Ornamental Fish Dr. Craig Kasper HCC Brandon

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Ornamental FishDr. Craig KasperHCC Brandon
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So far...its been all about the food!
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• Aquaculture has been (and may always be) about
  feeding people.

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But Dr. K.... What else is there??
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Ornamentals

• Feel good fish!

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• First...lets revisit food fish aquaculture.

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(Tlusty 2005)
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Introduction

• Aquarium trade a rapidly growing sector of
  aquaculture.
• Approximately 15 billion industry (Bartely
  2000).
• High demand drives industry ().
• Several pros and cons concerning this industry.

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Making fish makes money!
Source 1998 Census of Aquaculture, USDA-NASS
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Ornamental Fish

• Influence of capture fisheries still applies.
• As restrictions on animal collection
• intensify, culture of ornamental fish
• (OF) will assume a larger roll.
• Currently, 90 of aquarium freshwater
• fish cultured. (Reverse for marine
  fishmajor issue!)

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Ornamental Fish

• Production of OF is a global industry with global
  impacts (globalization bad news?)
• Has accounted for 40-60 of total exports in
  Singapore, Brazil, Phillipines (Tay, 1977 Chao
  1997 Dowd and Tlusty 2000 Baquero).
• However, this has all been at the EXPENSE of the
  capture industry!

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Ornamental Fish

• Production of OF doubled between 1985-1997.
• In U.S., OF production is ranked fourth behind
  catfish, trout, and salmon 7 of total
  aquacultural production (JSA, 1999).
• Florida produces over 800 varieties of freshwater
  ornamental fish through captive breeding
  accounting for nearly 80 of total U.S. value
  (FASS 1999).
• U.S. demand accounts for 60 of total industry!

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Ornamental Fish

• Lucrative industry (average value 35-60/lb.
  marine even higher at 400-600/lb.)
• Captive breeding of marine fish accounts for much
  less (13 of marine fish traded are cultured, 3
  commercially feasible (Dawes 1998 Schiemer
  2001).

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Ornamental Fish

• Greed has led to habitat destruction.
• - Mangrove destruction, reefs, illegal collection
• - Conservation groups, government influence.
• - Clearly another black-eye for aquaculture!
• How do we combat this?
• - Limitations on collection.
• - Limit number of fish (Bahamian 50 fish/permited
  species).
• - Limit number/size of speices (FL restrictions
  on 49 spp.)
• - More reliance on aquaculture (HBOI 2000)
• - Artificial propigation (just borrow some)

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Culture of Ornamental Fish

• Variety of culture methods
• - Closed systems (tanks, ponds)
• - Florida- 0.1 acre sandy loam or coral bedrock (
• Semi-intesive densities
• - tiger barb fry (pond) 10k/m3
• - clown fish (tanks) 700-3800/m3

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• (Tlusty 2005)

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Dr. Craig S. Kasper HCC Brandon ckasper_at_hccfl.edu