The better aquarium: lights, coral - no cyanide

So far, the elaborate system has been slow to catch on. Only 21 companies in nine nations are MAC-certified. But the governments of Fiji and the Philippines - which supply more than 80 percent of ornamental fish - are on board, Mr. Holthus says. Fresh funding this year promises to allow MAC to triple the number of South Pacific workers training fishing communities in Fiji, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other island nations, Mr. Meyers says.

Such initiatives promise to be more important as the hobby grows.

Ownership of exotic fish, once beyond reach for many, has risen, propelled by "Finding Nemo" and other popular movies about fish, a growing number of public aquariums, and cheaper equipment. Worldwide trade in 1,400-plus species of fish - 20 million to 24 million salt-water ornamental fish overall - is a $300 million industry, MAC estimates. Some say it may be larger than that.

Here in the US, although fewer than 1 percent of households have marine aquariums, the number has been growing 2 percent a year since the late 1990s, according to the pet advisory council.

"Not too many hobbyists are aware that some of the fish purchased at stores were caught with toxic chemicals, which is horrifying to us," says Randy Goodlett, northeast region director of American Marinelife Dealers Association in Pittsburgh, part of the MAC alliance. "Some try not to think about it; others are trying to reform the industry."

Scavo, for example, has spent the past six years traveling around New England, quizzing retailers about where their fish were caught and what methods were used in their capture, transport, and shipment. The information he gathers goes to more than 500 members of the Boston Reefers, a club of marine aquarium hobbyists who want to know where the best fish and best practices are, says Scavo, the club's president.

"I've been in touch with every fish store from here to New York," he says. "My organization is all for ethically caught anything."

Instead of vetting stores himself, Scavo would prefer to be able to ask for "MAC certified" fish. He can't do that because the nearest MAC store is in New Jersey. Only five marine aquarium retailers in four states - Florida, Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey - are MAC-certified.

At Absolutely Fish in Clifton, N.J., which tracks all fish from MAC suppliers and their survival rates, the process has been challenging - but rewarding.

"I had a guy come in recently looking for particular fish," says Patrick Donston, the owner. "We were talking about the cyanide problem. And he said, 'I heard you guys don't buy those fish.' People know that drug-caught fish are not healthy. They care very much, they really do."

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