environment tank

[Amstar]

got a 55 gallon tank with hood, two filters, lights, and a stand... FREE straight from the trash.

What I am thinking about doing is going to the local stream and collecting some sand, rocks, wood etc and using it in the tank.

anyone ever done this?

looking at keeping 3 small blue gill and maybe some other small stream fish

thoughts

[HUNGER]

its illegal to take rocks and sand from the river but i have goten rocks sand and wood from there  and any game fish blue gill bass trout crapie  are very illegal to have if u get caught with those fish  its 5 years in prison  unless u have the license  to own them i belive its 50,000 a year

[discus513]

It is illegal to take stuff from public rivers, creeks etc, But if you know someone who has a creek running through there property it is perfectly legal to take stuff from there with there permission. I also agree with Hunger about the game fish, stay away from the game fish like bass, bluegill, crappie, Etc. But there are still a ton a nice stream fish that it is perfectly legal to keep, and there are actually some pretty nice fish in Ohio, such as the Greenside darter. Here is a link to the Ohio DNR website that has a full list of the fish you can find in ohio: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/AZFish/tabid/17913/Default.aspx     If it was me I would try to pack as much water from that stream back to my tank, the more water from that stream, the better chance of your fish serviving. I would collect the water, rocks, wood etc and run the tank for several weeks before I collected any fish, then it is best to collect your fish with nets and a big sain net. Good luck with your tank. Natural enviroment tanks are always fun, you may even want to look for some natural plants while you are collecting!

[Boonjob]

...I don't believe harvesting small quantities of land or resources from a river's edge is "illegal" per say, you have to remember the river and water way are all publicly owned, the land it resides on may not be., so you could be harvesting from someone's personal property... As Long as the fish species meet correct bagging and size regulations, having them would not be an issue.... A bait stockers license is the high price per year to keep bait fish... anyone with a regular fishing license may possess up to the current bag limit of fish with no ill effects.

....  I personally think it is cool to have a local aquarium, However I personally will never own one...

With all that stated I should inform you that that the Ohio DNR regulations state verbatim :  it's illegal to "transport and introduce any aquatic species (fish, invertebrate, plant) from one body of water to another."

In this particular regulation the term "body of water" is defined simply by any body of water.... It does not state public property, private, aquarium, bucket etc... so this is something you need to be weary of(in the literal sense)... Moving a fish from a river, even given it meets bagging regulations; and releasing it in a home pond or aquarium can be violating this law(due to it's lack of specific definition)... The likely hood you will be caught or that anyone would care for that reason, would most likely be minimal, however it is still a risk.... The law also states that you may extract and transport a fish/species with the direct consent of the director of the DNR(this will most likely be slim; but may be worth a chance if your determined).

I'm not saying you can or can't... but the way the law is lazily worded, it can be illegal.... Other states such as Indiana are more specific and state that you may not introduce from a body of public water to another body of public water... ours has no limitation on the definition of what type of water.


I will say that I catch bluegill for bait, I use a pole and hook(only way to be legal) and I do put them in a live well, however the live well is the same water as the water source and I never take them with me. I have been approached by many rangers(just normal checking) and it never raised an issue...


What ever you do, don't ever take a fish from a body of water with the intention of keeping it(whether live or harvest) without it at least meeting normal bagging requirements.

[HUNGER]

i just know that bass pro has to pay to have those bass and blue gill in there tank

[discus513]

O yeah, Using Bluegill as bait is Illegal as well. I had a buddy of mine get a nice fine for doing this at a state park when he was fishing for Catfish. I hope you dont get caught. lol we have all done it. I use goldfish now for catfish bait,unless I am at a private pond :-)

[Amstar]

The blue gill actually I got from Meijer..... I noticed them in with the gold fish.  Every once in awhile they have a small blue gill mixed in with the goldfish for what ever reason.  I have them in a 29 gallon tank right now. Paid 19 cents a piece for them (same price as their gold fish)

So when I got the 55 gallon tank for free... thought it would be cool to try and set it up more like a natural enironment... reason behind was we actually saw and caught a rainbow darter one day at the creek.  thought it would be cool to keep... but decided against it.

So instead of getting sand/rocks from a local stream... can I use playsand and mix it natural looking gravel from the pet store? Or as others have stated just find a stream on private property and ask permission (wouldnt take much from the stream.. just some sand/gravel and maybe a few rocks)

did not know about not being able to take fish from the streams........ good to know about now

[Boonjob]

O yeah, Using Bluegill as bait is Illegal as well. I had a buddy of mine get a nice fine for doing this at a state park when he was fishing for Catfish. I hope you dont get caught. lol we have all done it. I use goldfish now for catfish bait,unless I am at a private pond :-)

using bluegill(along with many other species) as bait in ohio is most certainly 100% LEGAL... The DNR specifically states it is 100% acceptable...See below Link of fishing regulations if you have any doubts.... IT IS ILLEGAL to catch them with a cast net with the intent of keeping them or using them for bait...

