I honestly think the below legislation may herald the death of the wild betta hobby within Australia. At this point in time, I really don't know if I am going to be able to continue to import wild-caught stock from smaller suppliers and breeders overseas without prohibitive costs, or the risk of my fish being killed for batch testing.
http://www.daff.gov.au/ba/ira/current-animal/ornamental-finfish/quarantine-policy-freshwater-ornamental-finfish-approved-countries I don't want my selection to be limited to Australian bred stock, or wholesale fish of doubtful purity and health. Australia already seems to have some of the toughest regulations in the world, regarding the importation of ornamental fish. Because of this, the hobby is a costly one, and I am wondering just how this is going to impact smaller aquariums in Australia. For me personally, I am going to be working with only a select few species from within the coccina complex. It often costs close to one-hundred dollars to purchase and import a pair of wild bettas into the country. I wish I had the finances and space to make it feasible to import 2-3 pairs of each coccina complex species into Australia. Sadly, I don't, and choices have to be made. Therefore, I will be trying to import pairs of Betta brownorum, Betta hendra, Betta sp. apiapi, Betta persephone, and Betta sp. cf. rutilans green before March of next year. I can only hope that this policy does not completely destroy a hobby that I enjoy so greatly. Comments are closed.
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AuthorLocated in Melbourne, Australia, I currently keep and breed a number of species from the coccina complex. Archives
November 2017
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