captive raised vs wild caught

[bhotep]

I have a bit of a dilema. I will be purchasing my first fish (2 clowns)
I can buy them wild caught from a supplier I have used for LR etc. good prices and quality or captive raised from my LFS. I am leaning towards captive raised thinking if people did, it would put less pressure on reefs (am I being naive?) Also is there a difference in hardiness between the two? Any thoughts?

[sir_dudeguy]

well first, being captive raised can still mean that they're wild caught. Just because they were "raised" in captivity, doesnt mean that they werent caught from the wild a while ago.

Captive BRED is what you want if you're gonna look at it from the point of view you've taken. And imo, you're right. More people should buy captive bred ones instead of captive raised. And that goes for everything, not just clowns. I dont know how many news articles i've seen this year about "aquarists killing the reefs", and altho they probably inflate all those minor details a lot, there's gotta be some truth behind it.

But just letting you knwo, there are fish sold as captive "raised" and captive bred, and obviously wild caught. If you wanna "save the reefs" get captive bred and make sure you know that they were indeed born in captivity.

Also, captive bred animals are generally easier to care for. They tend to acclimate better to our artificial environments, as they've never known the real ocean :)

[Agu]

Captive raised are hardier, less likely to introduce disease, more likely to eat prepared foods, and put less demand on natural fisheries.

Wild caught are cheaper in the short term...........

I have two pairs of clowns, they're both captive propagated. Maybe I'm naive but they're the better value imo.

[howser]

I agree with Agu -- my experience has been that captive "raised" or breed fish are better in the long run not only on the environment but also for the reef keeper since they tend to be more disposed to live in a tank and do better in that situation.

[chrisstie]

I don't know if this helps but I plan to get a pair of true percs for my tank down the line (my rock is coming soon so it'll be a little bit yet) and I definitely want to aim for tank bred. Any little bit helps right?

I also think that if you're looking at a species that *has* to come from the wild for whatever reason, a supplier with humane capturing practices is important too. (my LFS only deals with the hand caught sorta thing- no cyanide or anything)

[MimicTang]

survival rate for WC fry to adulthood is a couple in a million. and 9 outta every 10 SW fish die on the way to the store. So you'd do the ocean a service by buying Tank Raising. Tank Raised don't have diseases, and only know artifical water.

[sir_dudeguy]

again, tank bred, not just tank "raised", because altho yes, they're gonna be hardier, they can still be from the ocean and just be one of the rare few that survived all the way. Just makin sure people dont get the 2 mixed up, because there is a difference ;)

[bhotep]

Ok I am new to this and I see everyones point captive bred is what I will looking for, not captive raised or wild caught. Thanks for all the good info!!:)

[papagimp]

Sometimes you will wait forever to find captive raised and bred fish, but there worth it. My last pair of wild caught fish have been breeding like crazy, so now I have lot's of little captive bred and raised bangaii cardinals, and more on the way. I plan to offer these little guys up for sale here locally once there a few months older, bangaii's come from such a small area of the world, only found around the bangaii islands in indonesia, so the more wild caught ones they bring in really is detremental to the fishies well being.