I have a tough question er.. problem.

[Rick Murchison]

I take it populating the aquarium is a given.
With that in mind, gathering your own is much more efficient and less damaging to the sea than buying from a store, where, as has been mentioned, 10 (or a hundred or a thousand) die to get one.
There are several collection devices available for live capture - big syringes, traps, nets & such - just don't resort to the methods of today's "professional" fish gatherers, who tend to use cyanide, dynamite or shock to disable the fish for easy capture.
Some things that are easy to gather and are fairly hardy are hermit crabs, arrow crabs, barnacles, shells of all sorts etc. Just bear in mind that most are predators and there'll be some casualties - you'll find out who is whose lunch. (a saltwater catfish, for example, will do wonderfully well in the aquarium, but all the other fish will disappear)
For those of you who are thinking "horrors" that anyone would have captive fish in a tank, I'd put two items to you - (1) an aquarium is a terrific advertisement and conversation piece for both diving and marine conservation. (2) The live contents of the typical 125 gallon aquarium wouldn't amount to one good seafood platter.
Rick

 

[Warhammer]

Originally posted by Fishkiller
What a name it is though!! I'm just happy they'll never name a manuver after it. WM.

Foul....Low Blow...Low Blow!!!

 

[Fishkiller]

Well I 've decided that if I were, I say were to bring a live object back it would go in my tank.
Since I have two freshwater tanks now, the ocean critters are safe. How ever the Bluebanded Goby and Clown fish population would the first to go.
I told my sister that I would bring back Rocks, Shells, weight pouch, mask, snorkel, ya know the normal dead things you find at the bottom of the ocean. I love my sister and all but the shark teeth would stay with me.

 

[WetDane]

Hey Fishkiller -

I think you have made a good decision - I don't know where you are in relation to the "warm" waters - but I have a reef tank and dive in balmy 50 degree water so it is not an issue to me.

IF she is doing a tank like that she should look for certified fish - if a store can't produce a certificate that the fish was caught by hand - don't buy them.
There is a very strong effort in the aquarium industry towards using acceptable collection methods for anything that can not be raised in capture and to reduce the number of dead animals in shipping.

If this interests you - let me know there are a couple of places where you can get more information.

Dane

 

[rcohn]

Here in the Northeast, tropical fish collecting is a popular Fall diving activity. The juveniles ride the Gulf Stream north and some end up in the local coves particularly southern spots like Narragansett Bay. All will die as the water temp drops, so collecting them is SAVING their lives (or at least attempting to).

I know the New England Aquarium does not have a fall collecting trip planned this year so they are interested in receiving specimens.

Of course the "fall blitz" will be underway at the same time, so I may go freediving and concentrate on some of the larger fish instead.

Ralph

 

[King_Neptune]

I don't agree with Mario or some of the others ...

I say you can bring her back a ton of stuff ... Beer bottles, coke cans, plastic bags, licsene plates, oh and Truck Tires are great for any collection!

It's not that we "Shouldn't Take" ... It's we just need to "Take" the right things ...

=-)

 

[JustAddWater]

As a diver and an aquarium hobbyist, I would urge caution to the idea of adding something from the wild to an established aquarium. It can be challenging enough trying to maintain a small, controlled ecosystem. Keeping a species alive for the trip home would be difficult, and its introduction to the tank could cause significant imbalance to the tank environment. (If adding rocks or shells be sure to boil them first) Likewise, "liberating" aquarium species into the wild could pose some unwelcome results; as the Calerpia sea plant infestation in some So. California beaches, and the occassional piranha sightings in central California lakes have been reported.

Then again, it could be a cool, little experiment. "I wonder what would happen if I put......"