I am forced to be with you in a car for the next week after you get here
WHAT makes you think I wanna listen to you now??? Huh?? :-)
see ya in a few days POP!
Roy Hunter
Co-Chairman
ANGFA of North America
visit the ANGFA website at:
http://www.angfa.org
reach me at:
roy at angfa.org
----------
> From: Bruce Hansen <bhansen at ozemail.com.au>
> To: rainbowfish at pcug.org.au
> Subject: Re: [RML] Banning all PNG fish
> Date: Sunday, September 14, 1997 2:55 AM
>
> > From: peter.unmack at ASU.Edu
> > To: rainbowfish at pcug.org.au
> > Subject: Re: [RML] Banning all PNG fish
> > Date: Sunday, 14 September 1997 5:05
> >
> > annecodotal evidence is not very good
> > either. :-)
>
> But it is a starting point - slightly better than none ;-)
>
> > Species that evolve in co-existance have
> > things that prevent interbreeding, otherwise they wouldn't exist. But,
> > when you through a new species in ontop of this you cannot be sure what
> > will happen. One may go extinct, they may coexist, or they may
> > hybridise. There is already good evidence of hybrids between rainbows
in
>
> > the wild, look at eachemenis and splendida. Another population of
> > australis appears to have some exquisita in it. From time to time they
> > do interbreed under natural conditions with the end result being that
> > sometimes both species don't remain seperate, you get a single hybrid
> > population. There is more work continuing on this hybridisation and we
> > should have a much clearer picture of eachemensis and splendida in a
few
> > years.
>
> Agreed. Obviously there must be from time to time ( evolutionary time
that
> is)
> some new invasions from elsewhere. Such things as geological upheavals,
> river capture, sea level changes etc are likely to be triggers too. I
guess
> environmental factors may change enough to favour one of the mutations
> popping up from time to time also.
>
> > I agree completely. At this point in time I wouldn't like to see any
> > changes to regulations regarding keeping Australian native fish
provided
> > some stringent educational guidelines were present. We know too little
> > about our native fish and at least those aquarists who DOCUMENT their
> > observations are doing everyone a great service. Those who are not
> > DOCUMENTING their observations aren't really helping near enough.
> >
> I agree once again ( it is starting to worry me ;-)) Thay's why we bother
> to write articles and have these email conversations. It would be nice to
> get a few others offering their 5 cents worth too.
>
> > So what do you do Bruce? Just sit here and continue to argue with
> > nothing to base any of it on? I think you could easily set up some
large
>
> > scale ponds that would easily mimic billabong type habitats. Of
course,
> > that is if you had the space and money. :-)
>
> Now we are getting down to it. How big? Bigger than the outdoor ponds
that
> people like Bruce sambell are already using? What about the species that
> are really more suited to running water? It sounds good but I don't feel
> many of your scientific fellows would like the methodology much and I
don't
> feel the hobbyist, commercial breeder or even DPI would like it too much.
> But it would be a start. I would appreciate the results of a survey of
> scientists (especially those in this country who would be on a likely
panel
> to advise ANCA for example) with their agreement on a size of artificial
> billabong, conditions, species mix, time for the experiment to run, data
> required, frequency of sampling etc and I will try and get someone to
make
> the water space available. But I won't be a show at all if there isn't
> going to be agreement between the scientists beforehand.
>
> > How do we know it hasn't happened? Remember the massive floods around
> > Rockhampton a few years back? I know of one story where a backyard
> > commercial rainbowfish breeder lost all his fish due to floodwaters.
Is
> > that not an introduction? I'm sure no one has looked in his local
creek.
>
> I'll bet someone has, and if there was anything worth catching they
would
> be on the market already.
> He's not going to tell the world that trifasciatas are readily available
> from the wild now near Rockhampton but he would probably be happy to
catch
> them and sell them if they were there.
>
> > There are some trifasciata like fish living somewhere near Cairns too.
> > Where did they come from? Ask Budgie, Rick Datodi's son caught them
> > there. That's a long way south of their native range.
>
> I don't think a few fish caught in an urban creek in a suburb of Cairns (
> Freshwater Ck I think - and it has lots of Tilapia, Gambusia, Swordtails,
> Platys etc too) really constitutes an example of PNG fish being a threat.
> We have always maintained that there is as great or even greater a threat
> from translocated Australian fish. This is a failure of education. there
is
> a large housing estate located on this creek with an especially large
> percentage of army families. These regularly are transferred and dumping
> the pet fish in the nearest creek probably happens all the time.
>
> As far as the range of trifasciata is concerned - it is moving further
> south all the time as further surveys are done and I don't mean in creeks
> running through housing estates either ;-)
>
> > . Has anyone else been bothering to read this other than Bruce,
> > Rhonda, and I? Everyone else seems very quiet about the issue.
Whether
> > you agree or think any one of us is full of shit it is nice to get at
> > least something!
>
> Come on you guys and gals out there - offer us something. Even if it just
a
> bone to chew on ;-)
> Besides it is only for another day or two then I will shut up for 4
weeks.
> See some of you in SF,
> perhaps one or two in Denver and heaps of you in Sydney.
>
> Cheers
>
> Bruce