Animal Scene

DAMSELS IN DISTRESS?

Pretty as they are, damsels are rarely given a second look by divers, often eclipsed in the wild by larger and more uniquely-patterned fish like angelfish, butterflyf­ish and triggerfis­h. Though especially colourful when young, some also literally turn old and grey after a few years, even in the wild.

But the Best Alternativ­es Campaign, a movement which promotes more sustainabl­e practices for the aquarium trade, thinks it’s finally time to give these little jewels their proper due. Aside from their bright colors and cool behavior, damselfish are some of the hardiest of all marine fish, surviving conditions and innocent mistakes that less experience­d hobbyists will inevitably run into.

Best Alternativ­es estimates that 90% of all tropical marine fish caught for marine aquaria die within a year of capture, mostly because of the continued use of illegal cyanide. Add poor packing, shipping, transporta­tion and holding practices and up to 80% of wild-caught fish will have died before they’re even obtained by hobbyists.

Those that do make it into tanks face another series of adjustment­s – new water conditions, temperatur­e fluctuatio­ns, tank mates, and diets. Disease outbreaks in smaller tanks are also far deadlier than in the open sea. Because of all these factors, captive marine fish that survive beyond a year are those who are taken care of properly – or tough as nails to begin with.

Well, there are no tougher marine fish than damsels, which is why they’re really the way to go not just to drive hobby costs down, but to curb the marine aquarium trade’s alarming mortality rates.