4 ms·
I guessed this was the Arowana before the page loaded. Always thought those were incredible fish, didn't know they were illegal in the US. I've definitely see
by dabluecaboose 3y ago
I guessed this was the Arowana before the page loaded. Always thought those were incredible fish, didn't know they were illegal in the US.
I've definitely seen a lot of them online in aquarist circles. One wonders if the US prohibition might be counterproductive given how much of the population is probably now in farms/aquariums.
I wonder why axolotls aren't illegal? From what I understand, they're even more critically endangered, existing only in one small lake outside Mexico City.
- wtracy 3y agoAxolotls are now illegal to trade in California, but that's only at the state level. Axolotls have a much longer history of being bred in captivity than arowana. They're actually regularly used as lab animals.
- justrealist 3y agoI don't like being cynical but bureaucratic inertia is the simple answer. There's no good reason for the distinction other than one got grandfathered in before it got banned.
- cjensen 3y agoNon-Asian arowana are legal and common aquarium fish.
- dabluecaboose 3y agoThat explains my confusion, thanks!
- SonicScrub 3y agoAxolotls available as pets are bred in captivity. They breed in captivity quite well, so there's no need to take from wild population to support the pet industry. The wild population is diminishing not because of a pet trade but because of environmental degradation of their ecosystem, meaning that reintroduction efforts from the domestic population isn't really possible.