Fish breeding has come a long way in the past 50 years: What will the future of breeding saltwater fish look like?

[HomebroodExotics]

I'm not sure how marketing has fooled me into believing many saltwater fish larvae are very difficult to rear. Many have tried, few have succeeded, even fewer have decided it was ultimately worth their time. Even in the freshwater scene, ask anyone who has bred discus or angels (piece of cake by saltwater standards) if it was ultimately worth their time as an adult with a life outside of aquariums. Only the most hardcore fish heads do so with any consistency.

"You don't even need to do water changes"
This isn't a reef tank, this is breeding fish to make the hobby "self sustain[able]" (or for fun ). We're rearing 10s or 100s of fry in tiny quarters and feeding them many times a day. I'd like to see the filtration system that makes this possible without water changes.

Again, it's not impossible, and people like Kathy Leahy exist, but I don't think marketing the is only reason we don't see many cb tangs or angels.

Marketing isn't convincing you breeding fish is hard because it really is hard to an extent. But marketing is making people beleive that keeping a box of saltwater is difficult and expensive and it's really not. We will not make progress on breeding fish at a hobby level when everyone thinks you need an insane filtration system that costs 5k just to keep some brood fish. And you don't need that.

 

[FSP]

"marketing is making people beleive that keeping a box of saltwater is difficult and expensive"
Oh I see now. I agree with you on that

I'm guessing the timeline of some of the harder saltwater fish will be similar to the progression of Altum angels in the freshwater hobby. A rare successful spawn now and then until one or a few individuals get it dialed in while production kicks up in Asia and/or Germany.

 

[kmzhq]

Within 10 years average aquarists will be able to breed most species because of available 'recipes'.​

 

[BillyW]

My 2 cents

I put 25 years because in the 15 years I’ve kept saltwater tanks, I’ve never even attempted to breed fish due to costs. It has always been cheaper to just buy them. And I never really cared for fish anyways, I wanted to have SPS coral, and fish were always just an added bonus.

I am in the army and we just moved to Hawaii. While you can have a reef tank here the laws limit you substantially, to what you can have, and it’s not anything I want, so the next three years will be a focus on fish. Hoping the next 3 years I will be able to master fish keeping and learn as much as possible. Still waiting on my tank.

Nothing in this “hobby” is possible if “hobbyist” aren’t on board. If we continue to wait and laws Force our hands before we make strides on captive breeding, then yes, I believe this hobby could die.
If importing became impossible tomorrow, I believe enough stores and hobbyists can continue to produce coral and populate our reef tanks. People just need to be satisfied starting with frags with the understanding they won’t have colonies for a long time. Prices would skyrocket, making it even more difficult but it would be possible. But the number of fish available would plummet.

Hobbyist are the answer, I’ve bought more coral from people on this site than anywhere else, I don’t see why this couldn’t be the case for fish as well. Hobbyist need to lean forward on this, and that’s my plan as soon as I am able to, forecasting that there will be more bans in the future.

Can’t wait to get wet again!!!

 

[MnFish1]

I put 25 years most of not all will be CB. I think alot of it depends on money and fame.
just think what the big 3 is there more? have done its amazing ! I plan to support there efforts when i can. but think if we had 20 breeders or more around the world with funding then thng will start to move.


^ this I want a morshih idol that is CB and eating! I think alot of people would haha


interesting I have not thought of CB vs cloning before. hopefully if it's ever done it will be done in a way genetics are not changed.
messing with the DNA stuff I am unsure about..


they all ready have that for meat. cells taken from cows and chickens are grown in to meat. it's 100% meat just no organs/brains etc.

Can you give a link to where - commercially - cells taken from cows are grown into meat? I know they can 'do it' - it supposedly looks like ground beef - but I'm curious - who wants it - and is it commercialized? Thanks

 

[MnFish1]

Marketing isn't convincing you breeding fish is hard because it really is hard to an extent. But marketing is making people beleive that keeping a box of saltwater is difficult and expensive and it's really not. We will not make progress on breeding fish at a hobby level when everyone thinks you need an insane filtration system that costs 5k just to keep some brood fish. And you don't need that.

