All-wild tank??

[Tillyyy]

Hiya! I'm new here, sorry if this is in the wrong area.. But, I have an idea..

I have filters.. And sumps, and tanks, and media, etcetcetc. All I need to provide a stable environment. I had a 200 gallon tank for ten years. I kept many wild caught creatures. But I started from scratch, not from wild collectings. What if.. In a legal way, I went out to an island I visit every weekend, and got water, sand, and rocks/driftwood... And started the tank off of that? I would let it cycle for a little without the live animals in case of small organisms dying off and causing ammonia spikes, things of the such. But is it actually possible to do?? Opinions? Objections? I welcome any and all ideas.

To give an idea of the environment I would be replicating, I am located on the west coast of Florida, and visit a long owned family island, in Boca Grande.

As an added note, I do not take anything without identifying it and learning myself of its care and requirements, as well as compatibility with it's other tank mates. But I can mainly identify every creature I find, right off the bat. I am very well educated in the marine biology part of my area. Thanks

 

[FullBoreReefer]

IMO, and honestly nothing against you, but this is why things in the wild are dying off and becoming rare/endangered. A lot of things are tank bred and raised these days...to help conserve nature.

Only things that can stop you, your conscience...and the law....

 

[Maivortex]

What he plans to do is no different the most tank set ups. Other people just have someone else do the collecting for them. This is not why some reefs are dying, get a grip!

 

[Tillyyy]

Oh, no, I do not intend to do anything of the sort. Like I said, I am aware of the species I catch, and If they are endangered, or at risk, I do not take them. Overfishing and by bycatch are the main reason those things happen. But the point is, the fish you buy from these stores aren't any different. Yes, they may be farm raised, but they continue to get wild caught fish for better genes and strains. I do get where you're coming from, but my aunt and uncle ran and still continue to run a fish retail business, they provide for many shops in this area and the ones they buy from continuously catch new fish to bring in and breed or sell. The only difference is cutting out middlemen.

 

[Khemul]

No reason it wouldn't be possible. Live rock would be your only problem.

 

[Tillyyy]

We'll, I'm not interested in all of the corals and anemones, I want to simulate the environment they come from, they're all caught within 30 ft of shore, in just a sandy, Shelly environment. There are a few tree stumps and grass flats, which I would replicate by getting the sea grass and driftwood online, I know what kind of grass it is. And what kind of trees those stumps once were. Not going for 'reef, tank but more 'shallow shore' tank. I have a 75 g custom made shallow tank that I'm thinking of doing this with. But still not sure on the whole thing.

 

[Timfish]

Go for it. If everything is being collected legally it should be an interesting project. With regards to ethics of collecting from the wild this report by the UN puts collecting for the aquarium trade in a favorable light:

http://www.unep.org/PDF/From_Ocean_To_Aquarium_report.pdf

From pg 9 "The aquarium industry as a whole is of relatively low volume yet very high value, thus potentially providing an incentive to conserve reef habitats and offering a livelihood to coastal communities often living in low-income areas. In 2000, 1 kg of aquarium fish from the Maldives was valued at almost US$500, whereas 1 kg of reef fish harvested for food was worth only US$6. Similarly, the live coral trade is estimated to be worth about US$7,000 per tonne whereas the use of harvested coral for the production of limestone yields only about US$60 per tonne. In Palau, live rock is exported for the aquarium trade at US$2.2 to US$4.4 per kilo whereas it is sold locally as construction material for less than US$0.02 per kilo. Sri Lanka earns about US$5.6 million a year by exporting reef fish to around 52 countries and estimates indicate that 50,000 people are directly involved in the export of marine ornamentals. In the Philippines, about 7,000 collectors depend on the reefs for their livelihood."

 

[Tillyyy]

Thanks, that was an interesting read

 

[Paul B]

Of course it is possible, where do you think our creatures come from? I keep a local tank and I live in New York.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Keep in mind that in most states, collecting fish for aquariums requires a permit, regardless of whether it's fresh or salt, commercial or non-commercial.

