• Hello guest! Are you an Apistogramma enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Apisto enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your fish and tanks and have a great time with other Apisto enthusiasts. Sign up today!

Term Paper on Fish

L

Leaffish

Guest
Hello I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to find information on the mass production of fish. Particularly the adverse effects of this major industry. Facts on the effects on the color of fish, the behavior, the breeding capabilities, the death rate, hybridzation, artificial color, and any other usfull information would be greatly appreciated. I was allso thinking about adding a breif history of the aquarium hobby to my paper.
 

tjudy

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,822
Location
Stoughton, WI
:?

What, specifically, is your assignment? That would help point you in the right direction.
 
L

Leaffish

Guest
Research paper that covers in detail the effects on fish from comercialized breeding.
 

Ron

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
21
Location
Brampton, Ontario
Do you mean the impact of commercial breeding for the hobby trade or comercial consumption?
Salmon/Trout fish farms are said to have an environmental impact on native stocks and water pollution levels.
If this is your angle, check recent British Columbia online newspapers for articles that may point you in the right direction.
 

tjudy

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,822
Location
Stoughton, WI
:?

Is the contention of your paper that the commercial/hobby breeding has a negative effect on the fish themselves (individually), the genetic stability of captive strains, or on the viablitiy of wild populations?
 
L

Leaffish

Guest
The paper is going to be a comprehensive ealuation of many factors. My main angle will be the gentic stability of captive strain of fish though. An example of this would be the convict cichlid. It is so over bred without regard to its genetics that the current captive strains exibit very pore color and many lack nessesary parental skills. This could allso be tied into the fact that if a major event caused a certain species to become extinct in the wild the curren population of captive specimens would probobly not fair well if realeased back into the wild. I am allso interested in the modern teckniques used to mass produce fish.
 

Randall

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,164
Location
New Jersey, USA
Commercial Breeding

Dear Leaffish,

Unfortunately, I am not able to help you very much with your term paper, but where the commercial mass production of tropical fish are concerned, there is a reference that I would like to share with you. Please refer to the discussion of Microgeophagus ramirezi in Linke and Staeck's American Cichlids I - Dwarf Cichlids, published by Tetra-Press, p. 214-218. If you do not have this book or access to it, please let me know, and I will post the applicable information for you.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn
 

tjudy

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,822
Location
Stoughton, WI
:?

Is it a part of your contention that a goal of breeding aquarium fish is to be prepared for the eventual release of captive bred fish back into the wild?

You probably need to start your research looking at the goals of reintroduction programs for endangered species. You should also look into the official opinion of organizations like the the USFWS on what should and should not be reintroduced to the wild.

Be careful in how you decide to present your point. Remember that a good research paper is unbiased. A biased paper is opinion... and not usually taken very seriously. The goal of aquarium fish breeding is not (from an industry standpoint) to maintain the a wildtype fish. So to say that that the change in the frequency of certain phenotypes in captivity is negative would be opinion, since the maintenance of those genes is not a goal. To say that the industry is simply 'genetically negligent' would not be accurate either, because the selection of specific genes for isolation is a HUGE part of the industry's business plan (think about the recent surge of albino strains). The goal of the industry is to produce a fish that a person will buy... which is why hybrids are so prevalent today.

If you do not mind letting us know, what level in your education career are you presently at? This might help to direct you to sources you are more likely to easily find. If you do not have access to a university research library, then I would not want to point you in that direction.
 
L

Leaffish

Guest
First. The paper is for a colledge composition class, and it is suposed to be oppinionated. Second I am attending a technical colledge that contains a fairly large library. I also live near a major university that is affiliated with my school and chances are I could find whatever I need for research. Thank you, I'll let you know how it is comming along as I research and write it.
 

tjudy

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,822
Location
Stoughton, WI
:D

OK then! Here is my suggestion.

Back in the 1980's the cry went out to establish a species maintenance program for the haplichromine species that are indiginous to Lake Victoria. One of the vocal aquarist/scientists in this discussion was Dr. Paul Louiselle. You should look up his work on the topic.

The dabate centered around whether or not hobbyists could effectively manage a species maintenance program with the goal of eventually releasing fish back into the wild. The debate was hot. Bad things were said by scientists about hobbyists... and most definitely by hobbysits about scientists.

The reason this example would make a good focal point for your paper is that the arguments on both sides were associated with the need to maintain genetic integrity, and whether of not that could be accomplished in fish kept in aquaria. Your convict example is not as applicable, for there is no (nor has their been) any need to maintain the genetic integrity of convicts.

If you want to pursue the convict angle, look at the published works of Wayne Liebel (not the popular hobby writings). His research back in the 80's used protein characterization to identifiy evolutionary relationships between convict spceies in specific drainages in Central America. His work will give you some insight as to the incredible diversity that exists in that genus/species...most of which we general hobbyists have never seen.

There has also been some work done with species maintenance by ANGFA (Australia New Guinea Fish Association) on the species maintenance of some endangered rainbows.

Good luck.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
17,915
Messages
116,201
Members
13,027
Latest member
tonc61

Latest profile posts

Josh wrote on anewbie's profile.
Testing
EDO
Longtime fish enthusiast for over 70years......keen on Apistos now. How do I post videos?
Looking for some help with fighting electric blue rams :(
Partial updated Peruvian list have more than this. Please PM FOR ANY QUESTIONS so hard to post with all the ads poping up every 2 seconds….
Top