|
|
The
Wonderful Fish of Florida:
Take Two Vacations in One
Gil
Rosenthal
GPASI
Journal , Fall
1985
|
|
Florida
is a great state for anyone's vacation. For the fish nut, however,
there is an extra reason to take a vacation there: fish collecting.
The entire state of Florida was once a swamp. The state was partially
drained into a system of interconnecting canals. It was an ecological
catastrophe, but a boon for the collector. Many nonnative fish such
as guppies, oscars, and swordtails were introduced to the area, although
I never encountered such an exotic fish while there. If you do, don't
feel guilty about collecting them.
The canal I collected from was in Boca Raton, near Fort Lauderdale.
I had brought no expensive equipment. On my first trip I actually
used a piece of pantyhose attached to a broomstick, with successful
results. However, on my later trips, I brought the following:
--a fine-mesh pool net
--two plastic bowls
--a portable air pump
--airstone
--plastic bags and rubberbands.
The canal is between the Florida Turnpike and another busy highway.
Duckweed extended from its edge to almost the middle of the canal.
Most of the fish congregate where there are many thick plants but
no duckweed. The proper technique for collecting is to scoop up the
plants with your net. The fish will fall to the bottom. Skim off and
throw back the plants; put the fish in bowl or bag, and move to a
different spot. Within a half hour, you should have dozens of fish.
By far the most common fish collected in this canal was the lowly
mosquito fish. After the first try, I hardly bothered to put these
in the bowl, because they breed like--well, like mosquito fish. Tied
for second place were ghost shrimp and mollies. Next came a host of
natives, among them the blue spotted sunfish, and several unidentified
fish. Part of the fun of collecting is the element of surprise.
Once you have collected the fish, you have to get them home, alive
and hopefully in good shape. Fill the plastic bags with air [ED: and
presumably a bit of water!]. DON T OVERCROWD! I have learned from
bitter experience that overcrowding is fatal. A five-hour plane trip
from Florida is stressful enough as it is; don t make it even harder
on them.
When you get home, put them in a tank by themselves for at least two
weeks to prevent disease to your other, less resistant, pampered fish.
They will accept almost any food, fresh, dry, dead or alive. Then
it's time to identify, enjoy, show, and spawn them. |
Up
5
|
| Back
to Top
Questions
or Problems? Contact
|
|
|
