Well, the numbers are different depending on how long the supply chain is. And
of course these are just guesstimates. Some shops can buy direct from a fish
farm, in which case their survival rates are MUCH higher. But consider
wild-caught tropical fishes. You have mortality during each of the following
steps: capture, holding, transportation overseas, holding, shipment to
distributor, holding, shipment to the pet shop, holding, and finally we get to
buy our fish.
Mortality-in-the distributor I worked for varied widely by species. Algae
eaters were about the worst,-in-least 50% just in the holding tanks.
And from which retail outlets are the majority of these fishes then sold, and to
what type of consumer?
Some of you former PSG's are probably saying, "No way, I hardly ever lost any
fish". And you are undoubtedly right. If knowledgeable and careful guys like
you managed the process from start to finish then losses would be markedly lower.
If there are any exotic bird lovers on the list, then maybe you can fill us in
on bird mortality. I've heard stories of amazon parrots being wrapped up in
paper like tamales, and stacked like cordwood in small cargo planes. 90% die
during the trip, but that's OK because the ones that live more than pay for the
ones that don't. I don't know how much truth to attach to such stories, but
they ring of plausibility to me.
> > What is sad is how many fishes are lost during each step of the
> supply chain. I
> > would bet a 1932s quarter that fewer than 20% of fishes make it from source
> to
> > destination (home aquarium). How many live past the year mark? <1%. The
> > numbers are worse for marines.
> >
> I'm not sure I believe that. It's just too staggering. 80% losses are no
> way to run a business or an industry. Don't get me wrong; it probably
> wasn't very long ago when those numbers were accurate, but I HAVE to
> belive that things are better today than that. They have to be with all
> the advances we've made, don't they? ( please say yes )
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> / Association"
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>
--Irate
Charter member, DNRC
To me, it's a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk
around. That way, if anybody says, "Hey, can you give me a hand?" You can say,
"Sorry, got these sacks."
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/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
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/ nanfa-in-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-in-aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
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/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org