ive always wanted to build a snook tank!

milesofreefs

New member
would that be legal?

i understand size limit this year its 28 to 32 if im wrong correct me, im not going to jail for an under/over size snook.

For a snook that size youd need a 500 gallon or bigger imo.

But what if you had, lets say a 5in. snook in a tank, ive seen it done.

The fishing Hall of Fame has a snook and red fish tank and they grow no bigger then 6'' in there because of the size of the tank.

Would you be able to get a permit or something to keep a snook that size in a tank?
 
Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
These people will give you the answer you are looking for !
myfwc.com
 
that is an interesting idea, please let us know what you find out, it would be really cool to have a snook in the tank. I always wondered if you could keep a baby sailfish, I've seen pictures and they look so nice.
BTW. for the person that wants to tell me that I would need a gigantic tank to keep one or how illegal it would be, I realized that, relax, it is just a thought!
 
and they grow no bigger then 6'' in there because of the size of the tank.

This is popular misconception. They grow to the maximum allowable capacity of the tank, then it crashes and they usually die.


And yes, FWC will probably have an issue too.
 
They are cool little fish. Aidan sometimes gets baby ones with his cast net on the shore, along with permit. We throw them back.
 
Organizations such as the IGFA, museums, and other places such as Bass Pro shops, get a permit from FWC allowing them to possess species that would otherwise be illegal. The permits are generally only issued for educational purposes. It is virtually impossible for individuals to obtain such a permit for private displays. It is of course illegal to possess undersize snook, or any other marinelife that doesn't comply with conservation laws, weather its swimming in an aquarium or on ice in your cooler.
 
Last edited:
Can you imagine something like this swimming in a tank.........That's got to be so cool to feed them.
baby-sail-2LR.jpg
 
Can you imagine something like this swimming in a tank.........That's got to be so cool to feed them.
baby-sail-2LR.jpg

Tom Capo tried this years ago when I volunteered at the hatchery while in High school. I don't think he had much luck with them. It was cool watching the one fish he had while I was there.

Did you ever see the video of the guy who had a baby dolphin (mahi mahi for you non floridians lol)? This guy caught it up in the Carolinas or NY area. He got to the point of being able to hand feed it mysis. Amazing to think something on an inch or two would be over 10x that size in 6 months to a year.
 
A friend on facebook recently posted pictures of a bait sized fish they found in the gut of a Marlin that looked like a cross between a sailfish and a pilchard, thought it would be cool to have! Its called a southern fanfish.

DSCN1367_big.jpg
 
As for snook their are 4 recognized sub species of Snook going from memory you have a Common snook, Fat snook, Tarpon snook and swordspine snook. The Max length on the fat snook is around 12", if you could possibly ID one (and get FWC blessing) it might not be as bad as keeping a 32" fish...
 
I've always wanted a blue whale ya that's it who's with me....that would cool too maybe we could all get a baby blue whales lol
 
What if you breed them from legal size fish, are you required to release the babies? Sign me up for a baby manatee!
 
Tom Capo tried this years ago when I volunteered at the hatchery while in High school. I don't think he had much luck with them. It was cool watching the one fish he had while I was there.

Did you ever see the video of the guy who had a baby dolphin (mahi mahi for you non floridians lol)? This guy caught it up in the Carolinas or NY area. He got to the point of being able to hand feed it mysis. Amazing to think something on an inch or two would be over 10x that size in 6 months to a year.

Where can I find this video?
 
As for snook their are 4 recognized sub species of Snook going from memory you have a Common snook, Fat snook, Tarpon snook and swordspine snook. The Max length on the fat snook is around 12", if you could possibly ID one (and get FWC blessing) it might not be as bad as keeping a 32" fish...

All four subspecies are regulated the same: 28-minimum size limit, 32-inch max. There are also closed seasons, where possession is illegal all together. You would run into the same legal issues with dolphin, billfish, or any other species that has a size limit. Just about everything out there is regulated these days.
 
Man I'd love a snook in my tank (in my future non-current tank, JfyI for MRX =) ), I once saw a little tarpon in a tank I thought it was one of the coolest things ive ever seen.
 
Back
Top