobbyists, I am largely convinced that trying to educate the basic hobbyist is fruitless, and I tend to try to concentrate my efforts to those who are more "on the ball." :D
 
Sadly I tend to agree but don't think we can quit trying. If one gets it that makes it worth it. Nothing against what you say. Honestly with your level of knowledge I think your time is better spent teaching/conversing at a higher level but someone does have to keep preaching to us hobbyist or there is no hope!

I indeed have read the book cover to cover and Verons Corals of the Worls and many others but find most of us hobbyists unwilling to invest the real time and effort it takes.

Looking downstream the end all of this will probably be much less wild collection and much more propegation and in turn higher prices. At that point I think it will be a more sophistiated crowd but a much smaller crowd! It's sad actually.

I know this is an ambigiuos question but do you think this hobby is more difficult then most?

I simply ask because I run into these same kind of disscussions in many "hobbies" I have. (gardening, investing, real estate, etc)
 
Hi Keith,

We are actually driving some of the preferred species to at least local extinction (that is extinction in specific habitats). That will result in those species disappearing from the hobby. I think this a blessing for the species involved.

There is a lot of captive propagation by fragging, but the number of different species involved with this is actually very small relative to the number of potentials, and the clones that do survive are those that can live in media that are more or less toxic rather pure sea water. We have very few invertebrates that have been propagated by sexual reproduction. No cnidarians at all, only a few snails and perhaps some crustaceans. I don't think this meager record is about to change anytime soon.

I think the hobby is more difficult than many. However, this isn't because the material is any more difficult. It is because the typical hobbyist is effectively ignorant of any biology, and to maintain the organisms found in this hobby, one needs to know some basic physiology, ecology and simple natural history.
 
When stocking my tank I just pick species that differ in size by a ratio of 1:1.3 and everything is grand. I'm just kidding, but I enjoyed your article and I'm glad you wrote it.
 
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