Subject: Red Drum / Redfish in a Aquarium?

From: [email-masked] (D. Jarret Guill Jr.)
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 02:56:24 GMT

I am trying to collect information about raising Red drum/Redfish 
     (Sciaenops ocellatus) in an aquarium.  Can juvenile redfish thrive in 
     an aquarium either fresh or saltwater?  Can they tolerate other fish 
     in the aquarium or are they super aggressive like largemouth bass are 
     in captivity?  I would like to set up a 29 gal aquarium with several 
     small juvenile redfish and release them after they become to large for

     the tank.  I live in Texas and make frequent trips to the Gulf of 
     Mexico, so release would be easy.  From my initial readings Redfish 
     aquaculture is an emerging industry.  I also know of freshwater lakes 
     in Texas that have Redfish stocks.  Any information would be 
     appreciated.
     
     Thanks,
     
     Jarret Guill  
     [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked](brett rowley)
Date: 27 Jun 1996 12:09:56 GMT

In <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (D. Jarret

>     in Texas that have Redfish stocks.  Any information would be 
Jarret,

Gig 'Em Aggies!  I'm class of '80.  I've kept redfish in an aquarium for a
long time.  They will do fine in a freshwater aquarium if there is enough
chlorides in the water, and enough hardness (about 150 ppm or so each, more
is better).  I know redfish have been stocked for years in Lakes Calaveras
and Victor Braunig near San Antonio and Fairfield Lake, probably many
others.  Several big redfish farms are around also.  

Redfish will eat pellets, but really like live food such as minnows,
crawfish, shrimp, etc.  Mine lived with largemouth bass, hybrid stripers,
blue cats, and other fishes I brought home from work at a hatchery.  

It is illegal to capture juvenile redfish from lakes or bays.  You must
purchase them from a hatchery and keep the paperwork proving that you got
them from a farm.  

I haven't kept any redfish in a long time, when I did, I had them in a
55 gallon tank.  I now have two peacock bass (Cichla ocellaris) in a
250 gallon tank.  My theory of aquariums is to have a big tank, few
fish,don't feed them too much, and clean the tank twice a year if it
needs it or not.

If you want to get some fingerling redfish, try calling Harvest Fresh
Seafood in Bacliff, Texas (South of Houston on Trinity Bay).  I bet
they can get you a few, and thier farm is bad to the bone.  

Good luck,

Brett Rowley
Fisheries Biologist
Great Lakes Sportfishing Resort and Koi Breeding Farm
West Columbia, Texas

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