Good bye to burrfish

[Paul B]

I feel bad but I have to say good bye to this little guy. I am donating him monday to a public aquarium on Eastern Long Island, Atlantis Marine World.
I collected him over two years ago and he is a great fish. Unfortunately, he has grown to almost 5" from this picture when he was the size of a marble.
He is in a 12 or 15 gallon tank and I want to take down that tank for now.
The Aquarium has a large puffer display and he may go in there. I am sure he will be happier in a multi thousand gallon tank than where he is.
Their northern range is Chesepeke Bay and he must have drifted up on the Gulf Stream.

 

[Korrine]

awe bye burrfish.

 

[mapleredta]

Very cool. I didn't think public aquariums would accept fish.

 

[Korrine]

Usually they don't so don't plan on it!

 

[Paul B]

I called them and they seid to bring it in. The guy who takes care of the tanks also knows me.

 

[Paul B]

He is gone. I brought him to the aquarium this morning. They don't know if they will display it or give it to another aquarium. They are afraid that burrfish are very prone to ich.
They are but not from my tank. I have had him for over 2 years and my fish do not get ich. Besides he has never been in a tank with other fish since I got him in the Atlantic.
All of the stuff in that tank were transfered to this tiny tank..
It's just local snails and shrimp.

 

[tom obrecht]

At least you know he is going to a good home and will be taken care of properly.

 

[ackee]

I gave a Short Bigeye to a public aquarium where the curators know me two weeks ago. He was well over 6 inches S.L., and quite a chunky fish who was eating ravenously and growing fast. I caught him in a local inlet in the summer of 09 as a 1 inch Gulf Stream stray. He was and is a magnificent fish, red with shimmering blue highlights in his finnage. There is a nice profile pictue of him taken more than a year ago, about 4 months after I caught him, on my personal profile page.

Like Paul, I haven't had any disease problems for many years despite, or perhaps because, most of my fish are collected by me, locally in summer and one or two when I've been in the Caribbean in winter. I like Burrfish, and get a few tiny ones each summer here in NJ. I usually keep only the smallest for a few months, and then give them to friends. As they get older, they are great FW snail disposal mechanisms, and appreciate these occasional treats. They are a 'smart' fish that becomes very tame.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Sorry to see that guy go Paul! I really like seeing the updates as it grew.

 

[Paul B]

Sugar, I will try to catch another one this summer.
They will only die anyway up here in NY.