Keeping wild saltwater fish

[Aquilox]

If you're looking at this, you're probably considering keeping your local saltwater fish, but before you start, there are a few things you should think about.

First off, what to feed them: take a look at the types of fish and what bait they usually go for - I've found that wild fish often take tropical and marine flake, especially top-dwellers, but for fish like wrasse, rock cod and predators like tailor, small live fish are probably a better choice.

Catching the fish is the most important part - the main rule is, don't use fishing gear if you don't need to, use small traps instead, but if the fish you're after is usually caught with a hook, then use one - the fish will heal, but it can cause problems.

Use the water the fish was in, it's just common sense.

For transporting, I use a battery-powered air pump strapped to the side of a bucket with a lid, an air hose going into the bucket through a hole in the lid - just make sure the lid is air-tight and won't fall over, and bring enough water to fill the tank.

As for types, wrasse make great aquarium pets, they're colourful, luminous and eat pretty much anything - sharks can be kept, but you'll need a massive tank, at least 800 gallons, and I'm against keeping them in small tanks anyway - it's just not fair to the animal. Mullet are another good choice, but they grow huge and need to be in schools, so you'll need at least 6 or more - green moray eels are a no-go, they're just too aggressive.

And remember, keeping anything other than saltwater fish, like turtles, is illegal and can get you in serious trouble - if you see a species in a pet store, it's probably illegal to catch it in the wild without a special licence, and in some countries, you need a licence just to catch fish from the wild.

[rusticore]

Honestly, I'm a bit lost after reading all that. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. What's the big deal about buying stuff from a pet store, you know?

[axonify]

Now that I think I understand what you were trying to say, I'm afraid I don't see the point of the post. What's the point in catching our own fish? I mean, some people get paid to catch fish. If we catch their fish, it will be more difficult for them. What happens if they really need the money, but can't catch any fish? They might use cyanide or explosives, or something like that. I just don't see any advantage in catching our own fish.

[floral9]

I think it's pretty cruel for non-professionals to just go out and catch fish like that. But I suppose it's no worse than how the ones in shops get caught. I try my very hardest to buy tank-bred fish - it's just the right thing to do, you know?

[rusticore]

I think wrasses are too general, cleaner wrasses aren't easy to care for, but a 6-line is doable. And let's not forget, it's illegal in many places with heavy fines - you should've led with that, not tacked it on at the end. Explaining laws should be the first thing, not an afterthought.

[Aquilox]

I'm mainly catching Austflakekento4 fish where I live. You can catch morays, wrasses, and some surgeon fishes that you find in pet stores too. I've kept boarfish, small sea mullet, and a couple of snails I found on the shore. Sorry about my punctuation, I'm not the best typist.

I found it's a lot cheaper and more efficient to catch them from the wild. I never kept them longer than a few weeks, just wanted to study their behavior at home. None of the fish I captured died. I fed them mainly fry that I found in the lake, they really liked them. The mullet also took bread and prawns, but the boarfish just took live food. I even had a sea pike once, found it stranded in a rock pool. Those rock pools can have ridiculously sized fish - I saw a 40cm Austflakekento4 salmon and an adult barracouta there.

[rusticore]

I'm pretty sure it's not legal without a permit, I recall Australia having pretty harsh laws on wildlife and foods.

[axonify]

If you're looking at this, you're probably considering keeping your local saltwater fish, but before you start, there are a few things you should think about.

First off, what to feed them: take a look at the types of fish and what bait they usually go for - I've found that wild fish often take tropical and marine flake, especially top-dwellers, but for fish like wrasse, rock cod and predators like tailor, small live fish are probably a better choice.

Catching the fish is the most important part - the main rule is, don't use fishing gear if you don't need to, use small traps instead, but if the fish you're after is usually caught with a hook, then use one - the fish will heal, but it can cause problems.

Use the water the fish was in, it's just common sense.

For transporting, I use a battery-powered air pump strapped to the side of a bucket with a lid, an air hose going into the bucket through a hole in the lid - just make sure the lid is air-tight and won't fall over, and bring enough water to fill the tank.

As for types, wrasse make great aquarium pets, they're colourful, luminous and eat pretty much anything - sharks can be kept, but you'll need a massive tank, at least 800 gallons, and I'm against keeping them in small tanks anyway - it's just not fair to the animal. Mullet are another good choice, but they grow huge and need to be in schools, so you'll need at least 6 or more - green moray eels are a no-go, they're just too aggressive.

And remember, keeping anything other than saltwater fish, like turtles, is illegal and can get you in serious trouble - if you see a species in a pet store, it's probably illegal to catch it in the wild without a special licence, and in some countries, you need a licence just to catch fish from the wild.

I'm not buying the whole "I'm sorry about my punctuation" thing. You don't have to be a great typist to use commas and periods. If you were really sorry, you'd be making an effort to improve. I'd get it if English wasn't your first language, but from the words you're using, I'm pretty sure that's not the case. Your paragraphs are still a jumbled mess, and I'm not about to edit them for you again. I'm not expecting perfect English, just something that makes sense.

[rusticore]

I'm really confused and have a headache from reading that... I'm not even sure what's going on, but it seems like you're just kinda winging it, you know? My brain hurts just trying to follow your train of thought...

[dune9x]

Honestly, I'm a bit lost after reading all that. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. What's the big deal about buying stuff from a pet store, you know?

I think cleaner wrasses are really easy to keep, they're not that hard to care for, I've had some experience with them and they're pretty low maintenance, I mean, I've kept them in a tank with no issues.