Saltwater Hobby Good or Bad (for preservation)

[ninjamyst]

Everything we do as consumers contribute negatively to the environment. If you think our hobby has a positive effect on reef and the earth, you are delusional and just trying to make yourself feel better. Think of the amount of plastic used in this hobby, the electricity to run the lights and equipments, the amount of fuel and energy used to ship corals, the rate of death in collecting fish, the rate of death in your tanks, the amount of water we waste making RODI, etc. Those things do not outweigh the pros listed above.

Everything we do is killing the planet and there's no stopping it.

#teamthanos

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

@ninjamyst I don't know about that. The amount of water our tanks use in a month isn't as much as what is used when somebody takes a shower. An obscene amount of fuel is used to transport food from California, New Zealand, France, etc. A single car will use more electricity in a month than our tanks use in six. And remember, maybe 1/250 people keep a reef tank. Watering the lawn, starting your car, and eating a fried egg are much worse for the environment. Our reefs have very little effect on the environment compared to everything else. Once everyone has solar panels, rides a train or bike instead of driving a car, and only eats food grown in a 50 mile radius, then we can worry about little things like our reefs. For now, our reefs encourage local preservation of the reef, hold a genetic database of corals and fish, and are also a part of a good, fun hobby that uses far less fuel and water compared to other hobbies. I will not deny that our reefs can have a negative effect on the environment. However, I believe that the good and the bad sort of cancel each other out. We can have our reefs without causing a significant amount of environmental damage, while also helping to expand species conservation and preventing homemade bombs being dropped on wild coral, and other forms of destruction. I remember reading a story on reefbuilders. In shallow water, near the shore in Indonesia there were long streaks of gold torches in shallow water, almost small reefs in themselves. These gold torches were pulled out of the sea, dried in the sun and used to build housing. If a coral export center was in the area, the torches would be alive today, with maybe a few small pieces missing for our tanks. And this is just one example of thousands of reefs destroyed by people who didn't see a reason to maintain them. Our hobby can help to prevent this sort of thing from happening.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Everything we do as consumers contribute negatively to the environment. If you think our hobby has a positive effect on reef and the earth, you are delusional and just trying to make yourself feel better. Think of the amount of plastic used in this hobby, the electricity to run the lights and equipments, the amount of fuel and energy used to ship corals, the rate of death in collecting fish, the rate of death in your tanks, the amount of water we waste making RODI, etc. Those things do not outweigh the pros listed above.

Everything we do is killing the planet and there's no stopping it.

#teamthanos

Man...that's a dark and honestly kinda warped way of seeing things but it seems you've definitely made up your mind already so no point in arguing about it

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I usually comment my opinion on these but then I get the doomsday squad coming in to tell me how the world already ended yesterday and the future is hopeless which it's not. The world will continue to change as it always has. Some species will make it and some won't. (I'm not a climate change doubter but whether it's changing faster or slower than it would without humans it would be changing no matter what.) Our hobby does cause some harm just like literally everything else but you have to put it into perspective. If you truly believe our hobby is a plague on the environment then by all means it's more important to follow your conscience and do what you believe is right. Nobody is forcing you to take part in it and PLEASE stop resorting to saying it's ok for you to be in it since you take better care of your fish and then point fingers and blame others. I also think it's flat out wrong to be drilling into the minds of children how the world is ending and the future (the one they will grow up and live in their whole lives) is going to be a dark and bleak nightmare. No wonder depression is so prevalent these days!

 

[ClownWrangler]

We're consumers killing 95% of most things inside 5yrs. There are exceptions but not many

This is an unsubstantiated claim.

