collecting Marine Life

[sea_dragon]

Good for checking in advance. Even as a scientist I can't technically collect without a permit here.

if you are just collecting for you personal aquarium here it is fine with a fishing permit... but science and commercial use is a different ball game...but i like to check rules and regs before i do anything... you can't dive in jail....eepwalla

 

[TimAZ]

Here's a link for tank construction. They also have lots of good info on micro-reef maintainance and coral propogation.
http://www.garf.org/news18p2.html

 

[sea_dragon]

Here's a link for tank construction. They also have lots of good info on micro-reef maintainance and coral propogation.
http://www.garf.org/news18p2.html

thanks i will at a look at it...

 

[shil]

seadragon,

Be carefull if you collect fish deeper than 10 m, while ascending their gas bladder expands ! So bring them up real slow, or you will need to learn to puncture the gas bladder with a clean hypdermic needle. And try to avoid to much air exposure to the catch, best if you do all tranferring in water, and keep the catch cool . Use a old ice chest .cooler instead of bucket to transport your catch from sea to home.

 

[sea_dragon]

seadragon,

Be carefull if you collect fish deeper than 10 m, while ascending their gas bladder expands ! So bring them up real slow, or you will need to learn to puncture the gas bladder with a clean hypdermic needle. And try to avoid to much air exposure to the catch, best if you do all tranferring in water, and keep the catch cool . Use a old ice chest .cooler instead of bucket to transport your catch from sea to home.

Thanks Shil... i will keep that in mind....I was informed about the deep collection by the FWC officer... but i was never really trained so i really try to collect them 10m or less... when u say slowly are we talking like 10 ft per min....or go a few feet then pause then go a few more feet then stop again... and so fourth?

 

[Footslogger]

I've had fish invert when I brought them up from 60 feet. You really do have to bring them up slowly. Here's what I finally ended up doing. I took one of those little minnow plastic buckets you get from WalMart and put a 2 or 3 pound slab lead weight inside. Then I tied 1/8" braided nylon line to the handle. I marked the line in 10 foot intervals. When it was time to surface after the dive I would leave the bucket sitting on the sandy bottom and ascend, letting the line out as I went. When I got on the boat I would pull the line up to the first 10 foot marker and tie it off to the cleat. Then I would go about my business getting out of my dive gear and getting it stowed. About every 10 -15 minutes or so I would bring up the bucket very slowly to the next 10 foot marker until I had it onboard. I would then transfer the fish to a large cooler filled with ocean water and start a little bait bubbler to keep the water airated.

Used this system for several years and had excellent results.

'Slogger

 

[sea_dragon]

I've had fish invert when I brought them up from 60 feet. You really do have to bring them up slowly. Here's what I finally ended up doing. I took one of those little minnow plastic buckets you get from WalMart and put a 2 or 3 pound slab lead weight inside. Then I tied 1/8" braided nylon line to the handle. I marked the line in 10 foot intervals. When it was time to surface after the dive I would leave the bucket sitting on the sandy bottom and ascend, letting the line out as I went. When I got on the boat I would pull the line up to the first 10 foot marker and tie it off to the cleat. Then I would go about my business getting out of my dive gear and getting it stowed. About every 10 -15 minutes or so I would bring up the bucket very slowly to the next 10 foot marker until I had it onboard. I would then transfer the fish to a large cooler filled with ocean water and start a little bait bubbler to keep the water airated.

Used this system for several years and had excellent results.

'Slogger

i need a boat.... a dive boat won't wait 10-15 min per 10 ft....lol i am going to have to save some bucks....

 

[Footslogger]

i need a boat.... a dive boat won't wait 10-15 min per 10 ft....lol i am going to have to save some bucks....

==================================
Yeah ...I should have qualified that earlier post. Those were the "good old days" when I had a friend with a boat who also had a 250 gallon aquarium. We used to make a day of it off the coast of Pompano or Lauderdale by the Sea. Owned our own tanks and all so we were pretty much "self contained". In order to do it right you really need to take your time and that probably means having your own boat.

'Slogger

 

[sea_dragon]

==================================
Yeah ...I should have qualified that earlier post. Those were the "good old days" when I had a friend with a boat who also had a 250 gallon aquarium. We used to make a day of it off the coast of Pompano or Lauderdale by the Sea. Owned our own tanks and all so we were pretty much "self contained". In order to do it right you really need to take your time and that probably means having your own boat.

'Slogger

what were the demsions of the 250 gal tank?......yeah i am going to get a boat at the end of the year.. so get ready...lol... i want to build a 300 gallon.... but i want to learn more about aquariums before i get into that though....

 

[shil]

sea dragon

Another good way to collect fish , is to night dive for em, bag them with the net orplastic bag. But in all these collecting ventures, DO BE VERY CAREFULL, not to break any coral growth. better to let that fish go than break coral...! And if by chance you overturn loose rocks , make sure you put them nd back the right side down.
Also research which fish can be kept in captivity, as there some stunning fish out there but with a specialized diet that will wither away in your tank. Butter flies are some of them.

Shil

Shil