Organisms in Captivity
When dealing with living animals, care must be taken to insure a healthy life for them. Many of the animals that we work with may be wild collected and to provide them with poor living conditions would be inhumane. Fish Mike stives for proper animal care and does what is possible to prive the organisms with ideal living corridors.
Whether it be fish, coral, live plants, or reptiles, they all deserve the best. It is our job to do the proper research to know about each creature before putting them in a captive situation.
Wild collected specimens:
As of now, most saltwater fish and a few freshwater fish are wild caught. This means divers go out and collect specimens for the hobby and market. Throughout this ordeal, the specimens are put through stress and this can result in increased deaths. When possible, Fish Mike tries to get captive bred creatures. This means they have been bred in captivity. But this is not always an option. But efforts continue to provide the hobby and market with more options when it comes to captive bred creatures.
Captive bred specimens:
Most freshwater fish are rbed in captivity, which is a good thing. Captive bred animals do better in captivity throughout their lives. Less unneeded stress is put on them and overall they live a healthier life. Many poison dart frogs, and reptiles can also be purchased which have been bred with the sole purpose for being used in displays. Overall it is a better idea to use captive bred organism both for the overall health of them, and the display. Wild caught animals run the risk of bringing in disease or parasites only found in wild animals.
Aquacultured corals:
Most coral these days are not collected from reefs. Most is cultured in facilities that grow coral for the aquarium hobby. If corla is collected from the wild, the practices used have strict regulations to insure a non destructive technique to prevent the death of a coral reef.
Live plants care:
Plants are living as well, unless they are plastic or silk (the live versus fake plants is another issue and there are positives to both sides,) but living plants require proper lighting, temperature, proper nutrients, and in the case of aquariums, CO2 injection. We use live plants in both terrariums (desert and tropical) and in aquariums. Lighting can get expensive to provide a simulation of natural sunlight for optimal growth. This must eb taken into consideration when selecting fake or real. But real plants do offer an outstanding look that fake just can't match. The focus when using live plants mustn't only be on the animals, but plants too, or els eyou will run into problems with the environment. Plants are usually grown and propigated for the use of terrariums or aquariums in greenhosues and nurseries. There are many species, some rare and beautiful that can be used in the aquariums and terrariums to achive antural beauty.
Providing the creatures a good home:
The animals we sue in our displays are beautiful creatures and their health should not be taken lightly. Ultimately, deaths and sickness do occur, and is out of our control. but care is taken to properly acclimate any creature to the new enclosure. And prolonged care and observation is key to prevent future problems. Preventing stress on the creatures is key for keepign them alive and disease/parasite free. Proper diet, proper temperatures, proper hiding palces, and a clean enclosure are some primary keys in keeping the creatures healthy. There are many other factors thata re looked at as well. It is our job to know each creature and their living habbits to enable us to provide them with the proper environment.
If you are interested in learning more about the inhabitants about your display or would like any special information, please email us or give us a call. We would be mroe than happy to provide you with any requested information. Knowing the creatures used inside and out is key to keeping them healthy.