say goodbye to loaches for awhile:((

[BOTIA]

If you had not heard, an earthquake magnatude 9.0 ocurred last night of the coast of sumatra. The resulting 10 metre tidal waves have devastated, parts of thailand, indonesia, india, sumatra, myanmar etc. Some of these waves went right up river beds such as the salween where the already endanger botia sidthimunki (dwarf loach) come from. The death toll is already at almost 12000 people. A hotel phuket thailand full during tourist season was swept completely away as were divers , sunbathers etc. There has been damage as far away as the african coast line.
What a horror these people must have sen with a 40 ft wave coming at them at lightning speed. How sad.
This will definitely put some aspects of hobby into a new light.
Where do the fish we keep come from etc?
Check out these links.
usgs site
BBC news
Botia

[amanda huggenkiss]

Oh my god. I hadn't watched the news at all today. This is the first I'd heard of it.

[bigpow]

This act of God took many lives... very sad.

But loaches from Kalimantan should not be affected.

[Vinlo]

No offence, but I think loaches should be the least of your worries.

Also, not entirely an act of god.. mankind is partly to blame. Building of costal areas, destruction of natural abatements, etc.

I guess no matter how you slice it, it is complete and total disaster.

[Troy McClure]

Tonight, one of my managers said the death toll is well over 23,000 and they were still missing massive numbers of people. Last night on the news they said over a million people in Sri Lanka had their homes destroyed. So tragic (and I agree, loaches should be the last thing on your mind.) I think this is just the begining of some major natural disasters (earthquakes, storms, volcanoes, etc.)

Has anybody heard about the volcano around the Canary Islands? From what I've heard, if it were to errupt and cause a landslide, it would send a 400-600 foot high tsunami across the Atlantic in a matter of hours. The destruction from the wave itself would reach 50 miles inland off the East Coast.

[Vinlo]

I have heard about that volcano in the Canary Islands. I kind of chalk that up to the fear that the media likes to percipitate in/with the culture we live in. If the public isn't afraid of something they won't know what to do. SARS, West Nile, Bird Flu, Killer Kids, Asteroids, Volcanos, melting ice caps, etc.

But I guess if it were to happen that would be pretty brutal. I wonder how much it would effect me directly, I live right on one of the Great lakes, think it would travel in that far through the St. Lawrence?

[Kris]

i think botia was trying (and please step in if i am wrong) to connect us (in the hobby) to the event and not minimalize the damage or the destruction of lives and property or the political and economic hardship of the survivors in the coming years. it is easier to feel for a region (and get involved in any way) if you feel connected to it.
also, while he might not have worded it well or been immediately undestood, i think he was also drawing our attention to the devasting environmental effects of the disaster on the ecosystems in the area, especially fragile species.
just my two cents.

[FISA]

My prayers go out to all the people and their families and friends affected by this disaster. They said this is the worst natural disaster ever.

Correct me if Im wrong but the earthquake that caused this was the highest ever recorded.... 9 on the ricter scale
They said on TV that the earthquake was so strong ..that is moved one of indonesia's islands.....the whole island...


This might sound crazy but all the continents were once one....a lot of coutries are on top of a major fault zone

[aquaverde]

I had the same impression as Kris.

[BOTIA]

Hi folks let me say first and foremost my heart goes out out those affected by this horrific disaster. I had been up very late at the time it happened and it was only just being reported so the extent was not yet known.
As a loach collector I have been very aware of the connection between SE asia and my hobby as almost all loaches are wild caught and come from that area.
At loaches.com this year we have been collectively helping tpo get the most up to date book on loaches ever put to print with submissions from many experienced people there. There will be a large section on habitat and fish collection and how it affects the local people. Also a $$ from the sale of the book is going to habitat protection resources. Many many people in these areas make thier living from collecting tropical fish for the aqaurium trade. The salween watershed is where the endangered dwarf loach come from and this water way was badly damaged by the tsunami. I have loaches from all the affected countries in my tanks btw.
I think sometimes we forget where things come from and how they get here to our tanks. As the story unfolds in Se asia we will surely be reminded how trivial our hobby is compared to the plight of these people.
The small byproduct of this will surely be absence and/or huge price increases in many fish normally exported from these countries.
Two thai fish collectors that post on loaches.com were on collection expedition at the time it happened. They were lucky enough to be on the other side of the penisula and arrived home to find out how bad it really is and they said it is a lot worse than they(gov offcials) are letting on.
Regards
Botia

[badmatt]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!111111

[Silent Running]

This really is a truly awful disaster. My heart goes out to those impacted. Last I heard the death toll is over 40,000 and still climbing.

I believe that 9.5 was the largest magnitude earthquake ever recorded. I want to say it was in Chile, but I can't recall for sure. Living in a seismic zone myself, I can only imagine the terror that something like that would inflict.

[Ahkuma]

Last night i watched the movie, Day After Tomorow. It doesn't seem quite so far fetch'd after watching the news as of late.

[Vinlo]

I didn't mean to get on anyone about it, it just seem to almost trivialize the issue at hand.

As I see more and more images from the area, I just cannot imagine how all those people are dealing with that situation.

Looting has also started in some cities.. you have to love the human condition.

[Momotaro]

You didn't get on anyone, Vin. You just pulled things back into perspective.

Thank you.

Mike