8 replies to this topic

[juhason]

My problem is: I BUY TOO MANY FISH!!!!!!!!!! I'm hooked. I have 3 aquariums, and am constantly changing my mind... I'll go from fish to fish to fish, then get tired of them and want one of the fish I had the first time, then go buy them again too. It's a pretty real problem haha.

So I was thinking.... I know once you keep a fish, you aren't supposed to release it again. BUT!..What if I bought a completely new tank... say 20-30 gallons... and then I disinfected it and cleaned it well, got only driftwood and rocks and such from the wild (also cleaning and disinfecting them very well) and then ONLY put wild fish in there. Would I be able to use it as a type of grow-out tank? Catch a few young fish, raise them to a decent size, then release them and catch some new ones. This way, I could constantly get new fish without having to waste my money on them. What do you think?

[littlen]

Negative, ghostrider. Unless it was a private pond on your/your family's property. The risk of infection to wild populations is always a possibility.

I completely understand your problem, and have been there before. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you need to be able to control your addiction and have more forethought before you get fish that will either get too big or you'll tire of quickly. Try finding homes for fish BEFORE you buy them. Such that you know that someone has room/interest in them later down the road. What you are describing is a common theme among fish keepers (of both native and exotic fish) who are responsible for dumping unwanted pets back into the wild. Eventually they tire of their pets and the easiest solution is dumping them in the nearest body of water. Please don't become that person.

NANFA is a great place to look for new owners for your unwanted (native) fish. Become a member and you'll have access to the trading dock where you can offer your fish up for grabs. Folks are happy to pay for shipping for a new fish. This seems like the best solution for you, your unwanted fish, and other members looking to acquire new fish.

Another option is to snorkel more. If you have some good waters nearby to view fish in, there may not be as big of a need to keep them in captivity.

[Josh Blaylock]

It's never okay to release captive fish back into the wild. The only acceptable thing, like Nick said, it release to a private pond.

Question is, why are you buying fish? Buy a seine instead and go out and collect them in your local waters. I still go out to see fish often, though I don't keep as many as I used to.

[Matt DeLaVega]

I don't recommend keeping more fish than you can handle, and I don't condone disposable pets. But sometimes we are in a position that euthanizing a fish is our only feasable solution. If you feel the need to switch out your stock so bad that you want to release it, it is much better to come to terms with putting them down. It sounds to me like you need to be more conservative, think ahead, and purchase or collect fish responsibly. If you tend to keep larger fish like sunfish, or catfish, if you get bored with them, why not eat them? If you tire of smaller fish and want a change, why not turn them into feeders? There are many solutions to this problem that are better (and legal)than releasing them. Try to give them away here first. Talk to a local pond owner and see if he minds if you stock his pond from time to time. Feed them to your cat. See if your LFS will take them. Use them to fertilize your garden, put them in your rain barrel to control mosquitos, use them for bait in a local FARM pond. Just don't release them into public waters of any kind. It is unethical and almost universally illegal.

[Isaac Szabo]

In addition to the ethical reasons not to release fish, it could be illegal as well. For example, in my state it is illegal to release any wild fish that have been kept as pets - even if it's back to their original waters.

Like Nick and Josh said, it's a good idea to figure out ways to enjoy native fish without always having to take them home. Netting and photographing them streamside or snorkeling are a couple of good options.

Edit: Matt posted while I was writing. He has a lot of good advice as well. If you run out of options, euthanizing unwanted fish is definitely preferrable to releasing them.

[Michael Wolfe]

I want to agree with several of the above to advise you to consider buying a seine and a snorkel. I have a few tanks and keep a few different fish... but it is always fun to go see more. We just had a conversation in another thread about a fish that is not really a good idea to keep in a tank... but they are easy to snorkel with and an experience everyone should have. You can snorkel with big fish that you could never keep in a tank, you can snorkel with delicate fish that are hard to keep in captivity, etc. And I still get out often to see more fish. Just recently we were snorkeling a creek that we had been in a half a dozen times before, and while we were photographing and sorting our catch, we realized that we had a new species that we had not seen in the last 3 years of seining in this same stream. There is more out there to see than what you can ever buy.

[Matt DeLaVega]

I got into keeping native fish like a tornado. I was catching and keeping all kinds of fish. I had over 2000 gallons of water in my basement and garage tanks and tubs. Like all of my hobbies, it eventually died down. I am not much of a snorkeler, I should do more of it but Ohio water clarity leaves a bit to be desired during the warmer months. But I have found that I am very satisfied with catch and release seining. I like to see the fish, try to learn how to ID various fish, see their habitat, and let them go. So the suggestions about snorkeling and seining might work for your rehab. They may not break the addiction, but might substitute as a less harmful one.

[swampfish]

I agree with the above suggestions for native fish. For exotic fish, an option besides the local fish store is to sell them in a local fish club auction or swap meet. It is illegal to sell live wild-caught native fish without proper permits or licenses. There will also be exotic fish for sale that you may never see in a local fish store. Most clubs have these events twice per year and allow nonmembers to sell fish. As the President of a local fish club, I always have a few tanks of non-US North American native fish such as goodeids, swordtails, and guppies as well as exotics from more distant locales. Your local fish club is also a great place to learn about fish-keeping equipment and techniques as well as exotic fish. About a third of our fish club collects and keeps native fish, but I'm the only NANFA member despite 20 years of promoting NANFA and giving native fish presentations.

Phil Nixon

[gzeiger]

Also, there is ALWAYS room for another tank.