Re: [RML] Fish in General

Andrew Boyd (andrew at pcug.org.au)
Mon, 03 Mar 1997 19:19:43 +1000

At 12:06 AM 3/3/97 -0500, Chris Benes wrote:
>Since the list seems to be in a bit of a lull right now, I'll pose this
>question and see if I can't drum up some discussion. I am curious about
>fishkeeping in general in Australia. After being a member of this list for
>a few months, I think I've got at least a general idea about aquarists who
>keep native fish, but what do other people keep? Are there cichlid
>fanatics there like there are in the U.S, and so on? Or, is it illegal to
>import these kinds of fish? What exactly is legal there and what is not?
>I'm just curious....

Hello Chris! Well, I hate to pollute the genepool of the list with
non-native chat, but what's the point of being moderaptor if I can't enjoy
it? ;)

There are several hundred species of exotic fishes kept and sometimes ;)
bred in Oz. Cichlids have a cult following, and have a lot of problems with
inbreeding and lack of access to new species that pop up with annoying
regularity in the US and Europe! :)

Killifish keepers have the same problem - only more so, as most Killies
aren't important $$$wise so are left almost entirely to hobbyists, whom
there are not enough of. This may be remedied by the formation of the
National Australian Killifish Association, and the Southern Hemisphere
Killifish Keeper's Mailing List (known as AUNZZA -
http://www.killi.net/aunzza/ has the details) has done a lot to spread some
species around, thanks to the generosity of some list members.

It is illegal to import a lot of things into Australia - I have some views
on that which are not shared by some other list members, but I'll just say
that I think that the dangers may have been over-stated.

Regards, Andrew Boyd
__________________________________________________________________
Andrew Boyd - andrew at pcug.org.au - http://www.pcug.org.au/~andrew
"May you kindle Fire and never be burned by it,
May the Air never send storms across your path,
May the path across the Earth be a soft one,
May the Water of your tears always taste sweet with joy,
May your Spirit find your own true path...."
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