Research to this Critically endangered fish-species :
Swimming blind – The Critically Endangered blind cave catfish
Swimming blind – The Critically Endangered blind cave catfish
Namibia blind cave catfish
- Thread starter vogelcommando
- Start date
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Interesting ! Thanks for sharing !
A perfect species for an aquarium breeding program!
Cave fishes in general - many have extremely small natural ranges - could be a great project for insurance breeding in aquaria or by private hobbyists. Natural curiosities. So far I think only one species from Mexico and one from Oman are kept, and both are thriving.
Cave fishes in general - many have extremely small natural ranges - could be a great project for insurance breeding in aquaria or by private hobbyists. Natural curiosities. So far I think only one species from Mexico and one from Oman are kept, and both are thriving.
AFAIK there is a captive breeding program for the Mexican Blind Cave Catfish.
Fascinating species I had never heard of before!
It’s interesting how convergent evolution has shaped fish in cave systems with a lot of cave dwelling fish some unrelated all over the world developing heightened senses while losing their sight.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Salamanders too, namely the olm and the Texas blind cave salamander. Perhaps there are even more out there waiting to be discovered by science ?
I agree that a captive breeding program by aquariums / zoos would be a very good idea but I'm much more skeptical about the prospect of private hobbyists becoming involved.
There is a lot of overcollection of endangered fish species for the aquaria trade worldwide. This is driven in large part by demand by private hobbyists and when a new species is discovered demand is never higher (to say nothing of the strange characteristics of this particular fish which will probably make it even more desireable by some avid collectors and trade more lucrative).
There are believed to be only 200 individuals of this catfish left within this Namibian cave which would suggest that a genetic bottleneck is either close or has already been reached. Overcollection at a time like this could be a disaster IMO.
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Private Hobbyists are not good at founding populations sustainably but instead are good at keeping a large population of them (although unfortunately their genetics are not suited for wild release) I think this catfish might not be the best fit for private hobbyists due to its obscurity, rarity and habits.
I can think of only one example where Private Hobbyists ended up causing a freshwater fish to become highly endangered (Asian Arowana) yet I can think of many endangered and vulnerable fish that would be in a much worse situation if they weren’t introduced into the private hobby (Boesmanis Rainbowfish, Denisons Barb, Red Tailed Black Shark and countless African Cichlids, etc)
But yes having hobbyists collect wild specimens of this catfish would almost certainly be a disaster.
Well he did say the Mexican species was one of two captively bred
While I agree that allowing private keepers to get involved can be a risky endeavor, I think we are undervaluing how much good they have done for endangered fish. There are a good few fish species which would be extinct had it not been for the private trade, including a few Mexican splitfins.
Personally, I've always felt some of the Malagasy cave fish could be good candidates for a breeding program as well. The US also has a few endemic endangered cave fish as well.
~Thylo
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Well he did say the Mexican species was one of two captively bred
While I agree that allowing private keepers to get involved can be a risky endeavor, I think we are undervaluing how much good they have done for endangered fish. There are a good few fish species which would be extinct had it not been for the private trade, including a few Mexican splitfins.
Personally, I've always felt some of the Malagasy cave fish could be good candidates for a breeding program as well. The US also has a few endemic endangered cave fish as well.
~Thylo
I don't doubt that private keepers can potentially do good, its just that there are numerous examples of the discovery of new species of amphibians or reptiles leading to unsustainable illegal overcollection in the wild.
I doubt that a fish that occurs at such a low density could survive this kind of overcollection.
I assumed he was talking about the Mexican Blind Cave Tetra.Well he did say the Mexican species was one of two captively bred
While I agree that allowing private keepers to get involved can be a risky endeavor, I think we are undervaluing how much good they have done for endangered fish. There are a good few fish species which would be extinct had it not been for the private trade, including a few Mexican splitfins.
Personally, I've always felt some of the Malagasy cave fish could be good candidates for a breeding program as well. The US also has a few endemic endangered cave fish as well.
~Thylo
Apologies, I misread 'catfish' at the end of your sentence. I was confused for a moment as to how you missed that
Are these kept just bts at San Antonio?~Thylo
And yes I do agree that with such a small population collection of any kind could prove disastrous unless carefully and expertly handled.
`Thylo
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Have to be honest, I'd never heard of the Malagasy cave fish until today, so thanks for mentioning them in your comment.
I thought there was another collection in Texas and maybe one in Mexico too.Apologies, I misread 'catfish' at the end of your sentence. I was confused for a moment as to how you missed that
~Thylo
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Yes I generally agree with everything that you've said here.
I agree that the catfish would best be kept ex-situ by aquariums and zoos and as part as a sustained and organized captive breeding program. Moreover, I also think that the involvement of private hobbyists can be useful in some cases, however, as you've mentioned already with this particular species the issue of genetics could potentially arise.
When I think of these kind of situations I invariably think of the irony and paradox of the case of the axolotl. Animals kept by the thousands throughout the world by private hobbyists but which are so genetically inbred as to be totally useless for the conservation of a species on the verge of extinction. It isn't a pretty picture.
Surely no more inbred than a huge portion of captive programs organized by zoos? Entire populations have been founded on 3-5 individuals, sometimes as few as two.
~Thylo
For the record, I just noticed that the Wikipedia page for this species cites the National Museum of Namibia when saying that multiple attempts have been made to establish captive breeding for this species and they all have failed.
~Thylo
~Thylo
I clicked-through to a detailed report from 2019. It recommends an ex-situ breeding attempt.
https://n-c-e.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/Final_report_Clarias cavernicola_November_2019.pdf
https://n-c-e.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/Final_report_Clarias cavernicola_November_2019.pdf
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Yes, true a great deal of the captive programs organized by zoos are indeed working with animals that are inbred.
There was a great paper on this situation published a couple of years back and can be read for free online.
Tale of Two Axolotls
Interesting, I'll check that out. I wonder why attempts have failed.
Awesome find ! I'll have a look at this.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Actually the authors seem very hesitant about it :
"Artificial breeding should be studied to potentially establish a population outside its natural range for restocking if necessary. This, however, should only be done in extreme circumstances as diseases/parasites/fungi can also be introduced into the cave."