botia sidthemunkis and threatened species list

[LM]

Hi,

I just got a few botia sidthemunkis (chained loach, dwarf loach), since they
seem to do well in sof****er tanks, and I got a seriously soft water tank.
While I was at my favorite fish store, the fishkeeper told me that
sidthemunkis are on IUCN Red List of threatened species.

What does this mean for the fish supply if I decide to increase the school?
(I just got 3, since they were kinda expensive.. but wish to add more to
keep them happier in the tank). or is the threatened species only apply in
the wild and is not so bad for captive species? I sort of feel bad having a
few of these since I know I an incapable of breeding them (tank is too
hostile for breeding, and I don't really have resources to breed fish...)

does anyone know if the sidthemunkis are bred easily in captivity? or are
they like neon tetras where they really only catch them in the wild?

linda

[Elaine T]

LM wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I just got a few botia sidthemunkis (chained loach, dwarf loach), since they
> seem to do well in sof****er tanks, and I got a seriously soft water tank.
> While I was at my favorite fish store, the fishkeeper told me that
> sidthemunkis are on IUCN Red List of threatened species.
>
> What does this mean for the fish supply if I decide to increase the school?
> (I just got 3, since they were kinda expensive.. but wish to add more to
> keep them happier in the tank). or is the threatened species only apply in
> the wild and is not so bad for captive species? I sort of feel bad having a
> few of these since I know I an incapable of breeding them (tank is too
> hostile for breeding, and I don't really have resources to breed fish...)
>
> does anyone know if the sidthemunkis are bred easily in captivity? or are
> they like neon tetras where they really only catch them in the wild?
>
> linda
>
>
This Thai site http://siamensis.org/about/english.asp indicates that the
threat to the species is habitat destruction and fish are barely even
found in the wild anymore. They also say that B. sidthemunki is captive
bred for the aquarium hobby. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this
site, but the fact that it is written by aquarists from the corner of
the world where the fish actually lives makes it more believable to me.

If the fish is actually captive-bred, buying them encourages fish farms
to keep breeding the species and is a very good thing.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[yuck]

I have read that these "monkey loaches" are in serious trouble in
their native environment and either are or about to be designated as
endangered. As with most botia's, they are not inclined to breed in
captivity.

May I suggest alternatives-the yoyo's and the burmese striped border
botia's are excellent denizens of a community tank (imho)
I also have clowns, striata's, red tail blue's and locahta's for a
very interesting bottom tank community. Of them, the largest,
(red-tail blues) are the the most timid.

I have stayed away from the skunk and tiger botia's.
Jefferson


On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 12:52:22 -0800, "LM" > wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I just got a few botia sidthemunkis (chained loach, dwarf loach), since they
>seem to do well in sof****er tanks, and I got a seriously soft water tank.
>While I was at my favorite fish store, the fishkeeper told me that
>sidthemunkis are on IUCN Red List of threatened species.
>
>What does this mean for the fish supply if I decide to increase the school?
>(I just got 3, since they were kinda expensive.. but wish to add more to
>keep them happier in the tank). or is the threatened species only apply in
>the wild and is not so bad for captive species? I sort of feel bad having a
>few of these since I know I an incapable of breeding them (tank is too
>hostile for breeding, and I don't really have resources to breed fish...)
>
>does anyone know if the sidthemunkis are bred easily in captivity? or are
>they like neon tetras where they really only catch them in the wild?
>
>linda
>

[sophie]

In message >, LM
> writes
>Hi,
>
>I just got a few botia sidthemunkis (chained loach, dwarf loach), since they
>seem to do well in sof****er tanks, and I got a seriously soft water tank.
>While I was at my favorite fish store, the fishkeeper told me that
>sidthemunkis are on IUCN Red List of threatened species.
>
>What does this mean for the fish supply if I decide to increase the school?
>(I just got 3, since they were kinda expensive.. but wish to add more to
>keep them happier in the tank). or is the threatened species only apply in
>the wild and is not so bad for captive species? I sort of feel bad having a
>few of these since I know I an incapable of breeding them (tank is too
>hostile for breeding, and I don't really have resources to breed fish...)

try the forum on www.loaches.com for any queries - it's a great place
and full of seriously knowledgeable loach nuts.

--
sophie