Hi everyone, I hope someone can help me with this question. I'm trying to stock a tank with wild caught specemins that I catch locally in a wire fish trap. I've had no problem stocking invertebretes- crabs, shrimp, and snails are doing just fine. However the fish that I catch have never lived more than 24 hours. I don't they are getting beat up from being in the trap, instead they show signs of respratory distress (rapid breathing) and then quickly die. I've tried long gentle acclimation periods and oxygenating the water but nothing seems to help. Does anyone have any ideas?
acclimating wild caught specemins
- Thread starter eric
- Start date
- Location
- Crown Heights Brooklyn
have you tested the water they are coming out of compared to where they are going? ph, salinity, ammonia,temp, ect.
I checked the temp and it was 85 degrees, so I guess thats the problem. I don't know why the inverts are doing so well and the fish are not, but I'm speculating that the inverts are more likely to be stranded in tidal pools than fish and tidal pool temps can get high. I leave my trap in greenpoint, the water is quite polluted there but there are not many places to access the water in this area. I've been acclimating them over 5 hours in a 5 gal bucket but I guess they can't handle the higher temp at all.
Thank you all for your help. I'll try again in sept when the water temps are higher and my tank will be cooler.
Thank you all for your help. I'll try again in sept when the water temps are higher and my tank will be cooler.
- Location
- South Florida
there is also a chemical in most inverts, (wet web media or chuck's addiction should have the actual name of the enzyme), that lets them tolerate warmer temperatures for a period, while their metabolic rate increases. just like you said, it is for surviving in tide pools.
- Location
- Staten Island
Water pars??? How are yours?? I have had no problem putting these fish into my tank after only a couple pours of a pitcher... My water temp is 78.4... and salinity is 1.026..Nitrates 0 on a sali kit and phosphates are very low...
Salinity is a lot lower where you are collecting then a typical reef tank..
Salinity is a lot lower where you are collecting then a typical reef tank..
The Long Island Sound is actually a brackish body of water. Greenpoint is mroe of an estuary as its where the East River starts emptying into the New York Harbor ( IIRC ) and therefore is also probably more brackish than average marine water.
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
Since I do not know the SG of the water where you catch the fish, so to play safe you can ue this formular 8 hours per 0.003 raise. If you have to drop it SG instead, you can go much faster. Fish I got from LI Sound since to acclimate to 1.022 well with little time and effort. To raise .003 is approximately replacing 20% of your "wild" water with 20% SG 1.023 water.
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- Location
- South Florida
do they got nice looking fish up there? Domboski's pipefish were cool looking, but are there other brightly colored fish?
You get man o'war up there in the summer right? If so have you ever looked underneath them when they are floating for port. man o' war fish? They got a good range to them, nice bright purple. Only found hiding underneath the tentacles for protection in tight schools.
You get man o'war up there in the summer right? If so have you ever looked underneath them when they are floating for port. man o' war fish? They got a good range to them, nice bright purple. Only found hiding underneath the tentacles for protection in tight schools.
- Location
- Rego Park, Queens
What kind of fish are you getting? My guess would be 2 -3 kinds of killies (Most likely mummichogs- Fundulus heteroclitus, striped-F. majalis, and sheepshead...whose sn escapes me for the moment) and silversides (Menidia menidia). Of all of them, mummichogs are very hardy...they could survive a transfer without acclimation, and can even survive in freshwater- as a little kid, I once caught one in a rain puddle....don't know how it got there, but it was alive. The other killies are less hardy, and the silversides are so delicate that I doubt they could survive transfer to a bucket. They could definitely die simply from being caught in the trap.
- Location
- Montclair, NJ
To keep most local fish you need to have your tank temperature below 70 degrees or they will just keep dying. In fact, this rule holds for most locally collected species. If you are catching mummichogs, they will live fine in your tank with warmer temperatures but they can be quite a nuiscance. My guess is you are catching mostly silversides which will not live in water over 65 degrees.
Do you have pictures of what you are collecting? I'd do some research before you start pulling fish out of the water. There is fish, worms jellyfish (nearly invisible) and other species that can pack a powerful sting or cause major illness. Be careful!
Do you have pictures of what you are collecting? I'd do some research before you start pulling fish out of the water. There is fish, worms jellyfish (nearly invisible) and other species that can pack a powerful sting or cause major illness. Be careful!
In a polluted canal in greenpoint brooklyn I've caught flounder, codfish, wrasse and something that looks like a cross between a sea robin and a goby. I've also caught three types of crabs, grass shrimp, and a ton of snails. I have not caught a single killie which I expected to catch alot of. Everything was caught in a killie trap and nothing was over three inches.
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