Collecting native fish?

stellablu

stellablu

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Nov 10, 2004
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Port St. Lucie, FL
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I'm curious about collecting my own brackish fish. I have been told by two long-time aquarists that I could collect my own as long as I didn't mix them with store bought fish because of possible parasites etc. and as long as collecting those species were legal. Monday and again later next week I'm going seining in the Indian River Lagoon by my house and my other tank is set-up and ready to go. My SG is at 1.012 right now, so I figured I would take my hydrometer out to the lagoon and thermometer to check how much of a difference there is between the two so that I may adjust accordingly.

The last time I went seining we caught a Northern puffer, Checkered puffer, greenbacks, juv. pinfish, juv. needlefish, ghost shrimp, and silversides just to name a few. We didn't collect any; we released them all. I was assisting Harbor Branch with one of their school fieldtrips.

I was thinking about bringing back a few silversides, maybe a pinfish and a smaller puffer. I have my size chart that we're taking with us to consider full-grown size for most species we know are common to the area...although I believe there are over 600 fish species in the lagoon so who knows what we'll run into.

I have a few plastic containers and a battery powered aerator (just to be safe, although I am only five minutes away from the lagoon we're not sure how long we'll be out there). A few nets of different sizes to handle the fish.

I remember hearing someone that had experience with collecting their own fish but I can't find the post. Any experiences to share?
 
Try it... I wouldn't know, but at least you wont mix with Store-Bought fish
 
Sounds cool! Don't lift the puffers out of the water.
 
Don't lift the puffers out of the water.
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Yeah, unfortunately, on our fieldtrip one of the third graders grabbed a puffer before we could get to it and he puffed up and began to croak. Of course the children (and most of the adults) thought it was cute and funny; however, my boyfriend and I monitored him and had to gather everyone around to educate them about the dangers of puffers getting "puffed up." Those fieldtrips are great for teaching the public about little things that most people simply don't realize. :)
 
To determine legal needs, contact your local Game and Fish or Natural Resources Department. They should be able to tell you what you need ot legally collect animals, and if there are any restrictions on what animals you can collect.
 
stellablu said:
Yeah, unfortunately, on our fieldtrip one of the third graders grabbed a puffer before we could get to it and he puffed up and began to croak. Of course the children (and most of the adults) thought it was cute and funny; however, my boyfriend and I monitored him and had to gather everyone around to educate them about the dangers of puffers getting "puffed up." Those fieldtrips are great for teaching the public about little things that most people simply don't realize. :)
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Cool, love giving those kids Education. Are you a teacher Stellablu? If you are, are this fish for a class room or home?
Florida has some really nice fish that make great tank fish. One of my favorites is Heterandria Formosa (least killiefish).
Here is a list of the following fish common to Florida. :D
Jordanella floridae (flag fish)
Lucania goodie (bluefin Killie)
Fundulus chrysotus (golden topminnow)
Gambusia Affinis holbrooki (Mosquito Fish)
Poecilia latipinna (Sailfin Molly)
Check out this link filled with a few fish recommendations that live in florida.
 
OrionGirl I found this website that lists every flippin' guideline, restriction, rule ever made. It is insane. At least now I know the proper measurements of a containment holding a Grisly bear. ha Florida does have some kind of ban on harvesting pufferfish because people were sending them to NY and getting sick from eating them. I have to look into that more because I'm not sure if the ban was lifted, or if it applies to collecting for display only. Hmm...*crosses fingers* we'll see.

trickersterpup I'm not a teacher...yet. I'm working on my M.Ed. right now. My boyfriend's mom is a teacher and I volunteer in her class whenever I get time (and to fill college classtime requirements)...I originally wanted to study marine ecology and get my teaching degree to teach Marine Biology. Ultimately I decided the safest choice was a B.A. in English Education with double Masters in Creative Writing and one in Communications just to assure I'd have more options careerwise down the road. I love kids and teachers are needed all over the nation; opposed to if I decided to move to Omaha, Nebraska and jobs in marine science would be zilch. :) I do love teaching awareness though. You can never volunteer enough time. If only I won the lottery, I could afford to volunteer full-time :)

So my fish are at my home. However, I'm giving all my mollies and fry, pleco (maybe...), and guppies to her classroom.

I can't see the link you were talking about, but I love killifish and flagfish. I also really like sailfin mollies, but I don't think they quite fit in my other tanks. The kids will love them more than I do anyhow. The thing I love most about seining is that you never know what you'll find. Every go brings a surprise. I'll post pictures of my catches and any other interesting finds that I can't bring home :)
 
stellablu said:
trickersterpup I'm not a teacher...yet. I'm working on my M.Ed. right now. My boyfriend's mom is a teacher and I volunteer in her class whenever I get time (and to fill college classtime requirements)...I originally wanted to study marine ecology and get my teaching degree to teach Marine Biology. Ultimately I decided the safest choice was a B.A. in English Education with double Masters in Creative Writing and one in Communications just to assure I'd have more options careerwise down the road. I love kids and teachers are needed all over the nation; opposed to if I decided to move to Omaha, Nebraska and jobs in marine science would be zilch. :) I do love teaching awareness though. You can never volunteer enough time. If only I won the lottery, I could afford to volunteer full-time :)

So my fish are at my home. However, I'm giving all my mollies and fry, pleco (maybe...), and guppies to her classroom.

I can't see the link you were talking about, but I love killifish and flagfish. I also really like sailfin mollies, but I don't think they quite fit in my other tanks. The kids will love them more than I do anyhow. The thing I love most about seining is that you never know what you'll find. Every go brings a surprise. I'll post pictures of my catches and any other interesting finds that I can't bring home :)
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Oops, here is that link for here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7091&highlight=Florida+Tanks

And for a local site that if you are interested atleast asking questions about local fish, I am sure he would answer them for you, is at http://www.aquaculturestore.com. They are pretty nice people there and he might be nice enough to answer any of your questions about local catches. As long as you do not compete with him.. :D

I also went into the Marine Biology field but the Organic Chem just kinda persuaded me to not further that major. :D

But as for your adventures in catching local fish, if you live in an area that you can have a water garden Barrel you may be able to keep some of those fish outside. I keep my Gambusia outside in a whiskey Barrel and they do well, until here in MN got a little bit to cold one night. I would love to eventually turn my 55 gallon tank into a Florida only tank and pick up some of the fish I listed. I think it would be cool to have a school of Bluefin Killies buzzing around the tank with a few Gambusia and Flagfish and a pair of Sailfin Mollies.
 
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