Re: [RML] species maintenance

Mach T. Fukada (fukada at hawaii.edu)
Fri, 23 Jan 1998 15:33:06 -1000

snip
>I think you'll notice that fully 50% of these fish are not in the
>Species Maintenance Program. If these fish don't get into the hands of
>some one intending to breed them, they won't be around long. We've
>seen this happen to species after species in the country. All too
>often people expect some one else to breed and spread the fish around.
>If you can look past one statement in my article, you'll see some of
>the options profiled for people with limited tanks or time can do.

I have been told that there is a person here in honolulu with a pair of the
original G. wanamensis from the wild. He does not breed them nor will he
sell them. I have also been told that this species may have gone extinct
in the wild as only a very few large males have been found recently in
native habitat. Biggest problem is we can't expect to go back and bring in
more to the hobby. In some places the unstable socio-political enviornment
may cause the destruction of the native ecosystems that these species
depend on for survival. most of the PNG/Irian speciese may no longer exist
as we knew them, due to habitat destruction or we will never be able to
collect them.

MTF

Mach T. Fukada, Web Master
fukada at hawaii.edu
Honolulu Aquarium Society
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/2948/HASF.html