Is the breeding of marine fish in aquariums possible now?

Question

I used to have marine fish back in the 70's when it first became popular in England,but gave it up because they were so hard to keep,and impossible to breed.
How much has it progressed?

Answer 1

I think you'll find the hobby has come a long way since the 70s. It's possible for the average hobbyist to have more success in keeping the fish (thanks to better knowledge and improved equipment and methods) and even breed certain species. I think that concerns about previous collecting methods (such as use of cycanide) and reef destruction are driving the hobby towards being more responsible in the sources of the livestock - and this includes captive breeding and coral propagation.

What you'll find with many species, though, isn't that the breeding/spawning is hard - it's successfully raising the fry. They are tiny compared to many freshwater fry, and many are free-floating where the need to eat from a constant plankton supply (which, for most of us, means many of the fry and their food will get removed by a filter/skimmer system unless the aquarist noticed the eggs and set up a separate tank for rearing the fry).

There's probably also a better network of communication now, with the internet and hobbyist publications where people who have had success with breeding can share their methods with others, making it easier on the people trying to raise some of the easier species - they at least can avoid mistakes others have made. Some of the easier ones to breed are cardinalfish (mouthbrooders), clownfish, and dottybacks.

If you'd be interested in geting back into the saltwater hobby, I'd recommend that you pick up a good book (recent) so you'll catch up on all that's been happening (including all the debate over methodology and equipment - there's often more than one "right" way to have a successful aquarium) and species and methods of reproduction. If you're still in England, keep an eye on topics in "Practical Fishkeeping" - you may find some articles there, or other hobbyist publications. One website I like is wetwebmedia.com. I'll provide you a link to one of their articles on marine fish reproduction, and there's a question and answer forum there as well. And you might check to see if there are any aquarium societies in your area - you might find one dedicated just to marine fish, or one with some members with interests along these lines that can help you out.

Answer 2

breeding marine fish (or any fish for that matter) for income calls for an fairly large set up and extremely specied certain circumstances... niether of contain typical of the domicile set up nor less expensive to get/guard/use

Answer 3

Yes
A lot of different marine fish and Corals are now captive bread for sale.
I have a captive bred Powder brown tang, Yellow tang, Tomato Clown and 2 Psychodelic Mandarins.