Anyone catch their own fish for their tank

[Sea J]

I was just wondering if anyone has ever caught their own fish for the fish tank. I have a 20 gallon set up that I'm going to do strictly fish caught buy Hook or cast net. It just sucks because some of the fish that I want to get are too small to keep like permit or pompano.

 

[FlyinBryan]

Are you trolling to see if we are just out to disrespect destroy or illegally catch fish/corals? You can't be serious.

 

[Sea J]

My Native tank..no rocks no coral...just sand and native south Florida fish...

 

[Sea J]

I don't see how I was trolling but ok you can run along now

 

[Sea J]

Oh you're from Chicago so I Wouldn't thinkyou know anything about catching fish that are from saltwater buddy

 

[Rjramos]

Well, Sea J. You can have a locals only tank. I did it many years ago, however, hook and line is not a good method of catching aquarium fishes. It causes injury and infections that can kill the fish. In addition, most of the species caught on hook and line are inappropriate as ornamental aquarium fishes. Most grow too large and are too aggressive. A good quality net and snorkel or scuba gear is what I recommend. Secondly, know the laws and abide by them, there are size slots for most marine tropicals. They can be found on florida fish and wildlife site. Good luck catching.

 

[Sea J]

Yeah I follow all rules and regs..

 

[tyler1503]

I collected all my own livestock in my 120. I have 11 fish, heaps of shrimp, hermits and snails.
It's great fun to go out and catch something! I've found they accept food much quicker and easier than those fish found in the hobby. Most fish I've caught have been eating within a couple of hours of being in the tank.

 

[c_healy]

Pompano and especially a permit have no business in tank...especially not a 20.

And any appropriate "aquarium" sized gamefish will not be legal size to take.

When I go dowm to the keys I always see plenty of gobies that would be appropriate for you.

 

[miamiangler]

FWC has size limits on game fish ,If you get caught you might get a fined ,I think for pompano it`s 12 inches

 

[Sea J]

Why would I go on a public forum and poach fish..I am not dumb..I was saying it sucks because I would like to have permit or pompano but their to small..

 

[Sea J]

C Healy I catch them in a cast net about a inch long.. thats plenty small..but its illegal to keep them that small

 

[aslmx]

Most fish I catch from the ocean I bash them in the head and fry them .

 

[Sea J]

Me too... but I would find it more gratifying to catch my own fish for my tank

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

Your tank is too small for almost all fish caught with a hook. 20 gallon will not be enough to support the idea of catchin your own. fish

 

[tyler1503]

My advice, get some snorkelling gear. Stick to lakes and harbours that are more on the shallow side but are well known as good fishing spots. Move very slowly and you'll find all sorts of cool stuff. Seaweed is a safe haven for small fish and inverts.
Sure there may be fish that are too big for your tank around, but they're eating fish that are smaller than they are who may be a suitable size.
20 gallons is plenty of room to support catching your own fish. I collect my own fish for my 5 gal. I don't know why the size of a tank should dictate where a fish would come from.
Use of a fish trap would be a good idea too. I have poddy mullet that I trapped with a coke bottle. Most people use them as live bait while fishing.
Ask around the tackle stores for live bait collection spots as well as diving for your own.
You'll be surprised how much life is out there even in the most barren looking sandy areas.
Good luck!

 

[Sea J]

I went out today but I only caught some small grunts

 

[cracker]

Sea J I'm in Jax I have had local fish tank, 55 gl .Sargent majors, a couple small lookdowns, small pinfish even mullet. ]Lots of hermits, I had a real cool robin fish I caught with a tiny gold hook with the barb smashed flat. A local tank is very cool in my opinion. There are plenty of nice fish that are not protected. They are more difficult to capture than one would think! You might want to consider real small fish in a 20 gl they are big eaters.

 

[Rjramos]

Sea J do you snorkel or dive?

 

[Sea J]

I have boat and dive gear.. I like the moon fish idea if I can find them small enough..I definitely will upgrade to a bigger tank for this. I'm just starting out right now