 

[Jubei2006]

So, our hobby does have detrimental impacts on the environment, lets face it most of them do. But to think what we take from the ocean has a high impact as other destructive human behaviors such as overfishing to sustain a gigantic population, dumping waste and agricultural runoff, carbon emissions from our cars, jets, boats, planes, and industry, destroying reefs to make concrete for buildings, running a pleasure yacht over a reef (which happens often), tourists visiting reefs and pouring sunscreen into the ocean and changing a reef ecosystem (Hawaii). We are the least of the coral reefs problems. And if we share our passion and "creations" with others (my reef tank is at work in a veterinary office) we can also get other interested in what we do and about our oceans in general. Not to mention we are making generations of corals that can survive less than pristine ocean conditions. Who knows, maybe our Oregon torts, green slimers, rainbow montiporas, bounce mushrooms, unicorn fairy fart zoas, and other coral that thrive in our "dirty" systems will someday repopulate a hurting ecosystem.

 

[ClownWrangler]

The Great Barrier reef has shown record growth over the last decade. This thoroughly debunked a lot of climate change claims as well as the idea of over collecting for the hobby. The ocean is a lot bigger than people think. Ship anchors pose a bigger threat to reefs than hobbyists. The shipping industry has a long history of using hobbyists as a scapegoat because we can’t afford to fight back in court against false claims. We are an easy target. For example if some invasive macro algae is introduced somewhere the most likely source would be ship ballast but its easier to just say some hobbyist threw it in the ocean which is absurd.

Keeping any sort of habitat whether it be for corals, fish reptiles or even bugs is something everyone should do at some point in their life. The challenge of reproducing the natural habitat in captivity educates people hands on to the delicate balance of ecosystems. There are rare circumstances where a pet trade can result in over collecting but the reef hobby is not one of them. Captive breeding efforts should be as big as possible to minimize inbreeding depression as well. Not so much with corals but fish and reptiles for sure. So the more people in the hobby the better.

 

[ClownWrangler]

There are a lot of unsubstantiated claims being made here. No need to get on the defensive I guess since the burden of proof is on the accuser.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

There are a lot of unsubstantiated claims being made here. No need to get on the defensive I guess since the burden of proof is on the accuser.

But what I hate is that so many people see these claims and assume they're facts and the points of view which come from those claims form a skewed view that just spreads like a virus

 

[MnFish1]

Hi,

Recently I came across a documentary on freshwater fish keeping that made very valid points on how important the aquarium trade is on preserving specific species that otherwise would never be discovered due to contamination and destruction of natural environments.

Simultaneously keeping certain species where their habitats were destroyed already could be a way of saving them from extinction.

Can this also be valid for the Saltwater Hobby?

What are the goods or bads that his hobby does to the environment?

Open for discussion, keen on seeing the forum's thoughts.

The ocean us huge - the reefs are smaller but still huge. the hobby makes no difference one way or the other. People pretending they are going to put corals back in The ocean - possibly - but - they will not replace the natural reef there IMHO. People should be concentrating on Less pollution dumped into reefs. (see could have said cyanide) - but - thats 1,1000 of the pollution problem. People want to talk about CO2 - great thats 1:1000 of the cyanide problem . But lets focus on them

 

[Brian_68]

The Great Barrier reef has shown record growth over the last decade. This thoroughly debunked a lot of climate change claims as well as the idea of over collecting for the hobby. The ocean is a lot bigger than people think. Ship anchors pose a bigger threat to reefs than hobbyists. The shipping industry has a long history of using hobbyists as a scapegoat because we can’t afford to fight back in court against false claims. We are an easy target. For example if some invasive macro algae is introduced somewhere the most likely source would be ship ballast but its easier to just say some hobbyist threw it in the ocean which is absurd.

Keeping any sort of habitat whether it be for corals, fish reptiles or even bugs is something everyone should do at some point in their life. The challenge of reproducing the natural habitat in captivity educates peopleTh hands on to the delicate balance of ecosystems. There are rare circumstances where a pet trade can result in over collecting but the reef hobby is not one of them. Captive breeding efforts should be as big as possible to minimize inbreeding depression as well. Not so much with corals but fish and reptiles for sure. So the more people in the hobby the better.

The great barrier reef has not shown record growth the last decade by any stretch, that claim from one person has been debunked.

