LBS Aquaculture
Ornamental Fishes
HISTORY
The history of the Ornamental fish breeding goes back as far as 1163. In the year 1841, M. Ward, a natural scientist, at the time introduced this ornamental fish keeping as a hobby, to the common man through the construction of an aquarium with fish. The word "Aquarium" (derived from Latin 'aqua' (water) ) was used to describe a "pond with fish" by V. H. Ghouse who took this culture of keeping, and breeding Ornamental Fish in a new and different direction. The reports of the existence of fish ponds at Ran Masu Uyana during the period of King Dutugemunu goes on to prove that ornamental fish breeding has a long history in Sri Lanka too, further it is believed that fish were kept in the security moats, surrounding the rock fortress at Sigiriya. rearing of ornamental fish which is considered by many to be the second largest hobby in the world, was initially popular among children. However, later on due to the influence of other causes, including results of various researches carried out by medical personnel, and others, there was a rapid expansion.
KNOWLEDGE
It is learnt that in Sri Lanka, there is a considerable number of persons who are interested in entering but lack of knowledge prevent them from realizing this aim. Any person, who is interested in venturing into this industry, which is full of life and action, has initially to follow a practical training course before proceeding further.
Subsequently, it will be imperative to find a market for their produce, a task which is quite difficult in the beginning. It is not uncommon that at times, they will be forced to sell their produce at a very low rate to large scale businessmen who are able to manipulate the market and the prices.
VARIETIES
Presently there exist a number of ornamental fish varieties worldwide, which has won the attention and interest of ornamental fish lovers and breeders. The total number of fish varieties available to the global market is around 1600, out of which 750 varieties happen to be fresh-water fish, which occupies 80 per cent - 90 per cent of the International Ornamental Fish trade. The remaining are tropical sea-water fish varieties, and other aquatic creatures. Out off all the above, some species have become immensely popular, i.e. Gold fish, Angels, Carp, Guppies, Molly, Platy, Sword tails, Oscar, Discus, Barbs and Tetra. popularity is something relative and may differ from country to country, and there is no uniformity. While the breeds such as Gold fish and Carp has a bigger demand in Germany, the buyers in the United States seem to prefer varieties such as Guppies, Molly and Sword tail in comparison.
BREEDING
The techniques and methods of breeding Ornamental Fish vary from species to species. There is evidence to show that long-term research in breeding outside natural habitats had been carried out in case of some varieties of ornamental fish. The best example available is the 'discus' fish of Latin American origin, which was used for human consumption by the locals, despite the beauty of the creatures. The North American and European traders to Brazil witnessed the local inhabitants, catching this beautiful variety of fish for their consumption, and realized that was more lucrative to rear these green and brown coloured variety as Ornamental Fish, however, it seems that they did not succeed in finding the relevant information required to proceed further in this regard, later however, as a result of the researches carried out by several persons spending considerable amount of money in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru among others is South America, now the fish breeders and cultivators of the present day, are able to breed this species. It is reported that it was a person called W. T. Todd who was successful in breeding this variety of fish for the first time in 1949, outside their natural habitat.
