well yea, you can buy them online ofc and off of ebay, but i'm saying more the LFS or LPS
Why do pet stores not sell native fish?
- Thread starter cichlid tank
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Local fish stores need to cater to the most common denominator fish buyers, to stay "above water" because of the meager profit margins.
If they get in a bunch of fish that very few people will buy, those species tie up tanks that could make a profit with fish that seldom, or maybe never sell. This is not good for the bottom line..
Today this means stores must stock tanks with gold fish, glo fish, long fin bettas, FHs, Blood parrots, fancy guppies and other such bread and butter fish, and maybe one arowana, or oddball that (although may sit a few months) will reap a pretty good profit in the end.
And I believe LFSs realize, specialty fish will be ordered by specialty buyers on line anyway.
Even before I left the U.S., I hadn't bought a fish from a LFS in years, for many reasons.
They never had the species I wanted, and even if they had something interesting, I couldn't trust the fish to not be a hybrid.
In many LFSs IDs were so erroneous, it was almost laughable.
It is the same here in Panama, the LFSs have fancy line bred live bearers, fancy gold fish, and glo-fish, Bettas, and a few common African cichlids, that's about it.
I asked if they could get any native Panamanian cichlid species, and they looked at me like I was crazy. They said no one would buy them here even if the store had them, and it is against the law to sell them without a special (and expensive) permit, so not worth the trouble, tank space or expense.
More than one LFS owner said if local fish is what I wanted, I'd either have to collect them myself, or get a local fisherman's by-catch.
Which is what I have ended up doing.
If they get in a bunch of fish that very few people will buy, those species tie up tanks that could make a profit with fish that seldom, or maybe never sell. This is not good for the bottom line..
Today this means stores must stock tanks with gold fish, glo fish, long fin bettas, FHs, Blood parrots, fancy guppies and other such bread and butter fish, and maybe one arowana, or oddball that (although may sit a few months) will reap a pretty good profit in the end.
And I believe LFSs realize, specialty fish will be ordered by specialty buyers on line anyway.
Even before I left the U.S., I hadn't bought a fish from a LFS in years, for many reasons.
They never had the species I wanted, and even if they had something interesting, I couldn't trust the fish to not be a hybrid.
In many LFSs IDs were so erroneous, it was almost laughable.
It is the same here in Panama, the LFSs have fancy line bred live bearers, fancy gold fish, and glo-fish, Bettas, and a few common African cichlids, that's about it.
I asked if they could get any native Panamanian cichlid species, and they looked at me like I was crazy. They said no one would buy them here even if the store had them, and it is against the law to sell them without a special (and expensive) permit, so not worth the trouble, tank space or expense.
More than one LFS owner said if local fish is what I wanted, I'd either have to collect them myself, or get a local fisherman's by-catch.
Which is what I have ended up doing.
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A lot of North American natives only show their color during spawning. Having said that, green sunfish are the most underrated wet pet ever. Also, the most secretly fun fish to catch on ultralight gear.
I will agree with that, they do do put up a good fight for how small most of em are.
Check our NANFA FB group we enjoy our native fish here but like many points were brought up.
Greenies are invading everywhere so are flatheads. It is disheartening at the same time got to remember times change as well. I would love to keep those invasive round gobies in lake Michigan but if caught posessing them alive.... not so good they are so beautiful and colorful when I am catching them. So would be so nice having them in my tanks. Oh well.
Greenies are invading everywhere so are flatheads. It is disheartening at the same time got to remember times change as well. I would love to keep those invasive round gobies in lake Michigan but if caught posessing them alive.... not so good they are so beautiful and colorful when I am catching them. So would be so nice having them in my tanks. Oh well.
here in ontario canada, you need an aquaculture license to transport live native fish. so unless you had the license you couldnt legally buy a native fish and transport it home. i believe this is intended to stop introducing one type of native fish into a habitat or water way where they didn't exist prior.
In regards to invasive species: Here are some great resources about why invasive species are an issue:
Article and really good video about invasive Asian carp :
http://asiancarp.us/AsianCarpProblem.html
I know it's not a fish, but here is a good article about invasive species-particularly the pythons in Florida:
Article and really good video about invasive Asian carp :
http://asiancarp.us/AsianCarpProblem.html
I know it's not a fish, but here is a good article about invasive species-particularly the pythons in Florida:
Greenies are considered a pest in the pond community here in Texas. People will even kill off an entire pond to get rid of them. What confuses me is how they manage to overpopulate in the presence of largemouth bass and bluegill. They are easier for bass to fit in their mouths compared to bluegill and bluegill out spawn them 4 to 1.
It's due to the larger mouth imo. It allows even tiny fish to eat things that a bluegill of the same size cant. Also green sunfish are notorious for hybridizing with other sunfish species, lol you could honestly consider them the convicts of north America. Here's a pic of a green sunfish crossed with a pumpkin seed that I caught a week ago or so.
