The marine aquarium trade imports millions of wild-caught fish annually, with significant welfare impacts from cyanide collection, transport stress, and high mortality rates.
The marine aquarium trade causes significant welfare harm at multiple stages. Cyanide stunning for collection kills coral polyps and causes organ damage in fish that survive long enough to be sold. Surviving fish die from liver failure within weeks. Transport involves crowding, temperature variation, and osmotic stress from improper water chemistry. Collection from coral reefs using barrier nets causes physical injury and panic. Retail tanks maintained with inadequate conditions and mixed inappropriate species cause chronic stress. The marine aquarium trade also threatens wild coral reef populations through collection pressure. Captive-bred marine fish, while more expensive, avoid wild collection entirely. Species including clownfish, dottybacks, and neon gobies are now successfully bred in captivity.