Conservation and the Aquarium Hobbyist

Does the home aquarium hobbyist contribute to conservation? The answer is yes, and more so than you might think.

It is a sad truth, but like many other things on this planet, some African Cichlids are endangered or extinct in the wild. How did it happen? Well, many years ago when white people took over Africa, they brought with them a very invasive, and aggressive species of Perch called the Nile Perch. Now because Cichlids are Perciforms (“perch like fish”) and so was the Nile Perch, they battled for dominance and completely wiped out some species of African Cichlids. It was one of the biggest man made blunders on that side of the world because it did not just wipe out African Cichlids, but pretty much any fish it could feasibly fight. It’s a very tough fish! Efforts to restore the balance have been ongoing, and tough. Hagen’s Nutrifin division is one of the more well known pet companies helping to conserve and restore Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganika, and Lake Malawi, the three major lakes where African Cichlids exist.

So, how does the Cichlid Hobbyist contribute to conservation? Some species of Cichlid exist only in the hobby and are extinct now. In essence, that means WE ARE the conservation effort! The home aquarist who raises and keeps endangered or rare Cichlids is the salvation of the species, in most cases. I dream of a day when we as hobbyists are the ones to safely, re-introduce these species to the wild. I personally raise some Red Tail “Species 44” a.k.a. “Thick Skin” these are beautiful Cichlids with yellow sides, red fins, blueish silver base color and dark black zebra stripes. It’s colors rival that of some saltwater species and yet, these fantastic looking Cichlids are extinct in the wild. Sometimes this fish is mistaken for the Haplochromis (Zebra) Obliquidens, or Zebra Oblique for short, but they are not the same. The Zebra Oblique is not quite as an attractive fish, but it too, is considered extinct in the wild, although, these two species are common in the aquarium hobby.

In conclusion, if you own or raise fish like this you are definitely not doing anything illegal, the opposite in fact, you may be their last hope, so be proud fellow African Cichlid Enthusiast, not only do you get to enjoy the beauty of these creatures, you get to save them too, just by keeping them! Makes for excellent bragging rights too!