Buisness possibility?

[daunderdog]

I off shore dive about once a week, doing a four tank dive 75 to 100ft range.
I encounter all sorts of small reef fish while I am

[hr]
fishing for large prey. I am talking wow look at that sort of colors on small reef fish. The laws allow or me to take so many ornamentals per day.
I am thinking about setting up several 3 to 4 tanks to start and go from there as a hobby and sell some of the fish. My learning curve is steep because I am a beginner with salt aquariums, I have a fresh water tank now.
It seems kind of easy to collect the fish/sand/rock/water etc. from the mother ocean.
I think that this would be fun and I can't complain about the price of the fish maybe it could offset the higher price of fuel and tank fills for the trips. Getting paid to do what I already love. I have got to break into this hobby and have some fun.
Is anyone already doing this and can I get some direction? (Do's and dont's) I have began reading books on tanks but that is it. I can invest in the tanks and etc to get me started but I hate to spend monney twice on should have stuff! Thanks in Advance

 

[symon]

You might catch some heck from others fo harvesting from the oceans, especially corals, But you may also get some helpfull advice form others! Just be ready for the flak
If i where to do harvesting, I would setup a few tanks, I think there would be a real trial and error , I am thinking a large refugium and 3-4 smaller tanks, and ofcourse a quarentine tank, do a few tests on the water you are diving in and try to recreate that at home, then you can use the QT to get them used to capitivity, 3-4 weeks is a standard rule, although i don't know how they will act being taken from the wild! Also rememeber that your lighting will be very inportant!
Oh yea and Good Luck!

 

[dougai]

good thinking

 

[airforceb2]

It really depends where you live and how far off shore you are diving. There are a lot of laws about disrupting ocean life and removing things from the ocean. I would first talk to the local fish and game office to see if it is even legal. Then look into the cost and set-up equipment.

 

[texasmetal]

A lot of LFS's sell wild caught fish, most of them have parasite issues and when you mix them with tank-bred fish you sometimes end up with lots of problems.
Like the person above posted, check the legality of it before you do it. There are good reasons not to disturb the balance of nature. On the other hand, that's how this hobby began in the first place.
People can't leave nature be, we're too curious for the good of ourselves and our environment and it often effects the world around us in negative ways.. just use your best judgement.

 

[bwilson]

I would have to disagree with most if not all of you. First it is aginst the law without the proper permits depending on where you live. Next almost all the fish in everyones tanks are caught from the ocean. As for the reef most if not all of it is protected and trapping is usually aginst the law without the proper permits. Also most if not all of aquarium fish come from outside the US (Dont have all the red tape) also most people tend to run a tank at about 80. Its pretty hard to run a tank lower than 70 and most poeple will not.
Just some random thoughts good luck,
BW

 

[oceanist]

jay walking is against the law to

 

[tennisace]

For harvesting corals I suggest that you take frags and lets them grow a little, and continue fragging (check out more on this site about fragging), it takes a little more time for it to grow, but you won't get a lot of crap from others and you won't be hurting the ocean reefs. Doing this will actually make people praise you because by just starting with one frag from the ocean, you can sell it to many people in time, and since it was just a little frag, it won't affect the reef you got it from since the original coral will continue to grow. I am actually thinking of doing that, because I really want to move near a beach and scubadive a lot.

 

[daunderdog]

The local Laws are specific in my area and allow for someone to take living things with out special permits. Fishing licenses are required. There is min/max size listings on certan fish and its a short list.
ORNAMENTAL TROPICAL FISH AND PLANTS. MY SATE LAWS
Maximum size limit (total length): (Angelfish except Rock Beauty 8", Butterflyfish, jawfish 4", Rock Beauty 5", Gobies 2", Spanish Hogfish 8", Spotfin Hogfish 8") Min Size Limits (total lenth) Spanish Hogfish 2", Spotfin Hogfish 3", Porkfish 1 1/2"
Bag limits Fishes/invertebrates: 20 per person per day no more than 5 angelfish and no more than 6 Octocoral Colonies. Plants are one gallon per person per day. Live landing is required in a live well.
Protected Species as it relates to what I would not be able to collect. Spiny Dogfish, Longspine Urchin, Stony, Hard and Fire Corals, Sea fans, Florida Queen Conch and Bahama Starfish. Harvest of live rock in state waters is prohibited. I can harvest live Rock beyond state waters. 15 miles I am always beyond statewaters in order to get any sort of visability anyway. GPS chart Plot recordings serves as proof of stopping destinations.

 

[tennisace]

those are nice state regulations, gl, just be very careful, and don't take too much coral.