We need more peoples to see this

[Andy V]

Is the cause climate change or pollution. I saw a YouTube vidio where a fellow reefers tanks were outside and his temps were crazy high in the summer. I don’t remember specifics. But I wonder if waste treatment, agriculture ect doesn’t play a role in the poor health of our oceans. I don’t wanna sound like an earth enemy but I’m not ready to stop eatin and poopin.

It's multiple variables, with the two primary causes being ocean warming/acidification and agricultural runoff/pollution.

There is also the small issue of the Crown of Thorns Starfish, which can destroy reefs in weeks.

 

[Robert M]

I think we can support coral reefs and sustainable ecology and have a reef tank at the same time.

I’ve certainly bought a couple critters that have no-doubt been plucked straight from the ocean, possibly in harmful ways. I’ve also made donating to coral reef conservation charities one of my priorities. After reading “The World Beneath”, an incredibly interesting book on all the very weird life inside of coral reefs that does not make it to the fish store, I emailed the author, Dr Richard Smith, and he suggested a donation to Project Seahorse was a good way to make sure my participation in this hobby leads to more good than bad.

As far as this Netflix documentary goes, I’m not sure it had a political leaning (unless being pro-environment is a leaning), but I did think the scenes showing the coral bleaching made me a bit sad. Unfortunately, the documentary didn’t offer up much in the way of things we could do other than feel bad.

 

[serwobow]

You want to do something about it? Quit for the hobby for good.
Seriously, it starts with us. Do you know how much stuff we pulled from the ocean for the hobby so that some idiot can buy it probably kill the next day? I don't care what you say about sustainable corals and fish from aquaculture and captive bred. They all come from the ocean at some point. The more you support the hobby, the more stuff will be pulled from the ocean. Period.

Your reasoning is backwards.
The majority of money for animal and environmental conservation in this country comes from hunters, not Peta. Zoos, museums, hunters, and collectors promote, pay for, and enable conservation, even though in the short term they harvest. Big game hunters in Africa enable the funding for massive reserves - saving all the other creatures in those areas.
If we want to conserve coral reefs, we should grow even more beautiful corals and fish in our tanks. Coral and fish kept in aquariums are the coral reefs' ambassadors. You think the government of Indonesia (or Australia for that matter) gives a crap about their reefs if they cant make money off them? Hobbyists are not hypocrites. They are part of the solution.

 

[Andy V]

As far as this Netflix documentary goes, I’m not sure it had a political leaning (unless being pro-environment is a leaning), but I did think the scenes showing the coral bleaching made me a bit sad. Unfortunately, the documentary didn’t offer up much in the way of things we could do other than feel bad.

Some of the funding sources for the film certainly have leftward political leanings, but I did not say this film had political leanings. What I said was that many "documentaries" on Netflix have leftist political bias and/or lean towards hysteria. And this one is in the alarmist camp.

Climate change is almost certainly caused by people. Some might call that leftist, while some would more correctly call that a reasonable conclusion based on the evidence. What is alarmist is saying that the world is going to end in 12 years unless we stop producing CO2 tomorrow. Do you see the distinction?

But I certainly agree that we can have a sustainable hobby and healthy reefs. The North American model of conservation, i.e. the Pittman-Robertson Act has been wildly successful. Unfortunately that does not help reefs in Asia-Pac.