> Are paddlefish endangered? I have a book that says it is "common" and
another
>
> that says it is "rare." Can you really keep paddlefish in captivity? The
> Jurassic Fishes book only has a photo.
>
Over much of their original range they are extinct or exceedingly rare but in
some places they are very common. As long as they are captive bred I don't
worry too much about this issue. 90% of the young are used to restock back into
their original range so a few diverted to enthusiastic hobbyists does no harm
and probably actually makes the hobbyists more likely to support their
repatriation into their former range. At the very least they create revenue that can
then be used to breed more of them. Private hatcheries have to make money. I
breed blue spotted sunfish and even at my small scale I need to buy special
foods, supplies, breeder fish or gas to go out and catch them. So as long as the
fish are captive bred I don't have a problem with keeping them as pets. if I
get some paddle fish I'll probably donate them to a public aquarium after they
get too large if I don't have a dedicated pond to put them in.
Moon
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org