- Joined
- Sep 25, 2006
- Messages
- 572
I've only read a bit of the threads here about the mimic (wunderpus?), but I got the impression that the strong urging against keeping them is not based on knowledge, or even an educated guess, but rather goes something like "since we don't know, let's just assume they're endangered, until somebody does a population study." Am I missing something, or is that correct? Do these things only live in a single bay or something? Why assume they're endangered? Who are we expecting would pay for a population study?I asked him what else he imported and he said he got a lot of Mimic octopuses. I told him I didn't want one of those either having read around online that they are or may be endangered, dangerous and are not well understood.
What percentage of the tropical fish trade is made up of octopuses of any species (.001% ?). Is it realistic to be afraid that thousands of people are going to want to buy these things? I'd be surprised if 500 people per year, world wide, try to keep one of these. If feels more like a religious prohibition than prudent wildlife management.
I can see why a responsible author, writing an article about how amazing these things are, to be read by millions of reef keepers, might blindly discourage people from considering them, for fear of triggering a fad. bit I don't think it's logical for people like us to avoid them in the absence of such a buying frenzy, and in the absence of any reason to believe that they are endangered. Are there reasons I don't know about?
Thoughts?