Cuda at St. Pete Marine

[Acolin]

I like St. Pete Marine and stop by when I am visiting over on the other side of the bay. They do not have their deep black livestock tubs anymore, swapping them out in favor of new large acrylic cubes that let you see the corals from all angles. Bob works there. He is a member of our club.

They often sell Moorish Idols (my favorites) and report that they seem to be doing well.

They recently have a small, soon to be large, Baracuda for sale, although I think Bob said they may have somebody interested in it.

I have never seen a “cuda offered for sale in a marine aquarium store before. Heck, never seen a live ‘Cuda offered for sale anywhere.

I saw them snorkeling off West Palm Beach all the time. The young ones were common in the sandy shallow streams off Jupiter Inlet. Once, a four foot one hung out by a bridge all summer long. Quite friendly. it let snorkelers get quite close, until a flick of his tail sped him away.

BTW, I don’t see it on Wikipedia, but I was told that bites from ‘cudas are far more common than bites from sharks because “cudas are far more likely to be caught by fishermen and fight when hauled aboard.

The only person I know who might have room for this potential 6 foot monster is Dr. Deb, but I think a “Cuda will outgrow even her 650 gallon predator display. This is one fish however, that an aquarist raise into sautéed fillets!

[brynkal]

When I saw Cuda, I thought Mopar, and got all excited...

Guess it is a reef site, lol

[barfish]

i have seen very small specimans a few times over the years in lfs. have caught prob. hundreds. they are know to just follow divers around, its usually the cuda's you have to worry abour getting your fish when spearfishing. as for fillet and saute. that prob. wouldnt be a good idea as barracuda especially larger species carry ciguatera which is a type of toxin. thjey get it from eating the dying and sick reef fish . some fisherman carry a test kit for it to see if the flesh is safe on smaller fish. say 2-4 ft. its not uncommon to see 6footers offshore.

[CMcNeil]

Just what we need is cudas in our tanks,I imagine they will eat any of our normal reef safe fish.I think it is irresponsible to place a palagic fish in a reef tank.they are very active and need alot of roaming range to be happy.just my two cents.

[Acolin]

At the Georgia Aquarium, I think the curators said the whale sharks need ten-fifteen times their body length in order to have room to swim. That means a six-foot Baracuda needs a 60 to 90 foot long display tank.

[barfish]

chris i couldnt agree with you more. there are alot of things that i feel shouldnt be in a Aquarium both of the home and public variety. i personally dont feel a whale shark has any business being in an aquarium. i know its for research, oke dokey. i migratory and/or palagic species needs to stay in the ocean.

[triggerfish1976]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15091662#post15091662 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acolin
At the Georgia Aquarium, I think the curators said the whale sharks need ten-fifteen times their body length in order to have room to swim. That means a six-foot Baracuda needs a 60 to 90 foot long display tank.

Yeah and they have killed at least two whale sharks in order to keep having them on display. I have boycotted that place for that very reason.
As far as cuda's in the home aquaria go, I am not shocked that SPM is selling them. I haven't been in there in a long time but I could tell they were going to be one of those stores that carries completely inappropriate fish based on a few fish that they had in there when I was there. Does it say "reef safe and NTE 1' in the home aquaria" on the tank?:lol:

[SoundsFishy2me2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15091608#post15091608 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CMcNeil
Just what we need is cudas in our tanks,I imagine they will eat any of our normal reef safe fish.I think it is irresponsible to place a palagic fish in a reef tank.they are very active and need alot of roaming range to be happy.just my two cents.

I bet they would, but I think this is along the lines of keeping a "shark tank" people who have them should have a preditor tank with swim room, even so they do grow, the growth rate may be somewhat less due to tank size. I've seen them in large tanks, like sharks, it's a cool fish to watch hover, swim & eat but not you average persons fish. Not for me anyway. I'm also one for not keeping sharks, rays and others for many of the same reasons even though I once couldn't resist buying a shark pod from another LFS so my daughter could learn and watch it grown and "hatch." (then gave it away to someone with a large shark tank) one thing for sure, I wouldn't want to stick my hand in the tank to clean the glass or arrange the rocks etc..!

[chimmike]

dunno what kind of person would have a tank big enough for a cuda, but i'd sure like to see their setup, lol.

[mflamb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15091775#post15091775 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by triggerfish1976
Yeah and they have killed at least two whale sharks in order to keep having them on display. I have boycotted that place for that very reason.
As far as cuda's in the home aquaria go, I am not shocked that SPM is selling them. I haven't been in there in a long time but I could tell they were going to be one of those stores that carries completely inappropriate fish based on a few fish that they had in there when I was there. Does it say "reef safe and NTE 1' in the home aquaria" on the tank?:lol: I agree fully.

Ask Sue and Russ about the Batfish that they were "sold" by SPM. It was a real success...for at least 15 minutes.

There are some fish that should not be in the aquarium trade, and some people that will sell anything to make a buck.

