Are CPD's still endangered?

[bettabreeder]

hi guys i was just wondering if cpd's were still endangered?

[MikeM]

I don't know if the export restrictions in Myanmar have been lifted yet, but there were new populations discovered a few months ago:

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1267

It's good that there's lots of people succeeding in breeding this species, hopefully there will be tank-bred guys available soon.

[beowulf]

I believe that there has been some successes right here in the club so there should be some here soon!!

[dan2x38]

In futher reading there are more areas they do exist. I posted a PDF file with a little more info. on these little guys. There is still limited information on this species. There is a lot of illegal fishing & exportation of course. I have yet to hear if the ban on fishing & exportation has been lifted.

Their habitat is only 30 cm deep with plenty of vegetation. When they are fished they trump through the vegetation which is their spawning ground. They are egg scatters so they need a place for the eggs to hatch and remain protected from their parents and other predators. It takes 3-5 days to hatch. Being very tiny they need a lot of vegetation to hide in so they can grow to adults then spawn. They are even used as food believe it or not. They collect then put about 500 per can. There have only been 3 other fish discovered in their biotope. These ponds are feed by springs. The spring waters are also being diverted because there is more development of the surrounding areas. More development means pollution too.

Is there a risk of them becoming extinct IMO YES!

With that said myself and at least one other member Fishnut have had some success at breeding them. At present I have approx. 70 growing out. Half are almost large enough to sex and colouring out so soon able to sell. The rest will be at least another 45 days before they are ready to leave home. I have no more hatched because I have limited room. Once I move some out I will breed some more. So in theory I can only breed 70-100 every several months.

Some folks have asked me for some but I forget most of who asked. If anyone is interested maybe you should PM me and I will jot your name down. BA when they had them were selling them for $12 wild caught. As far as I know there are none in town. To be honest I have not worked out a final price.

I am not looking to make a bunch of money on them. I hope to increase their breeding to decrease the purchasing of wild caught at least locally. Every little bit can help!

[Jeff1192]

I'll definitely be interested when they're ready to go Dan!

[Fishnut]

As a fellow breeder, I get first dibs!   

Mine are still too young to tell if they're male or female.  As soon as I can tell, I'll have some avai;able to sell. Not as many as Dan though.  Right now I only have 1 adult CPD tank and I scoop out the fry as I see them.  Dan has been switching out the moss, so his fry hatch in a safe place, so he has more fry.  I'm in the process of designing a hatchery for my CPD's to ensure the parents don't eat the eggs and I don't have to switch out the moss.

CPD's are endangered, IMO, in the wild because of the massive amounts of harvesting.  I have nursed 3 adult CPD's back to health that were in rough shape...skin and bones and stressed.  They're in the basement where nobody goes, so they've been able to relax and eat for the past 2.5 weeks.  I've experienced how easy it really is to breed these fish and am confident that as soon as the captive breds start hitting the market, that the demand will stop for wild caught.  Perhaps then the population of wilds will get better, although with development and pollution...who knows.  Atleast we are breeding them now and not when the wild population is desecrated.

It would be nice to be able to only have these fish available to people who are breeding them.  I've seen some companies do that...internet based companies, not companies with a store front.

[dan2x38]

I have 20 wild caught for breeding. My 1st 6: 2 - males, 4 - females were in great shape but cost me almost $50. I had three fry in a less than 2 weeks. Then I decided to put up a species tank. I got another 14. They were unhealthy and not able to be sexed. They were very small and under weight. But I got them for $45. It took some weeks to get them healthy and able to be sexed.

Once they were all healthy I started swapping moss out to a 5.5 gallon at least every 5 days. In 1 week got 30-35 fry. The 2nd week another 35-40 fry.

I now have several gorgeous males one is very stunning. If I could breed some as colourful as him I would be very proud.

After I'd put up the species tank the numbers went up but I have limited space. Maybe is there is a big enough demand I can upgrade my set-up?

[zapisto]

We close our sale on this fish as soon as we se the danger of extinction.
We did have stock but we reserve them for breeder only.
and i think the fruit of this decision will start to show up, because some of our breeder actually succeed.

it is very great to see people succeed also , greta for this fish , and great for the hobby.

[dan2x38]

I think offering a price of $6 will help get these guys breeding. Tank breeding will greatly reduce the wild caught demand. As I mentioned I am not in this to make money but to try and preserve this beautiful fish plus to promote it's breeding. If I wanted to make money on breeding I would charge more and have a larger set-up. Also breed more then one species...