Aquarium Conservation Breeding

A number of species of fish, invertebrates and aquatic plants are threatened with extinction or are considered extinct in the wild.  Tropical creatures have some very small distribution areas.  Thus, the South American dwarf Villavicencio, found in only a few waters in the vicinity of the Colombian city of Villavicencio, at the foot of the Andes, have been found to be threatened by habitat destruction.

The Endler guppy, from the family of viviparous tooth carps, comes from a single fresh-water lagoon in the northeast of Venezuela.  It is regarded as extinct in the wild, however, as an aquarium fish it is bred not only privately, but at public zoos such as the Cologne Zoo.

This also applies to a whole range of other species. For example, the trade magazine Aquarium Live published, in its issue of April/May 2006, an appeal by Professor Dr. Peter Finke for the participation in the conservation breeding of the species Parosphromenus.  These fish are among the most threatened labyrinth fish, as their habitat is threatened by deforestation.

In the very acidic, almost mineral-forest streams in Southeast Asia live fish that are very sophisticated in their attitude and are very rarely available in pet shops. There exists a working group, which has set for itself the target of halting the extinction of these fish species, at least in aquariums.
Conservation breeding is not easy to implement. Captive bred fish can very quickly clear distinction in morphology and coloration of their counterparts living in the wild.