**Fish caught by legal angling methods (such as bluegills caught by hook and line) may be used for bait.**

http://ohiodnr.com/?tabid=18644

Ironically your method of not using the bluegill and using the goldfish may actually be breaking the regulation/law... As gold fish are not indigenous to Ohio waters, therefore the goldfish may not be "established" in the water way that you are fishing in, thus in violation of the law you are trying not to break.

**It is unlawful to use fish species that are not already established in Ohio waters.**




Popular Baits

Fathead Minnow
   
Common Emerald Shiner
   
Golden Shiner
   
Bluntnose Minnow
Northern Creek Chub
   
Common Shiner
   
Spotfin Shiner
   
Ohio Stoneroller Minnow
Common White Sucker
   
Bluegill
   
Gizzard Shad
   
Crayfish
Hellgrammites
   
Leeches
   
Night Crawlers
   
Redworms
Maggots or Mousies
   
Wax Worms
   
 

i just know that bass pro has to pay to have those bass and blue gill in there tank

I can't speak for Bass Pro Shop, But you can purchase Bluegill at most LFS, jacks used to commonly stock them... taking them from the wild is a bit different.

[Todd W.]

Collecting Mangrove pods in Florida is legal unless you are collecting them for commercial reasons, then it is illegal.  Taking a dozen or so vs. taking a hundred or so.  Most of these rules are common sense unless you get a wildlife officer that is a jerk....  They are set up to keep people from harvesting large quantities of resources.  Again, the prosecution would most likely come from an over zealous office,r or if you were realllllly blatant in breaking the law.

[coral ranch]

I still do work in Jack's/Pet Solutuons  fish and animal room and I know if we are accidentally shipped any native species of fish  reptile or bird we get rid of it right a way. Most native fish are illegal to own as far as I know even the ones you can use for bait. sometimes you can aquire permits but be warned you are giving up many rights. If you are reqiured to have certain permits it will in most cases mean you could get a visit at anytime of day or night and no warrent would be needed to enter your home. (The info on permits was given to me by an exotic pet dealer so I am taking his word on it but that is my only source so you may have to search the subject.)

[coral ranch]

Jacks only sold them if they inadvertantly came in with feeder goldfish and made it past us.

[Boonjob]

Jacks only sold them if they inadvertantly came in with feeder goldfish and made it past us.

They must make it past you guys alot rofl, I have seen them there alot.... Actually the one by the Dayton mall had a big half circle tank which was set up to mimic a river or pond setting and had quite a few in it(this was right before they closed)

[Boonjob]

I am still sifting through the ORC on this one, but I did find this:

1533.08 Scientific, educational or rehabilitation collection permits.

Except as otherwise provided by division rule, any person desiring to collect or possess wild animals that are protected by law or their nests or eggs for scientific study, school instruction, other educational uses, or rehabilitation shall make an annual application to the chief of the division of wildlife for a wild animal permit on a form furnished by the chief. Each applicant for a wild animal permit, other than an applicant desiring to rehabilitate wild animals, shall pay an annual fee of twenty-five dollars for each permit. No fee shall be charged to an applicant desiring to rehabilitate wild animals. The chief may issue to the applicant a permit to take, possess, and transport at any time and in a manner that is acceptable to the chief specimens of wild animals protected by law or their nests and eggs for scientific study, school instruction, other educational uses, or rehabilitation and under any additional rules recommended by the wildlife council. Upon the receipt of a permit, the holder may take, possess, and transport those wild animals in accordance with the permit.

Each holder of a permit engaged in collecting or who possesses such wild animals shall carry the permit at all times and shall exhibit it upon demand to any peace officer, as defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, or to the owner or person in lawful control of the land upon which the permit holder is collecting or possesses the wild animals. Failure to so carry or exhibit the permit constitutes an offense under this section.

Each permit holder shall keep a daily record of all specimens collected or possessed under the permit and the disposition of the specimens and shall exhibit the daily record to any official of the division upon demand.

Each permit shall remain in effect for one year from the date of issuance unless it is revoked sooner by the chief.

All moneys received as fees for the issuance of a wild animal collecting permit shall be transmitted to the director of natural resources to be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the fund created by section 1533.15 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003; 04-06-2007

[Amstar]

so would you use or not use playsand? 

