I never said IDing is easy, actually, I said you likely will not be able to ID them until they're adults.... so what is the point? I have never collected in your area. Assuming these eels were destined to be eaten by birds.... so be it, birds need to eat to. Getting defensive? Why are you generalizing all of my statements? I have been, right from the beginning, commenting on the original post. People keep throwing their own interpretation on my comments/responses. I am not condemning all collectors, I am commenting on the original post.
Eel Identification with pic? Help me out here
- Thread starter Littleg182
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I never said IDing is easy, actually, I said you likely will not be able to ID them until they're adults.... so what is the point? I have never collected in your area. Assuming these eels were destined to be eaten by birds.... so be it, birds need to eat to. Getting defensive? Why are you generalizing all of my statements? I have been, right from the beginning, commenting on the original post. People keep throwing their own interpretation on my comments/responses. I am not condemning all collectors, I am commenting on the original post.
Aquabucket
Premium Member
With-out a proper ID you can't even assume they are juveniles. Posting some pictures here might help with that it might not. We should be encouraging hobbyists like the OP who are studying marine biology and are taking an active interest in studying their local ecosystems of which collecting specimens is a critical component. We should not be condemning them. All the guy wanted was some help with an ID and you and a few others turned this thread into a moral debate.
I think i've made my opinion clear, there is nothing more I need to debate on this.... it's like flogging a dead horse, it's a futile cause, and I'm quite sick of the side tracking. I stated my case ages ago, go back and read so I don't have to keep reiterating, responding to off topic crap, and whatifs.
jbird69
New member
The point really isnt about collecting wildlife. The issue is about harvesting an unidentified species, and the example it sets for 1000s of readers of this thread. It could have very well been a protected species, or perhaps even venomous. Its probably not, but the kid who reads this and thinks "what a great idea" may not be so lucky. How about all the unknown parasites or who knows what kind of secretion is now in the OPs tank?
Its all about the LACK OF ID BEFORE HARVEST. thats the issue.
Okay, say their not a protected species, or venomous, or any of the above. And they do fine in aquaria (highly doubt it) And you DO find a LFS that want them, or give them to a friend. Your friend moves to, or the LFS sells them to say, daytona beach area.
The eels do well...too well. Heck I'll just let them go in the intercoastal. Now theres a previously absent predator in a new ecosystem. This is not a new practice in the state of Florida, which is OVER RUN with invasive species taking over ecosystems thanks largly to irresponsible aquarists, who bought or captured something they KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. They couldnt handle caring for it and didnt have the heart to kill it so they let it go.
I,m not talking about the preverbial gator in the sewer system. Im talking about invasive species introduced by hobbiests threatenning or totally whiping out indigenous species.
The thing that cant be overstated is that this is the internet. Theres no limit to how many people view this stuff. The unbridled collecting of wild animals in ignorance is NOT a good thing. People just gettign into the hobby (or even hard headed experienced bobbyists) need to hear this. There ARE two sides to this discussion, whether you like it or not, and this is as good a platform as any to expose people to it.
In fact, I really hope this thread stays open to discussion. The OP apparently isnt posting anymore, his thread has been derailed, hijacked, pirated...but the topic is important.
Here are some articles about irresponsibilty in the aquarium trade. Both commercial and personal. Obviously this applies to all of us and the fish we keep. But especially those who make rash choices to keep animals they know nothing about.
Why are these articles relevent? Just open your mind a little. its about responsibilty.
KNOW WHAT YOURE BUYING OR CAPTURING, AND HOW TO CARE FOR IT B-E-F-O-R-E YOU BUY IT OR CAPTURE IT.
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/snakehead/overview.php
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2007/11/07/invasive-species-volitan-lionfish/
http://news.bio-medicine.org/biolog...New-Invasive-Fish-Species-In-Florida-14435-1/
Here is a similar tragety compliments to irresponsible fisheman...
- DIAMOND LAKE, Ore. - State workers will begin dropping the level of Diamond Lake this month to prepare it for administration of a poison that will wipe out its aquatic life to get rid of an infestation of nonnative fish.
The $5.5 million project in the lake east of Roseburg targets an estimated 90 million tui chub that have altered the environmental balance of the popular fishing lake, creating toxic blooms of algae during the summer that have closed the lake at times to most recreational use.
A gate will open at the north end of the 3,000-acre lake, eventually dropping the level 8 feet from its 50-foot depth and shrinking the lake to 2,600 acres.
In September 65 tons of rotenone, a poison, will be added, killing all fish and aquatic life.
The lake will be restocked with trout in 2007.
About one half of the fish will sink, the other half will float in what is likely to be a smelly, putrid kill-off.
The dead fish will be skimmed off and possibly used for fish fertilizer.
The once deep-blue waters of the mile-high lake have clouded in recent years as the chub proliferated.
Brought in as bait from the Klamath Basin, the chubs multiplied like locusts, elbowed out rainbow trout to the ratio of 200 to 1, dirtied the water and drove campers away.
Its all about the LACK OF ID BEFORE HARVEST. thats the issue.
Okay, say their not a protected species, or venomous, or any of the above. And they do fine in aquaria (highly doubt it) And you DO find a LFS that want them, or give them to a friend. Your friend moves to, or the LFS sells them to say, daytona beach area.
The eels do well...too well. Heck I'll just let them go in the intercoastal. Now theres a previously absent predator in a new ecosystem. This is not a new practice in the state of Florida, which is OVER RUN with invasive species taking over ecosystems thanks largly to irresponsible aquarists, who bought or captured something they KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. They couldnt handle caring for it and didnt have the heart to kill it so they let it go.
