Fish on board? (not fillets)

[philaw]

This is just for fun, really, but has anyone ever kept pet fish on their boat? I was thinking that keeping freshwater fish would be too much on the sort of small catamaran (limited space inside) that I'm getting, but it ocurred to me that a hardy seafish might do okay in a small tank with a little filtration. You could change some of it's water five times a day very easily by lowering a bucket over the side!

[scallywag]

philaw,
The bowl would have to be gimballed to keep the water from sloshing out. The tanks that are made are not sturdy enough for the movement. I do not think the saltwater in some areas would be clean enough to support exotic marine creatures. The water surrounding a boat also has plant life in it that would die if the water was placed inside. Having a salt water tank is more of a pain than a dog. Just put an underwater observation glass in the bottom of your boat if you want to sea aquatic life.
John

[philaw]

That's pretty much what i was thinking, but the idea amused me for a while. I know seafish are almost all really intollerant of nitrates in the water, so there's no more than a theoretical chance of keeping them alive.

[bstreep]

Certainly something I've thought of. Fish are fairly tolerant - 100ppm of nitrate is sort of OK. Inverts, on the other hand, aren't.

[senormechanico]

I can't help but wonder even if a fish could live under those conditions and that tank could survive a rough passage would the fish get seasick?

Steve B.

[philaw]

I used to work in a pet shop with the fish, and kept tropical fish at home, and wouldn't really describe sea fish as tolerant. Maybe a very hardy species would be okay, but I was implying that we might be able to think of some crafty way to keep them alive. Even in a gimballed goldfish bowl that had water changed several times a day, you'd still have a hard time.

One idea I had was a small tank with a simple filter running off 12v, that I could keep just one or two freshwater fish in. Without a filter it may be possible to keep a siamese fighting fish alive, because they can take oxygen from the surface, but you'd still have to keep teh water clean and they're picky eaters.

I think the best chance for success would be a molly, because they can live in brackish water (you could get them used to a mix of seawater and freshwater to save your freshwater), they're tough, and they'll eat almost anything, so you could feed them on normal dried food (or plankton!). They breed pretty prollifically and give birth to live young that are adorable.
Molly Fish

[Fishspearit]

Floating along the surface of the worlds largest saltwater aquarium is probably the biggest reason my wife and I live aboard. Why settle for a little tank when you're already in the fishbowl? Sail to clear water and buy a mask!

I must confess though, while still tied up in a marina prepping the boat, surrounded by muddy brown water, we bought one of those aquarium dvd's and now call the flat screen tv our 'aquarium' until we can get moving.