[potters man]

First. thanks Colin for stopping buy the store the other day. It is always nice to talk with you.
Second, I know that many of the club members like FAOIS and I understand that. Jon has had his store for many years and it is a nice store. I am sure he has helped many members in the past. I have no problem with that. However it seems everytime someone brings up St. Pete Marine one of the FAIOS loyals feels the need to say something negative. I was not at the store the day Sue picked out the Batfish. I would have thought she would have known better.however Sue has had good luck with hard to keep fish like her moorish idol I cannot always control what comes in the store but anyone who knows me or has talked with me knows my experince and I would never mislead anyone about an animal or product. As for the cuda when the time come I will personaly find him a new home As for now he eat every day and waits like a puppy to be fed. Very cunfy. Many people like to come in a store and see different things than the same old thing. Thanks for your understanding guys.
P.S. Remember what mama use to say: If you dont have anything nice to say dont say anything!
Bob

[aquapod_noob]

man i love the cuda a watch him every time im in there. Why does everyone from FAIOS feel the need to rip on any of the other stores I see it all to much on this board and it is getting kind of old. I didnt bash FAIOS today when i was there and there was a 6-8" hippo tang in the front 3 gal tank laying on its side. I like both stores and shop at all stores in the bay area EVERYONE has different stuff i shop around to find what i am looking for and in these economic time you would think that you guys would help each other out. Stop the hatin, remember if you stop people from going to other stores b/c of your WOM just think of how many people are doing that about your store and pretty soon noone will be going to any of the store and you all will be out of jobs.

[SoundsFishy2me2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15093711#post15093711 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mflamb
I agree fully.

Ask Sue and Russ about the Batfish that they were "sold" by SPM. It was a real success...for at least 15 minutes.

There are some fish that should not be in the aquarium trade, and some people that will sell anything to make a buck.

I had a batfish alive and healthy for a long time in one of my tanks, it was a cool fish! Your right Mike, it is a tough fish with a difficult survival rate and better left for people who have very stable tanks and even then like like with Sue's attempt it's still hard to keep one past the initial stages. Sue also bought a Morish Idol some time ago, once again a very tough fish to keep alive but that one looks awesome in her tank and it's been fine for quite a while. Others wouldn't have been so lucky with that type fish either. Sometimes It's a risk for a unusual fish, if you want safe then tell people to buy only damsels they are hardy.

I've had a hard time keeping Powder Blue Tang's in the past, they are also another hard fish, but people keep getting them and a lot of people have them doing just fine. I remember people saying "they should not be keep in captivity because they won't live"

[Jr1]

I'll reread the thread, since I only scanned it the first time but I'm confused. When was FAOIS mentioned? And where was something negative mentioned? So far all I've gathered is that 'cudas should not be sold in the aquarium trade due to the fact that they are impossible to find an adaquate home for. That's not negative, that's just a downright fact.
Sue should have known better? Is that really your argument? What should she have known being that the fish was sold out of that store? I mean honestly, what would an ideal aquarium setting include? Who would be an optimum buyer for that type of fish that was being sold?
And before you put me in your negative Faois club, let me add that I have yet to go there since they are so far.
I wasn't there, she shoulda known better, the cuda is comfy...

Every sentence you type, I disagree with your perspective further.

[N-E CICHLIDS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15092508#post15092508 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chimmike
dunno what kind of person would have a tank big enough for a cuda, but i'd sure like to see their setup, lol.

Ask and you shall receive.

This first Video is guy in LA who has a 10,000 gallon tank. It currently house 2 Arapaima Gigas which grow to 16' in the wild.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HdmdGA9deM&feature=related

This next one is a 4,000 gallon Tank install in a guys house in NY.
This is being setup as a saltwater tank.

http://www.h20customaquatics.webs.com/4000g.html

This is a new tank my buddy built in his shop in long Island to house more breeding Stingrays.

http://www.h20customaquatics.webs.com/megatank.html

Here is a 50,000 gallon tank a guy built in his basement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWHSbu6kLwk


There are hobbyist out there that can and do build large aquariums to house large fish. I do not have problem with any shop selling fish that get huge as long as the buyer can house them properly. There are ways to confirm if the customer can and will be able to house them in the future.

[NONNA58]

It's not right that FAOIS is brought in to this conversation as well as myself because the thread was only about the appropriate housing for this cuda. Please lets not start an argument over this as there will always be a difference of opinion when it comes to ethics of our lfs.

[ichthyman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15094895#post15094895 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquapod_noob
I didnt bash FAIOS today when i was there and there was a 6-8" hippo tang in the front 3 gal tank laying on its side.

Because that would be a incorrect statement. There is no 6-8" hippo tang in a 3 gallon tank. There is however a 6" hippo in my cubical display system that is perfectly healthy but bored with his current environment. When its not swimming or eating like a pig, it occasionally lies on it's side near a rock. Actually, very normal behavior. Thank you for your concern.

I will say this once for all to see. Please leave me and my store out of this.

[szwab]

Seems everything that needed to be said (and then some) has.

Thread Closed.