But as far as getting it to actually work, sure, there's no reason why not. I still have florida rock that I collected myself before collection was banned, and I kept tropical atlantic fish that I captured myself (with a permit!) while wreck-diving in the Gulf Stream off the coast of NC.

 

[Tillyyy]

I have a permit for fishing already, but thanks for the help guys

 

[clay12340]

While you're catching them and transporting them watch the water temps. Once you get them home keep plenty of live food options around at first. I've done lots of native freshwater collecting and that's the only real problem I ever ran into. It can be hard to get wild-caught fish to accept prepared foods in some cases.

Other than that it's a lot easier than dealing with a fish that has been shipped. Much less stress on the animal when the time between native habitat and you're tank is only a matter of hours.

 

[arnoldrew]

We'll, I'm not interested in all of the corals and anemones, I want to simulate the environment they come from, they're all caught within 30 ft of shore, in just a sandy, Shelly environment. There are a few tree stumps and grass flats, which I would replicate by getting the sea grass and driftwood online, I know what kind of grass it is. And what kind of trees those stumps once were. Not going for 'reef, tank but more 'shallow shore' tank. I have a 75 g custom made shallow tank that I'm thinking of doing this with. But still not sure on the whole thing.

Live rock provides the bulk of filtration (nitrogen cycle) in most saltwater tanks these days. What will you do to ensure your tank can maintain stable parameters? Perhaps someone with more knowledge than me can give you some tips, or perhaps you'll be fine with just some sand and driftwood.

 

[Tillyyy]

@arnold This is another thing I've thought of, it would be great if someone could provide info on that. But if I did decide to get live rock, are there any huge problems I could run into with that??

 

[Tillyyy]

And yes, at my lfs they breed mysis and brine shrimp, but I would also look more into the usual food for the specific creatures. I know of a place that sells baby sand fleas too.

 

[dkeller_nc]

@arnold This is another thing I've thought of, it would be great if someone could provide info on that. But if I did decide to get live rock, are there any huge problems I could run into with that??

Well, an awful lot of reef tanks rely on live rock, so starting a native-collected tank with live rock as filtration is perfectly fine.

However, keep in mind that harvesting your own from Florida or Federal waters is highly illegal. You would need to purchase some from someone that's aquaculturing it, like Tampa Bay Saltwater. By the way, you mention already having a fishing license - realize that a fishing license isn't the same as a collecting license. In NC, for example, you need a collecting license as well as a captivity permit.

 

[Tillyyy]

Oh, of course. I wouldn't take live rock from the ocean. I would just collect small stones and shells, water, sand, and drift wood. I don't even know of any reefs close to the island anyways but regardless, I would not take live rock from the ocean. I'd buy it from my lfs, they're very reputable.

 

[r_okeanos]

not all states require a permit for personal use. just keep that in mind.. but might be good just to make sure. i think collecting yourself is better than buying wild caught specimens. proper collection techniques, less die off as the transport time is shorter. just be sure to quarantine the fishes and research the fishes you are collecting. i collected all the fish for my first fowl and learned some hard lessons the hard way (for all the hatters that jump into conclusions, this was 20 years ago and we didnt have many up to date sources on what to mix)

 

[billsreef]

Well, an awful lot of reef tanks rely on live rock, so starting a native-collected tank with live rock as filtration is perfectly fine.

However, keep in mind that harvesting your own from Florida or Federal waters is highly illegal. You would need to purchase some from someone that's aquaculturing it, like Tampa Bay Saltwater. By the way, you mention already having a fishing license - realize that a fishing license isn't the same as a collecting license. In NC, for example, you need a collecting license as well as a captivity permit.

Florida only requires one have a saltwater fishing license for collecting ornamental marine life. Naturally there are regulations in regards to what species are permissible, sizes and catch limits.

http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/aquarium-species/

 

[Khemul]

Yep, just need a standard saltwater license if you intend to use the collected creatures for personal use. If I remember correctly, a special collection license is required here if you plan to sell it, but that is outside the scope of practicality, as well as economically, for most people.