Habitattitude | Protect Our Environment | Do Not Release Fish and Aquatic Plants

Welcome to a site for aquarium hobbyists, backyard pond owners, water gardeners and others who are concerned about aquatic resource conservation. Americans enjoy a diversity of hobbies, many of which involve our natural environment. And protecting these resources is an important part of our overall enjoyment.

A concern we must all address is the expansion of harmful plants, fish and other animals throughout our country. Representing one of our greatest natural resource challenges, stopping the spread of these species appears simplistic, but global economic linkages complicate the issue. A variety of commercial and governmental activities have accidentally introduced aquatic invasive species and various aquatic resource users and consumers unknowingly spread them to other waters. If these species become established, they can wreak environmental havoc, degrade aquatic resources and make waters unusable for recreation.

This issue is relevant to everyone, but especially to those who enjoy aquaria, backyard ponds and water gardens. Increased scrutiny on our activities and their perceived linkages with the growing challenge known as invasive species requires us to show how we value and protect the environment.

If you have acquired an undesirable aquatic plant or fish species for your aquarium or water garden, it is important not to release these plants or animals into the environment. While most of these organisms will die, some may be able to survive. And a smaller number of those that do survive have the potential to create negative impacts on our natural environment and our wallets and misperceptions about our hobbies.

So, if you are faced with the situation of having an undesirable species, what can you do? By choosing between several alternatives, you can properly dispose of these unwanted aquatic plants or fish.

Prevention

• Educate yourself about your hobby's potential environmental consequences
• Adopt these Alternatives to Release as responsible consumer behaviors
  • Contact retailer for proper handling advice or for possible returns
  • Give/trade with another aquarist, pond owner, or water gardener
  • Donate to a local aquarium society, school, or aquatic business
  • Seal aquatic plants in plastic bags and dispose in trash
  • Contact veterinarian or pet retailer for guidance about humane disposal of animals
• Model and promote these behaviors within your peer groups as ways for aquarium hobbyists and water gardeners to show our environmental values
• Become involved with policy solutions

Become Informed and Take Action!

We can also become more informed about the invasive species issue. As hobbyists who appreciate the challenge of managing artificial micro-environments, it is important for us to understand the larger, potential consequences of our hobbies and how we can minimize them. This site is designed to help us learn about these potential impacts, particularly the risks associated with released or escaped aquatic plants and animals. Navigate through this site to get:

• The latest news about the growing invasive species problem
• Alternatives to releasing unwanted aquatic plants and animals
• Impacts caused by these species
• Facts about the more common escapees or unintentionally released species
• Resources and ideas for you or your club to get involved with prevention efforts
• Support materials to help you understand and get involved with modeling and promoting responsible behaviors

Impacts -- Why is it Important to Use These Alternatives to Release?

Because these unwanted aquatic plants and fish can:

• Reduce natural biodiversity and native species
• Degrade ecosystem functions
• Damage commercial and recreational equipment
• Make lakes/rivers unusable for recreational and commercial activities
• Dramatically increase the operating costs of drinking water plants, power plants, dam maintenance, and industrial processes
• Affect human health
• Reduce property values
• Affect local economies of water-dependent communities

Explanation of the Campaign - It's Not About the Fish and Plants, It's About the Behaviors!

Habitattitude^TM is about consumer awareness and responsible behaviors. By drawing attention to the potential environmental ramifications of the aquarium and water garden hobbies while promoting responsible consumer behaviors, Habitattitude^TM avoids the definition debate surrounding "invasive species." Ultimately, the campaign seeks to eliminate the transfer and survival of any species outside of your enclosed, artificial system, which has the potential to cause the loss or decline of native plants and animals.

Web Site Still Under Construction

The Habitattitude^TM campaign was recently unveiled at the first joint trade show between the pet and aquarium industry and the nursery and landscape industry. This site came online during the unveiling. Currently, many links are not active. Over the next couple of months, these links will become active and various new features will be added to the site to enhance its value as the central resource for the Habitattitude^TM campaign.