Found A Fish Today

[tetraman]

That's awesome! I am going to set up a tank for one of them. I'll catch it at a nearby pond. Could an adult pumpkinseed live in a 20 gallon tank if I changed the water regularly?

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

In New York State its illegal to take fish from the wild and keep them in tanks. I wish I could keep some pumpkinseeds, they really shatter that idea that cold water fish are not as colorful as tropicals. I can understand the ban on taking fish from the wild though. With some species it could endanger the population if too many were taken. Also a lot of people don't realize how much care they need and decide to reintroduce them to the wild and introduce all sorts of diseases. Its sad to know that some idiots/lazy people ruin the chance to keep these really beautiful fish for the good fishkeepers.

Another big reason that it is illegal to remove fish fron the wild for tanks is that if you ever decide to release the fish, you could put it into a place where the fish may not already exist. Out west almost all the fish are non native and have out competed the native fish to near extinction. So transfering fish from place to place is illegal for that reason! Some of my favorite fishing streams will only allow the killing and keeping of Brown Trout because they are so hardy and they have litterally overtaken the aquatic ecosystem!

SLC

 

[mandi]

Wow that is a *beautiful* fish! I've never seen one before.

And good for you for rescuing him and returning him to his natural habitat. That's great!