[Boonjob]

so would you use or not use playsand? 

You can use play sand if you like, but you will want to make sure it is silica free.

[Todd W.]

I would love to see this build.... I think Bruckner Nature center has a big one of these....

[Boonjob]

newport has a river tank

[Boonjob]

So I was really intrigued with the actual legalities of a tank like this, so I queried the ODNR directly about taking a fish from the wild, and then also keeping a native species in a fish tank... I have copied the response from the DNR below.


Thank you for the email.  You must make sure however that fish caught
are caught by legal angling methods by licensed anglers.  There are many
size limits, depending on what and where you are fishing, so, for
example, if you caught a crappie in Alum Creek, it must be at least 9
inches.  You must follow the entire rules and regulations before you can
determine whether you can keep the fish or not. The size limit does
matter, so, you must check on the area where you are fishing.  Also,
once the fish has been held in a personal pond or aquarium it can not be
returned to the wild.

I've attached a copy of the fishing regulations for your convenience.

Please contact us at 1-800-WILDLIFE if we can be of further assistance.

Thanks,
Jason


ODNR, Division of Wildlife
2045 Morse Rd., Bldg. G-1
Columbus, Ohio 43229




 

[slandis3]

OK its on, now I'm gonna set up a fresh water tank just for Bass lol.

[Boonjob]

lol i have seen plenty of those before... They are usually built on trailers and taken to an from fishing expo's for lure demos

[slandis3]

I have a nice 400g tank that would look great with drift wood and lily pads lol.

[Boonjob]

I wonder just how long it would take for a bass to out grow that tank... lol a couple months at best, surely no longer than a year

[slandis3]

Well I had a small mouth in a 65 for a year, Never really out grew it just got really fat. When I do our deck/pond in a few years I may look into setting it up for natural fish rather than Koi.

[Boonjob]

That would be sweet, I think keeping a bass in an aquarium would be pretty awesome(along with some other natvie species, just not with the bass rofl)


How big did that smallie get? Most places around here aren't going to let you take anything under 12" for a bass(legally)... all of the bass tank's I have seen are usually pretty tall/deep I would think the bass would be prone to jump out of an aquarium(shallow or not). I think you should just convert the other half of your garage into a native aquarium!

[Todd W.]

Get a turnstile and charge admission. 

[Boonjob]

I think your on to something here todd!


Get a big ol Stripper Hybrid! I'd pay to see a big ol wiper in a personal aquarium 

[slandis3]

Well I looked at ODRN and I could not find a size limit on bass for the great Miami river only 5per day limit. The one we had was about 7" when we got him and about 8" when we let him go. I am actually considering building a huge aquarium on the other side of m garage just for fresh water fish. I have always wanted a big 1000+ gallon aquarium full of fresh water fish. If I did something like that it would be a plywood aquarium.

[Todd W.]

I have always wanted a big 1000+ gallon aquarium....

Isn't that called a swimming pool?

[JoeAyers]

Mike,

Check out this guy from the Cincy freshwater club. He built a concrete tank for sunfish. Started breeding them and eventually got into some conservation stuff. Pretty cool really. I can't seem to find his website now and not sure if he is still around since I haven't been into FW for a long time.

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/ponds/Hamilton_Sunfish.html

[slandis3]

Wow that's interesting,I am going to search and see what I can find on his build.

[Boonjob]

That Concrete tanks looks slick from the pic... mike I think you need to green light this one ;P

[HUNGER]

good to know  now i have that 200 that a bass would love

[slandis3]

A step ahead of ya, 12'x4'x4' plywood build. Just need to figure out if the garage floor will hold the weight. Looking at about 1350g at 10,800#. Then add the weight of the tank sump ect.

[Boonjob]

that's only about 229lbs per sqft. I think you should be ok, how thick is your slab 6"?  That's actually about the exact same pressure as a car(weighing about 3800lbs) 4 tires would be puttin 227.96 lbs per sqft of pressure under each tire(roughly)

[slandis3]

I think its 4" not sure if its renforced or not

[Boonjob]

Is it pretty level? If not I almost think a Concrete tank would be better as the grage floor it's self can be the floor of the tank, no worry of leveling that behemoth. just make sure your top is level and that way you could even make it waist high... you could fish out of it ROFL

[slandis3]

I thought about that but I would have no room for filtration. The floor as a pretty good slop to it. Once I get Christmas bought and find a gas heater for the garage I will start taking measurements and see what I need.

[Boonjob]

I would almost even consider making a concrete aquarium in my garage but it would be a pita for me to keep a heater out there