 

[MnFish1]

Everything we do as consumers contribute negatively to the environment. If you think our hobby has a positive effect on reef and the earth, you are delusional and just trying to make yourself feel better. Think of the amount of plastic used in this hobby, the electricity to run the lights and equipments, the amount of fuel and energy used to ship corals, the rate of death in collecting fish, the rate of death in your tanks, the amount of water we waste making RODI, etc. Those things do not outweigh the pros listed above.

Everything we do is killing the planet and there's no stopping it.

#teamthanos

If what you believe is true - (and no - I'm not suggesting this) - give up your place on the planet?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

If what you believe is true - (and no - I'm not suggesting this) - give up your place on the planet?

I was going to comment something similar but thought that would be too direct since I don't know them...that's why I just left the post I left as a response

 

[ClownWrangler]

The great barrier reef has not shown record growth the last decade by any stretch, that claim from one person has been debunked.

You have it backwards.

 

[MnFish1]

Everything we do as consumers contribute negatively to the environment. If you think our hobby has a positive effect on reef and the earth, you are delusional and just trying to make yourself feel better. Think of the amount of plastic used in this hobby, the electricity to run the lights and equipments, the amount of fuel and energy used to ship corals, the rate of death in collecting fish, the rate of death in your tanks, the amount of water we waste making RODI, etc. Those things do not outweigh the pros listed above.

Everything we do is killing the planet and there's no stopping it.

#teamthanos

I"assuming -then-you are going to turn off your computer - immediately. no more internet. no more posting- because - your post itself is contributing to the problem your complaint about. Think about the glass, plastic and rare minerals used in your laptop or phone MY GOD - tURN IT OFF. Go live in a tiny house

 

[Sean Clark]

This reminds me of cows and tigers. If you want to ensure that a particular animal's survival status is protected then consume it. Nobody is worried about the cows because we eat them. The world cow population alone may impact the the environment more than we know.

I am all for position that consuming a product is good for that product and thus its preservation.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

This reminds me of cows and tigers. If you want to ensure that a particular animal's survival status is protected then consume it. Nobody is worried about the cows because we eat them. The world cow population alone may impact the the environment more than we know.

I am all for position that consuming a product is good for that product and thus its preservation.

I heard that somewhere else on here and found it to be a very interesting thought...it's true that if there's demand for something then somebody will provide it. That's one of the interesting things about demand.

 

[ClownWrangler]

This reminds me of cows and tigers. If you want to ensure that a particular animal's survival status is protected then consume it. Nobody is worried about the cows because we eat them. The world cow population alone may impact the the environment more than we know.

I am all for position that consuming a product is good for that product and thus its preservation.

Clownfish don't fart methane though

I agree. But I think the main point in debates like this one that go over peoples heads is that its primarily the destruction of habitats by those not interested in the critters in that habitat that do it in. The only possible threat this hobby could create is over collection, which is already heavily regulated, so its a non issue. If more people get into the hobby, the result will be more captive breeding not more collecting. Also, captive breeding will become cheaper due to economies of scale.

 

[Sean Clark]

Clownfish don't fart methane though

I agree. But I think the main point in debates like this one that go over peoples heads is that its primarily the destruction of habitats by those not interested in the critters in that habitat that do it in. The only possible threat this hobby could create is over collection, which is already heavily regulated, so its a non issue. If more people get into the hobby, the result will be more captive breeding not more collecting.

Although hilarious, Clownfish do fart methane. Their digestive system is also bacterial based just like yours, mine, and cows and they all produce methane.

I think that the people that harvest from the ocean do have a strong desire to maintain the environment to further their own lifestyle. If they destroy what earns their living, then they won't make that living anymore.

 

[ClownWrangler]

Everything we do as consumers contribute negatively to the environment. If you think our hobby has a positive effect on reef and the earth, you are delusional and just trying to make yourself feel better. Think of the amount of plastic used in this hobby, the electricity to run the lights and equipments, the amount of fuel and energy used to ship corals, the rate of death in collecting fish, the rate of death in your tanks, the amount of water we waste making RODI, etc. Those things do not outweigh the pros listed above.

Everything we do is killing the planet and there's no stopping it.

#teamthanos

Get out of the hobby then and stop trolling these forums