Bluefish feeding

kreblak

kreblak

FDA approval pending
Mar 13, 2003
782
0
0
Allright, so I finally got my bluefish. He is about 5 inches long, and was line caught using cut shrimp. He seems to be adjusting to his tank okay over the last two days, but he isn't eating. For a fish that is supposed to be voracious, he is acting like a supermodel when it comes food. He won't touch frozen or fresh cut shrimp, flakes, mud minnows, frozen cubes, or small cut fish fillets.

Also, the part of his mouth where he was hooked is not healing. I don't expect it to heal anytime soon, since he won't eat. Any thoughts?

The bluefish is in a 55 gallon tank. He is the only inhabitant, save for two half inch long mud minnows which were supposed to be dinner.

Salinity is 1.023
temperature is 75*
ammonia = 0
nitrites = 0
nitrates = 55 ppm
PH = 8.3
substrate is 3" DSB with 25 lbs of concrete blocks for structure
 
Although I'm no SW fish expert, Bluefish, IMHO are not suited for fish tanks. They are a migrating species that grow in excess of 31" & 25lbs. These fish migrate between Florida and Maine in the western atlantic for breeding and food. Due to their large size and mobility I can not see them as being suitable aquarium species. I would liken this to the FW keepers who have tried to keep trout.

JMHO

Brian
 
Yes, I know about their growth rates and migratory behavior. My plan is to keep one for a year or two, and let it out grow the tank, then release it back into the ocean. Of course, I have to get it to eat first...
 
Releasing any kind of aquarium critter into the ocean is a bad plan. As with FW, they can transfer diseases. I don't think it's going to be legal either...I know that a similar act with a FW native would be illegal, anyway.
 
I'm not sure I follow, Orion. Why would returning a bluefish to the ocean be illegal if it isn't illegal to remove him from it in the first place? He's going right back where he came from, just larger.
 
Has to do with stocking regulations, and the transport of live fish. Strictly regulated locally. You can not gaurantee that the fish has not been exposed to a disease that will infect others upon release. In Wyoming, transporting live fish taken from local waters is prohibited without specific permit. All stocking of waters is done with the authorization of the Game and Fish--even moving fish from one pond to another on your own land. As a result, many aquatic diseases, parasites and pests are not epidemic in our waters.
 
Hmmmm. I suppose that I should check into the local regs, then. All this go around over a 5 inch fish... seems crazy doesn't it?
 
"All this go around over a 5 inch fish... seems crazy doesn't it?"

No it does not seem crazy. You could introduce a disease or parasite that is not common to the natural habitat and wipe out thousands of fish. The disaster could be enormous.

Ray
 
Well, the fish finally ate one of the minnows in the tank with him. I didn't see it, but I am down to one minnow left, so one had to get eaten.

As for introducing diseases and such into a marine environment, I'm not real concerned about that since the bluefish is the sole occupant of a brand new 55 gallon tank which was fishlessley cycled. He will stay the sole occupant of that tank until such time as he has outgrown it. The only other live fish that will be placed in the tank are the occasional mud minnow, which comes from the same place he did. In other words, there will be no "contamintion" of this fish with any funky Red Sea diseases.

Anyway, if it turns out that it is illegal to return him to the ocean, then I'll just let him stay in the tank.
 
There are still diseases in the tank that just sit in the water and wait for a host's immune system to drop that do not occur in their natural environment. I would check but am about 95% sure it is illegal to return any fish to the wild. You may not see the disease but is in there and even though your fish is strong enough to fight all of them off, some in the wild population may not. Remember mother nature can not ward off diseases that are not in their natural environment. She can't dose the ocean with copper! I would just leave him tanked or look for a public aquarium that MIGHT take him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom