ADWaquatics is committed to sustainable best practices in the aquarium hobby. Our objective is to educate people about these practices and promote the health of aquatic life.
As part of this commitment, conserving our oceans and waterways is vital to the survival of aquatic life. We support initiatives that actively protect marine life, monitor the aquarium trade, and generally protect our waterways for aquatic species.
In Canada, there are approximately 8.5 million fish kept as pets which is the most out of any other pet (however, less households have fish than dogs and cats). In the US, the number exceeds 142 million fish kept in aquariums.
There are over 15,000 freshwater species of fish broken down into eight orders. With only 1% of the worlds water habitats, freshwater fish are in need of protection and conservation in the wild.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has a Red List which helps categorize fish that are in need of conservation and protection. Its also a sort of ‘watchlist’ for species that may have issues soon. There are many freshwater fish on this list (over 15000), in these categories.
| IUCN RED LIST CATEGORY | NO. OF SPECIES |
|---|---|
| Extinct | 80 |
| Extinct In Wild | 10 |
| Critical Endangered (presumed extinct) | 583 (115) |
| Endangered | 870 |
| Vulnerable | 966 |
| Near Threatened | 511 |
| Least Concern | 5332 |
| Data Deficient | 264 |
| 10516 |
The World Wildlife fund has published a very interesting publication called “The World’s Forgotten Fishes”. It really illustrates the challenges facing freshwater fish species. An introduction video can be seen below, and the publication (PDF) can be viewed here.
Gallery of Critically Endangered Species
