Unknown fish from tide pool

[Despondent_Bandwidth]

I was tide pooling at a super low tide because of the full moon recently and in a shallow pool I caught a few fish and decided to bring them home from the beach and put them in my 20 gallon tide pool tank for a bit. (Risky move I know but the tank was fish-less and only has macroalgae) I caught some baby sergeant majors and 2 other types of fish that I have yet been able to identify. They were all schooling together in the same pool

Does anyone know what these fish are? I’m on the Atlantic side of Florida by Daytona beach. I presume they are babies and will grow much larger in time since they are from the ocean.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

My best guesses:
- Juvenile Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber)
-Juvenile Lane Snapper (Lutjanus synagris)

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree on spadefish for sure which get very large with a huge appetite. Many stores mistaken them as scats

 

[Despondent_Bandwidth]

Thank you for the identification! I did some further research and that seems to be spot on! The snapper has been inhaling mysis shrimp during feedings, and the spadefish seem to like chomping on the green hair algae on the back wall of the aquarium. They’ve been super fun to watch, but they’re going to have to go back home, there’s no way I can keep a 3 foot long fish in any of my tanks. Lol

 

[Rennurdoar]

Just so you're aware. There are regulations in Florida on what you can and can't keep. I would highly recommended releasing the spadefish and lane snapper as they're both regulated fish. With minimum lengths to keep.

Just be cautious, I wouldn't want you to end up with a fine unknowingly they do look good in your tank currently though! Also if you keep em, just don't tell a lot of people.

 

[Despondent_Bandwidth]

Yeah I’ll take all of them back and let them go tomorrow. Bummer! They were awesome. Thanks again!

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

I would remove this thread due to what @Rennurdoar said. There are some FWC im sure around. Always verify anything you collect. If you cant ID you dont need lol. Lots of cool things to take home from tide pools and can be good idea at times. Sorry not something you can keep. But might want to delete thread as well. Dont want to self incriminate lol.

Edit. You maybe ok with spadefish as I dont believe there is a size limit. But they get big. Up to 36 inches.

 

[Tonycass12]

Sure hope everything in that tank is from your local beach. If not releasing those fish back into the ocean is an easy avenue for invasive species be in marine plants or possibly parasites. I would error on the side of caution and just freeze and dispose of the fish. Please do more research on regulations before collecting.

 

[Nano_Man]

Don’t release them now there in your tank
Seaweeds and other critters let them breed and grow your seaweed then they are captive bred and grown keep a update note book on your captive bred critters anemones snails shrimps ect grown on split seaweed if anyone ever knocks on the door.