Purple Gorgonian ?

[ThatsFishy69]

if i do not find another ill frag the one i have just cut it where i want it right?

 

 

Im going to the keys this week should be interesting now that i know corals

[yardboy]

You can just "cut it where you want it" but when you glue the cut piece to a substrate, remember to peel back the skin a bit to reveal the black skeleton and glue that to the substrate. If you try glueing the skin it will deteriorate and come loose.

[Ironcat]

I am a Floridian, and a diver, and I love finding things that I can take home and put in my tank...

but...

You may want to check what you're allowed to take out of the ocean though before you go taking stuff.

You wouldn't buy it from a store if you didn't know if you could keep it, so why take it from the ocean?

Gorgonians, also called Sea Whips (and sea fans) are one of the things that you're in no way shape or form allowed to harvest, not even with a fishing license.

[ThatsFishy69]

Yea being a diver as well I would never take some thing from a reef no matter what it was but this thing was sitting on a sand bar in keybiscayne I figured he would have a better life with me then getting stepped on or hit with an anchor ..

 

But your 100% right

[davidr2340]

lol david you just have a stick looks so weird with out branches..

It does... But it was a gift, and much appreciated!

[yardboy]

Sorry, but you need to read the Florida Fishing Regulations. The only gorgonians you are not allowed to collect are the Big Sea Fans. Now of course, collecting in a State or National Park or Reserve is forbidden, as is fishing. But there are certainly things you can collect, otherwise you wouldn't be able to buy them from different vendors in the Keys.

[Emilio84]

Thats awesome. I really need to find one for my tank now!

[Ironcat]

Sorry, but you need to read the Florida Fishing Regulations. The only gorgonians you are not allowed to collect are the Big Sea Fans.

 

I'm not talking out my ass, I am a diver who regularly collects and so I know what I am allowed to collect.

 

Please refer to page 14 of the Florida fishing regulations.

http://www.myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegulations..._Newsletter.pdf

"No more than 6 octocorals, etc, etc, etc"

"Harvest of Venus Sea Fan and Common (Purple) Sea Fan prohibited"

 

Then please refer to their definitions.

http://www.myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegulations..._68B_42_new.pdf

"Octocoral means any erect, nonencrusting species of the Subclass Octocorallia, except the species Gorgonia flabellum and Gorgonia ventalina."

 

Please go out and harvest some Gorgonians and tell the FWC officer who pulls you over that it's okay because they aren't "Big Sea Fans".

[yardboy]

Gorgonians, also called Sea Whips (and sea fans) are one of the things that you're in no way shape or form allowed to harvest, not even with a fishing license.

 

I'm not talking out my ass, I am a diver who regularly collects and so I know what I am allowed to collect.

 

Please refer to page 14 of the Florida fishing regulations.

http://www.myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegulations..._Newsletter.pdf

"No more than 6 octocorals, etc, etc, etc"

"Harvest of Venus Sea Fan and Common (Purple) Sea Fan prohibited"

Then please refer to their definitions.

http://www.myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegulations..._68B_42_new.pdf

"Octocoral means any erect, nonencrusting species of the Subclass Octocorallia, except the species Gorgonia flabellum and Gorgonia ventalina."

 

Please go out and harvest some Gorgonians and tell the FWC officer who pulls you over that it's okay because they aren't "Big Sea Fans".

Okay, so get a book on corals and read it because gorgonians are octocorals, and Gorgonia flabellum ( Venus Sea Fan) and Gorgonia ventalina (Common (Purple) Sea Fan) are large sea fans and are prohibited just as the regulations state. "

I'm from Florida too, have collected gorgonians, and have been checked by the FWC and passed.

The only difference between me collecting and a commercial collector is in quantity allowed to be taken, so anything you see for sale by Caribbean collectors such as Sea Life, Inc. can be collected by you or me, just in much smaller quantities.

 

I always love when people say "Yea being a diver as well I would never take some thing from a reef no matter what it was" and then go spearing for lobster or fish, or buy stuff for their tank from someone who does collect off a reef.

[ThatsFishy69]

Well I am a diver saw tons of sun polyps today never took one nor speared a fish or a lobster..

[yardboy]

Don't get too "holier than thou" about it when you have a tank full of stuff someone else collected for you; from a beautiful reef on the other side of the world and shipped it by airplane at great environmental expense just so you could have an aquarium but think "I don't collect anything from the reef"

[joe1958]

I am a Floridian, and a diver, and I love finding things that I can take home and put in my tank...

but...

You may want to check what you're allowed to take out of the ocean though before you go taking stuff.

You wouldn't buy it from a store if you didn't know if you could keep it, so why take it from the ocean?

Gorgonians, also called Sea Whips (and sea fans) are one of the things that you're in no way shape or form allowed to harvest, not even with a fishing license.

Check out ken at sealifeinc.net

[ThatsFishy69]

everything in my tank except one were cut frags sold by members here so i would like to think my coral was not taken from a reef but grown and cut multiple times..

[Ironcat]

It appears maybe possibly sorta kinda I was a little teensy bit almost wrong.

Looks like I will be harvesting some Gorgonians next time I dive.

[MedRed]

It appears maybe possibly sorta kinda I was a little teensy bit almost wrong.

Looks like I will be harvesting some Gorgonians next time I dive.

 

Takes a big person to swallow their pride and admit they were wrong... especially on the internet. I applaud you.

[yardboy]

everything in my tank except one were cut frags sold by members here so i would like to think my coral was not taken from a reef but grown and cut multiple times..

It only takes one and you fail. Are you talking about that big Favia or the Fungia plate? They look to both be collected.

 

Where can I score some frags of these?

Yasha Haze goby

-small clown fish

-8 small hermits

-3 nassaris snails

-cleaner shrimp

[Kraylen]

very cool

[ThatsFishy69]

Lol guess you could say the same about the Live sand and rock as well huh?

 

I do my best I'm no tree hugger.

[yardboy]

Just accept the idea that you've done it in some form and that it's cool and not the end of the world, or the reef. I personally believe that the reef is harmed more by poorly trained divers touching, breaking, kicking, vandalizing. anchoring on and yes, stealing illegal corals than any law abiding citizen does who stays within the law and respects the reef he's taking from.

As a diver I doubt you feel any different. Take good care of that gorgonian. So many of his brothers washed ashore, dried up and died. At least yours is still alive.

[bubbles4]

ah nice! need me one of those.

[joe1958]

you could harvest some and sell them to us at a good price..

[ThatsFishy69]

i will soon.

[johnmaloney]

watch out with that though, you dont have the right license (MLE) so it is techinically poaching, might as well start spearing snook, selling turtle eggs etc... same fine.

[MitchReef]

I cannot tell from your pictures, but PLEASE make sure the gorgs are not attached to ANY rock at all....the FWS people will bust you BAD if there is even one granule of "Live Rock" attached to it....a kid in my club caught all kinds of hell for a little bitty piece of illegal rock with legal zoanthids attached....those guys come with more wrath than anybody would imagine....

[ThatsFishy69]

i cut the rock it was attached to off? idont understand your poaching comment ? im going to cut and frag the one i have for others as its a little large for my tank. I am not collecting more