I,m not talking about the preverbial gator in the sewer system. Im talking about invasive species introduced by hobbiests threatenning or totally whiping out indigenous species.
The thing that cant be overstated is that this is the internet. Theres no limit to how many people view this stuff. The unbridled collecting of wild animals in ignorance is NOT a good thing. People just gettign into the hobby (or even hard headed experienced bobbyists) need to hear this. There ARE two sides to this discussion, whether you like it or not, and this is as good a platform as any to expose people to it.
In fact, I really hope this thread stays open to discussion. The OP apparently isnt posting anymore, his thread has been derailed, hijacked, pirated...but the topic is important.
Here are some articles about irresponsibilty in the aquarium trade. Both commercial and personal. Obviously this applies to all of us and the fish we keep. But especially those who make rash choices to keep animals they know nothing about.
Why are these articles relevent? Just open your mind a little. its about responsibilty.
KNOW WHAT YOURE BUYING OR CAPTURING, AND HOW TO CARE FOR IT B-E-F-O-R-E YOU BUY IT OR CAPTURE IT.
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/snakehead/overview.php
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2007/11/07/invasive-species-volitan-lionfish/
http://news.bio-medicine.org/biolog...New-Invasive-Fish-Species-In-Florida-14435-1/
Here is a similar tragety compliments to irresponsible fisheman...
- DIAMOND LAKE, Ore. - State workers will begin dropping the level of Diamond Lake this month to prepare it for administration of a poison that will wipe out its aquatic life to get rid of an infestation of nonnative fish.
The $5.5 million project in the lake east of Roseburg targets an estimated 90 million tui chub that have altered the environmental balance of the popular fishing lake, creating toxic blooms of algae during the summer that have closed the lake at times to most recreational use.
A gate will open at the north end of the 3,000-acre lake, eventually dropping the level 8 feet from its 50-foot depth and shrinking the lake to 2,600 acres.
In September 65 tons of rotenone, a poison, will be added, killing all fish and aquatic life.
The lake will be restocked with trout in 2007.
About one half of the fish will sink, the other half will float in what is likely to be a smelly, putrid kill-off.
The dead fish will be skimmed off and possibly used for fish fertilizer.
The once deep-blue waters of the mile-high lake have clouded in recent years as the chub proliferated.
Brought in as bait from the Klamath Basin, the chubs multiplied like locusts, elbowed out rainbow trout to the ratio of 200 to 1, dirtied the water and drove campers away.
JustinReef
New member
I bet you one 'Sand Eel' that you come back again to embarrass yourself some more
Didn't you actually start the sidetracking? Well at least contributed to it with some very nasty 'redneck' comments when you had no real constructive answer to the other side of the argument.
JustinReef
New member
Don't need to say that twice...
plyle02
Active member
Introduction can also occur through nature... like perhaps a storm, or a bigger storm, like a hurricane... This happened when Andrew came through, wiped out many homes, where many non-native species of life were inadvertantly introduced to our natural eco-system. So to say the OP is irresponsible is blashphomy... Sometimes life just happens, especially here in a climate that suits many non-natural species. Probably how the OP stumbled upon the eels in the first place. The fact is that if they are in S FL, they will, naturally or unnaturally, make their way into our eco-system in other parts of FL. So the fact that the OP acquired them for study is really a good thing. If you actually lived here, you would realize that many species of life have become acustomed to a new natural life, unlike their own, a new survival of the fitest life. Right or wrong, it is reality...
plyle02
Active member
Should us "rednecks" not have reef tanks....
I mean, what if a storm wiped out our state of FL, and our sps corals, lps corals, and soft corals made their way into our FL eco-system?
Would we be irresponsible?
They may not survive in your part of the world, but they just might survive in ours, so let's do what the site was intended for...
SUPPORT!!!
I mean, what if a storm wiped out our state of FL, and our sps corals, lps corals, and soft corals made their way into our FL eco-system?
Would we be irresponsible?
They may not survive in your part of the world, but they just might survive in ours, so let's do what the site was intended for...
SUPPORT!!!
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14761179#post14761179 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JustinReef
I bet you one 'Sand Eel' that you come back again to embarrass yourself some more
Didn't you actually start the sidetracking? Well at least contributed to it with some very nasty 'redneck' comments when you had no real constructive answer to the other side of the argument.
What was your contribution, Justinreef? What's your opinion on the original post?....You probably just sidelined the whole time so you could come in and cast judgement. A lot of people read but don't want to say anything because they're afraid of the backlash. YOU put YOURSELF out there Justinreef.
Read again and you'll find the sidetracking started well before I got involved. The "redneck" comment was a bit overboard but it was aimed at a very small crowd, and I meant it.
You're going a little extreme with that, don't you think?
I didn't call you or the other 99% of RC members "rednecks". That was aimed at a few people who thought it would be better to fry them up and take whatever they please.
I am on here to help, generally speaking. There were a lot of inflammatory statements made and they weren't all coming from me.
JustinReef
New member
LOL...I am being called out by 'rendogg'.
You live in Abbotsford and your calling people 'rednecks'? How ironic
I see nothing wrong with the the original poster did or how he defended himself. He posted looking for an ID, never asked if it was right or wrong.
Please slow down, go back and read your posts and then you will understand why us who were on the 'sidelines' think people like you are ridiculously hypocritical. There is no argument here. We all have fish, they all come from the ocean. If you maintain a tank with absolutely nothing but aquacultured LR, corals and captive bred fish, then good for you and maybe your not quite so hypocritical but even then, it doesn't give you the right to tell someone who collected a few eels from a beach they are so wrong. Maybe even saying you disagreed would have been fine but you took it much further than it should even have gone.
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