I'm going to strongly disagree. It is difficult - for a variety of reasons. Some local - some distant. unless you have a lot of money - for the failures/deaths/etc - it's difficult. I have a friend - he has had 3-4 versions of his tank. He says 'it's easy' - but along the way he's lost xxx fish/corals.

 

[MnFish1]

I'm not sure why "environmentalist" is thrown around like some sort of derogatory term that can't also apply to people in the aquarium hobby. I'm sure a decent number of people who keep aquariums would self-identify as environmentalists. Some of us do support captive breeding. I would hope that most aquarists would be more concerned about the health of wild reefs than about our own ability to keep glass (or acrylic) boxes for our own enjoyment. Not saying we shouldn't have both, I fully enjoy my reef tanks and want others to be able keep reefs for their own enjoyment and education as well. But I feel like there's way too much of an us against them mentality here. We all should be environmentalists, in that we are all concerned about wild reefs and that we all support efforts to maintain the health of wild reefs, so that they are around for centuries and millennia, instead of gone within our lifetimes.

The biggest threat to the aquarium hobby I don't think is environmentalists, but climate change. We all know what happens if a heater malfunctions and cooks our tanks, or if the pH in our tank drops too low. That's what's happening to reefs all over the planet right now.

If you believe the common causal factors of 'climate change' - it's people, right? Environmentalist - I do not think was being used in the normal definition of the word - much like PETA advocates - rather than 'someone concerned about the environment. Perhaps the poster meant 'radical environmentalists'. I personally do not believe climate change will affect this hobby at all - except to the point where propaganda overrules common sense. IMHO - pollution in the ocean is magnitudes more problematic than climate change. Which is probably what most environmentalists would also agree with.

 

[Devaji]

Can you give a link to where - commercially - cells taken from cows are grown into meat? I know they can 'do it' - it supposedly looks like ground beef - but I'm curious - who wants it - and is it commercialized? Thanks

sorry i dont. I heard it on a podcast. but they did interview the persons that are doing it.
I have been mosly vegan for the last 20 years so I did not pay much attention.

 

[HomebroodExotics]

I'm going to strongly disagree. It is difficult - for a variety of reasons. Some local - some distant. unless you have a lot of money - for the failures/deaths/etc - it's difficult. I have a friend - he has had 3-4 versions of his tank. He says 'it's easy' - but along the way he's lost xxx fish/corals.

I disagree with you. Because your friend may not have lost as many corals and fish depending upon the processes, information available, and equipment available. In the hobby today a new keeper can spend 10k on an aquarium and never grow a coral and other people can grow corals in a literal bucket of saltwater.

 

[MnFish1]

I disagree with you. Because your friend may not have lost as many corals and fish depending upon the processes, information available, and equipment available. In the hobby today a new keeper can spend 10k on an aquarium and never grow a coral and other people can grow corals in a literal bucket of saltwater.

true enough - based on posts here - most people 'lose' as compared to those growing coral in a bucket. Or?

 

[HomebroodExotics]

true enough - based on posts here - most people 'lose' as compared to those growing coral in a bucket. Or?

If I'm understanding that question correctly I don't have the answer to that, but I think the better question to ask is why and how is that possible still at this point in the hobby.

 

[MnFish1]

If I'm understanding that question correctly I don't have the answer to that, but I think the better question to ask is why and how is that possible still at this point in the hobby.

My guess is that many people do not have the time to 1. Learn. 2. Maintain their tanks/equipment 3. Cost

 

[Piscans]

in 50 years, we will probably be keeping aliens in jars trying to figure out how to captive breed them

 

[Wildreefs]

Captive fish like the regals and gold flakes out there absolutely suck. Have had way better survival with wild go figure.

 

[Paul B]

in 50 years, we will probably be keeping aliens in jars trying to figure out how to captive breed them

I don't know. I have been doing this for 50 years and probably said that 50 years ago. So far, no Aliens.....But you should see My Big Foot tank.