Guidelines For Aquarium and Pet Owners
If you have purchased a moss ball since March of 2020, it may have contaminated your aquarium with invasive zebra mussels. Find out more about proper disposal.
Protect Our Environment: Be a Responsible Aquarium and Pet Owner
Some invasive species can be purchased in stores that sell exotic pets and plants for aquariums and gardens. People can spread invasive species when they can no longer keep their animals and plants and dispose of them in nearby streams, ponds or lakes, or even when they flush them down the toilet. For example, red-eared slider turtles are often sold as juveniles, when they are only about four inches long. This popular species can live for more than 20 years and may triple in size during its lifespan. Pet owners may be unprepared to care for a pet for such a long time and sometimes release the turtle into a local wetland.
Releases may seem safe and even humane, but discarded plants and/or animals can degrade our natural ecosystems. If disposed of properly, however, exotic pets and plants do not pose a threat.
Impacts of Invasive Species
Once introduced to an ecosystem, invasive species compete with native wildlife for food, space, and other resources, crowd out native plants, and can carry diseases that impact wildlife and human health.
- Aquarium fish such as lionfish and goldfish compete with native fish for resources and may even feed on the young of native fish species. Goldfish in particular can tolerate poor water quality and low oxygen levels, enabling them to outcompete native fish in degraded ecosystems.
- Invasive aquatic plants like hydrilla, fanwort, and Brazilian elodea can vigorously reproduce and overtake waterways, impairing recreational activities such as swimming, fishing and boating.
- Red-eared slider turtles are opportunistic omnivores and can outcompete native turtle species for food and habitat. They are also known carriers of Salmonella bacteria, which they can pass on to other turtles and to humans who handle them.
How You Can Help
The following best management practices apply to various activities, including but not limited to maintaining a water garden and/or aquarium, purchasing study specimens for classrooms and owning exotic pets:
- Select species that comply with federal and state regulations, which prohibit or regulate the sale, possession, and transport of certain species.
- Confirm the scientific name of plants or animals with the retailer to ensure you have the correct species information and proper care instructions.
- Inspect the contents and packaging that arrive with any plants or animals purchased. Remove unwanted seeds, plants or animals, and put them in a sealed plastic bag for the trash.
- Donate unwanted plants and animals to a school, nature center, aquarium or zoo, or return them to the retailer if possible.
- Avoid composting aquatic plant material due to the risk of spreading seeds or plant fragments to natural areas.
- Contact a veterinarian or pet retailer for guidance on humane disposal if you can't rehome an animal.
- Learn to identify common invasive plants and animals in the exotic pet, aquarium and water garden trade, such as Brazilian elodea, hydrilla, fanwort, red-eared sliders, goldfish, koi and lionfish, and seek native alternatives.
- If you own or operate a pet store consider sharing the Pet and Aquarium Owner tip strip (PDF) with your customers.
- Report the sale of illegal invasive species to DEC law enforcement, the Environmental Conservation Police, at 1-844-332-3267 or use the online reporting system.
Additional Resources
- Guidelines for Aquarium and Exotic Pet Owners Fact Sheet (PDF)
- New York's Invasive Species Regulations
- Northeast Aquatic Nuisance Species Panel
- Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council Environmental Stewardship Programs
- National Habitattitude Campaign