Huge Shoal of Fish

Check out this huge shoal of Hemigrammus at Marimba! The gentle capture of many species of home aquarium fish from habitat like this throughout the Rio Negro Region drives conservation by providing sustainable livelihoods to rural communities.

[@ErikWhyRock]

So awesome!!!! ❤❤❤❤

[@DashDrones]

Absolutely incredible. Leaves and life everywhere

[@kelvinchua4084]

So cool ❤❤❤👍👍👍

[@SkullAquatics]

Very cool 👍👍👍

[@steffanjansenvanvuuren3257]

In Malawi the folks there catch thousands of the small fish and sun dry them for food,
I had the opportunity to actually taste some.
Definitely edible.
Do the folks over there also catch piaba for food?

[@projectpiaba]

No, there are plenty of other fish that are used for food, including many cichlids that are usually considered aquarium fish- people particularly like to eat Uaru- the piabas are only fished for the aquarium trade.

[@theamazing10yearold65]

Are piabas/cardinal tetras in threat of extinction down there?

[@projectpiaba]

Definitely not, they have annually booming populations that are linked to the natural rise and fall of the rivers. This means that when the water levels rise they spawn and their populations expand, and when the water levels recede, their populations shrink down to whatever fish make it back into permanent water. They can however be threatened by habitat loss- like all of the animal life in the Amazon- but the fishing communities who make their livings off of the fishery protect the habitat that the fish need because it is their way of making a living year after year.

[@theamazing10yearold65]

My dad loves those and has a ton of them in his tank. They import them to the USA. I actually have a wild caught New England saltwater tank with fish that I dip net from the beach near my house. Are cardinal tetras easy to catch with a dip net by the way?​@@projectpiaba

[@projectpiaba]

@@theamazing10yearold65 very easy to catch when water levels are dropping and they are concentrated, impossible to catch when the rivers are fully flooded.

[@theamazing10yearold65]

@@projectpiaba why impossible then?

[@projectpiaba]

@@theamazing10yearold65 because the river is through the entire forest and the habitat is fairly impenetrable and the fish are spread far and wide with infinite amounts of structure to hide in.