The NARBC (North American Reptile Breeders Conference) is host to regional “conference + trade show” events that offer a dizzying array of reptile and amphibian vendors, supported by all manner of related equipment manufacturers and ancillary offerings. Now, NARBC has announced an expansion into a full-line Pet Expo to be held in Dallas, Texas, twice in 2025. The events are scheduled for March 29-30, and September 6-7, 2025.
Burlington is considering a ban on all “exotic animals.” This ban includes fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, and any animal that is not specifically exempted from the definition of “exotic animal”.
Cue the outrage and strike up the backlash, because here comes another GloFish®! The new Starfire Red® Angelfish was released this summer and is officially available at local fish and pet stores as well as Petco, Pet Supplies Plus, and Meijer. This is the seventh species offered in a suite of fluorescent fish options that includes two species of tetras, Tiger Barbs, Rainbow Sharks, Bettas, a Corydoras catfish, and now Angelfish.
The Endangered Species Act[1] (ESA) is likely the second most misunderstood piece of legislation impacting the aquarium hobby and trade. The goal of this article is to summarize the framework of the ESA in a way that clears up some common misconceptions, such as whether the law applies to both wild-sourced and captive-bred animals, and what and when certain lists have legal authority.
The long-awaited revision of the subfamily Corydoradinaehas finally been published by Dias et al. on June 11, 2024, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. In the next issue of AMAZONAS, Hans-Georg Evers will detail the study results, but we wanted to give you a brief summary of what the revision contains.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed its 90-day findings on petitions to list 10 species under the Endangered Species Act. Based on the Service’s review, the petitions to list the Betta hendra, Betta rutilans, Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, pygmy rabbit, Railroad Valley toad, Southern Plains bumble bee, southwest spring firefly, white-margined penstemon, and yellow-spotted woodland salamander contain substantial information that listing may be warranted, and status reviews will be initiated on these species.
Researchers have recently discovered an exciting new species of subterranean cavefish in Northeastern India. The largest cave fish in the world is a member of the cyprinid family.
Just last spring and summer, the entire pet trade was at risk when nationwide whitelists and interstate trade restrictions were proposed to be enacted through amendments to the Lacey Act. They failed to pass, but now the Lacey Act proposals have been resubmitted and everything is right back where it started last time.
A wide range of industry experts and competing businesses recently joined together to stave off industry-killing whitelist proposals in the state of Florida. Such cooperation is much needed for the good of the aquarium trade at the local and national level. Image courtesy Nautilus Tropical Fish Wholesale.
Florida’s pet trade and pet owners are facing a full-on assault on their ability to keep, culture, and sell the vast majority of organisms that currently make up the pet trade. In short, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is proposing two variations on a strict white list approach to pet trade regulation in the name of preventing future invasive species problems. These proposals may restrict the total amount of species across all subsets of the pet hobby to as few as perhaps only 200 total species across the entirety of the pet trade.
