tank-bred cardinal tetras

Where might I find a source of tank-bred and raised cardinal or neon
tetras? I am especially interested in cardinals. I do not like the
wild-caught ones, for ethical reasons, and because the ones I have
used have been really prone to disease.
I would be grateful for any suggestions.

Budrow

On 6 Nov 2003 15:12:37 -0800, Budrow wrote:
Where might I find a source of tank-bred and raised cardinal or neon
tetras? I am especially interested in cardinals. I do not like the
wild-caught ones, for ethical reasons, and because the ones I have
used have been really prone to disease.
I would be grateful for any suggestions.

Where are you based... I know of some in London UK...

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"Budrow" wrote in message
om...
Where might I find a source of tank-bred and raised cardinal or neon
tetras? I am especially interested in cardinals. I do not like the
wild-caught ones, for ethical reasons, and because the ones I have
used have been really prone to disease.
I would be grateful for any suggestions.

Budrow

AFAIK, Neons & Cardinals are also 'farm' bred in the wild. There is no
danger of extinction. They might even have a slightly better life being
raised in wild settings, than in a fish farm, - although anyone's
definition of 'better' would certainly vary. I personally don't see any
ethical distinctions, ymmv. Wild-caught are a controlled harvest for
such popular fish as these tetras. The existence of the harvest helps
ensure the environment is protected. If they were all tank-bred or
farmed, there would be one less reason for the local government to
protect their habitat.

Neons are often mixed, so determining if they are from farms or rivers
might be difficult. Source of supply is often dictated by proximity to
buyer. Transhippers would have a better idea, but wholesalers are a step
removed, and the LFS is yet another step removed. What is the truth
might be different from what the LFS thinks. Any shortages, mortality,
shipping errors etc are quickly compensated by pulling stock from another
source, resulting in a mix.

Because of their higher cost, it's easier to establish the source of
Cardinal tetras. Tetras destined for schooling with high price Discus,
will have their parentage more highly scrutinized ;~) Cardinals are
available from both sources, though the information might get lost by the
time it reaches the co-op student bagging your fish ;o)

This is all I know, from my limited observations, from my little corner
of the world. Where you are, the situation might be very different. You
might have a hard time finding wild-caught if you live in Florida, as you
would have a hard time finding farmed Neons if you lived in Peru. For
Asia, Australia, Europe and much of North America, both are generally
available, or can be requested, but not from every supplier. hth

NetMax