The freshwater aquarium trade as a vector for incidental invertebrate fauna

Abstract

The aquarium trade has a long history of transporting and introducing fish, plants and snails into regions where they are not native. However, other than snails, research on species carried ''incidentally'' rather than deliberately by this industry is lacking. I sampled invertebrates in the plankton, and from water among bottom stones, of 55 aquaria from 43 New Zealand households. I recorded 55 incidental invertebrate taxa, including copepods, ostracods, cladocerans, molluscs, mites, flatworms and nematodes. Six were known established non-indigenous species, and eight others were not previously recorded from New Zealand. Of the latter, two harpacticoid copepod species, Nitokra pietschmanni and Elaphoidella sewelli, are not native to or known from New Zealand, demonstrating the aquarium trade continues to pose an invasion risk for incidental fauna. The remaining six species were littoral/benthic rotifers with subtropical/ tropical affinities; these may or may not be native, as research on this group is limited. A variety of behaviours associated with the set-up and keeping of home aquaria were recorded (e.g., fish and plants in any home were sourced from stores, wild caught, or both, and cleaning methods varied), which made prediction of ''high risk'' behaviours difficult. However, non-indigenous species had a greater probability of being recorded in aquaria containing aquatic plants and in those that were heated. Methods for disposal of aquarium wastes ranged from depositing washings on the lawn or garden (a low risk for invasion) to disposing of water into outdoor ponds or storm-water drains (a higher risk). It is recommended that aquarium owners be encouraged to pour aquarium wastes onto gardens or lawns-already a common method of disposal-as invasion risk will be minimised using this method.

Marmorkrebs (Procambarus fallaxf.virginalis) are the most popular crayfish in the North American pet trade

“…For example, human population density and economic development of areas is correlated with exotic species introductions (Gallardo, 2014;Gallardo and Aldridge, 2013;Perdikaris et al, 2012), including crayfish (Chucholl, 2014). The pet trade has been responsible for many introductions of non-native species (Chang et al, 2009;Duggan, 2010;Keller and Lodge, 2009;Strecker et al, 2011), and is likely the major driver of introductions of non-indigenous crayfish in several countries (Chucholl, 2013;Soes and Koese, 2010). The scale of the trade in pets, particularly aquatic animals, has been difficult to estimate (Rhyne et al, 2012), but online sale and trade websites can provide estimates of the risk of introduction of non-indigenous species (Kikillus et al, 2012).…”

European hub for invaders: Risk assessment of freshwater aquarium fishes exported from the Czech Republic

“…The commercial aquarium fi sh trade sector is directly connected to potential release into the wild of non-native fi shes. This is because the distribution channel ends with live fi sh, which are sold to customers in pet shops (Duggan 2010).…”

Ornamental fish in pet stores in Greece: a threat to biodiversity?

“…Sci., 15/1, 2014, 126-134 127 tems. Other negative effects of the aquarium trade include the spread of new diseases and parasites, such as Koi carp herpes virus (KHV) (Haenen et al, 2004); bacterial pathogens harmful to humans (Weir et al, 2012); threats from unintentionally carried biota (Duggan, 2010) and from irresponsible discharge of the aquaria and tank water.…”