cdreamer
Contributor
I'm sure no one will mind if you take the lionfish. 
Tropical fish collecting
- Thread starter darenufee
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Doubler
Contributor
I have to agree with Tradacna, I used to collect tropicals in both Hawaii and Florida, it is very hard to transport them without loss. I actually quit because of this issue. Many collectors go after the most attractive varieties with out thought of what they eat, many are specialized feeders and usually the aquarists slowly starves them by not providing what they need to survive. Many have to be decompressed dependent on what depth you catch them at so that the swim bladder doesn't erupt.
Most people will not invest the money it actually takes to keep a vibrant and healthy marine reef tank. An engineer friend of mine at work has $15,000 invested in his. It is a mini ocean. His tank (200 gallons) has seven fish and loads of live corals. The live corals are thriving and growing. He sells them to a local shop.
My suggestion is to capture Lionfish. They are beautiful and I would guess no size limit or number.
Most people will not invest the money it actually takes to keep a vibrant and healthy marine reef tank. An engineer friend of mine at work has $15,000 invested in his. It is a mini ocean. His tank (200 gallons) has seven fish and loads of live corals. The live corals are thriving and growing. He sells them to a local shop.
My suggestion is to capture Lionfish. They are beautiful and I would guess no size limit or number.
scubamaverick
Registered
My suggestion is to leave the fish in their home and to visit them often.
I have seen far too many people kill dozens of fish in marine tanks, and they waist more money on the setup than I spend on week-long dive trips.
I have seen far too many people kill dozens of fish in marine tanks, and they waist more money on the setup than I spend on week-long dive trips.
I have a 600 gallon tank in my house. (I built the house around the tank which weighs about 5,000 lbs!). Two divers can comfortably lie down next to each other inside). Total cost invested? Almost more than my house. My electric bill for the lights only above tank is in the hundreds each month. I harvest corals and sell them to offset costs. What was a rare coral (Xenia) has now become a pest in my tank. I only have about 12 fish (all farmed in the US) in the tank and...I have not lost one in 9 years. All else is coral, inverts and rock.
I know a "little" about keeping fish and it is a rare individual that can maintain a marine tank for over 5 years. Either the die off or the salt creep will get you. It is a serious undertaking that requires much aforethought and planning.
It sickens me when I go to Pet Stores to see fish with no survival possibilities being offered or fish that require real animal husbandry or specific dietary requirements being taken home by beginners. As long as we keep buying them, there will be people willing to destroy reefs to take these animals.
smellzlikefish
Contributor
Gosh I wish I had time to weigh in on this issue, but I have to go to work at the local aquarium.
Doubler
Contributor
My engineer buddy has his all hooked up to his home computer and is always monitoring it. He can make adjustments to all his chemicals from anywhere in the world. He has moon phases, current changes, storm surge , you name it he has it. Has the same problem with Xenia. Sounds like you have an awesome reef tank. Thought about doing the same thing but didn't have the devotion required, so didn't do it. I feel the same about "Pet Stores".
If you are not going to put the proper time and devotion into the aquarium and do some serious reading and education....take pictures.
Doubler
Contributor
It is a 250 gallon. He is trying a new algae filter, completely removed his skimmer. Water is crystal clear, all his chemistry stays spot on, and the corals are growing like wild fire. It was funny watching him spend hours at night hunting down this Mantis shrimp and devising traps. Finally caught it and put it in his sump.
Jupiter31
Contributor
smellzlikefish
Contributor
Why should we continue to collect aquarium organisms?
The fact is that marine aquariums are increasing in popularity, aside from this recent economic downturn, and an important result is a widespread amateur education about the ocean. your average home aquarist isn't getting their phD in Marine Biodiversity from SCIPPS, but their basic understanding inspires conservation in themselves and anyone who wanders up to their tanks and asks, "what is that?" This is the only exposure many across the mid-west get to marine biodiversity.
But don't the fish die in transport?
Yes. Last I saw, about 1/10 of the fish that get caught on the reefs make it through the long haul. That's crappy, but can be improved through education on all fronts. I have dived with fish collectors, which is a heck of a story in itself, and some are VERY environmentally conscious, while others aren't so much. See the next section.
Some species don't do well in captivity.
I know of one fish collector that only hits high end fish such as Bandit Angelfish (Arcuatus desmoholocanthus) that sell for $600 a piece to Japan, but it doesn't eat well in captivity unless caught at a young age. Here in the Main Hawaiian Islands at SCUBA depths, there weren't many to begin with. The list goes on and on. These species need to be banned from exporting to the public's aquarium fish trade. If public aquariums and research organizations can get them to feed and then breed, then they could be put back out to public offerings.
Why don't we just buy farm raised tropicals?
The industry is still rather young and our technology isn't up to snuff yet. At this time it is impossible to breed most marine organisms. Some don't breed, others won't feed as juveniles, and still more have long pelagic larval stages that we don't quite know how to deal with yet. This number of breedable species is improving every day as new species get bred and reared for the first time. The only way to find new species to breed is to collect wild parent generations. It is a necessary evil for the time being, but as species get bred, we should ban their collection to preserve wild stocks.
But what about the wild stocks of those that cannot breed?
Tridacna-"Ban tropical fish importation."
Any fish collecting entity in Hawaii is required to turn in a catch record of everything they caught. Through these records it is possible to figure catch per unit effort, which can show if a species is in decline. Regulations can then be built around these declining species. The same monitoring and regulations should be applied to importing bodies, with catch records to be turned into the department of agriculture with every shipment. We have no say over what happens on their reefs, but we do have a say about what comes into the country.
The fact is that marine aquariums are increasing in popularity, aside from this recent economic downturn, and an important result is a widespread amateur education about the ocean. your average home aquarist isn't getting their phD in Marine Biodiversity from SCIPPS, but their basic understanding inspires conservation in themselves and anyone who wanders up to their tanks and asks, "what is that?" This is the only exposure many across the mid-west get to marine biodiversity.
But don't the fish die in transport?
Yes. Last I saw, about 1/10 of the fish that get caught on the reefs make it through the long haul. That's crappy, but can be improved through education on all fronts. I have dived with fish collectors, which is a heck of a story in itself, and some are VERY environmentally conscious, while others aren't so much. See the next section.
Some species don't do well in captivity.
I know of one fish collector that only hits high end fish such as Bandit Angelfish (Arcuatus desmoholocanthus) that sell for $600 a piece to Japan, but it doesn't eat well in captivity unless caught at a young age. Here in the Main Hawaiian Islands at SCUBA depths, there weren't many to begin with. The list goes on and on. These species need to be banned from exporting to the public's aquarium fish trade. If public aquariums and research organizations can get them to feed and then breed, then they could be put back out to public offerings.
Why don't we just buy farm raised tropicals?
The industry is still rather young and our technology isn't up to snuff yet. At this time it is impossible to breed most marine organisms. Some don't breed, others won't feed as juveniles, and still more have long pelagic larval stages that we don't quite know how to deal with yet. This number of breedable species is improving every day as new species get bred and reared for the first time. The only way to find new species to breed is to collect wild parent generations. It is a necessary evil for the time being, but as species get bred, we should ban their collection to preserve wild stocks.
But what about the wild stocks of those that cannot breed?
Tridacna-"Ban tropical fish importation."
Any fish collecting entity in Hawaii is required to turn in a catch record of everything they caught. Through these records it is possible to figure catch per unit effort, which can show if a species is in decline. Regulations can then be built around these declining species. The same monitoring and regulations should be applied to importing bodies, with catch records to be turned into the department of agriculture with every shipment. We have no say over what happens on their reefs, but we do have a say about what comes into the country.
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