The better aquarium: lights, coral - no cyanide

Swimming in Joe Scavo's basement aquarium are seven brightly colored fish that once swam in the Pacific but now glide past a carefully tended mini-reef. They feed on shrimp and scallops. High-intensity lights mimic the tropical sun.

Nothing is too good for his fish - except, perhaps, how they were caught.

Mr. Scavo and a growing number of hobbyists worry that some of the fish they buy - for $25 to $100 apiece - may have been captured using knockout poisons that damage or destroy ocean reefs. Now, they're getting some help from an unusual alliance. Industry and environmental groups are pressing ahead with a system to ensure that wild ornamental fish are caught and marketed in a sustainable way.

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