[RGBMatt]

Originally posted by thehedge
Well I have to say that this thread has brought out lots of great information and good debate.

Agreed! It's great to meet other people who are knowledgeable about the local aquarium trade.

I actually went through my copy of John Hoovers book and I did not see any reference to Sinularia. Can you give me a page number and I can look at it again?

It's on page 33 (soft corals section) in my copy. Like I said, it may have changed names so if yours is a newer edition it could be different. The common name is listed as "leather coral" (I've also heard it called "rubber coral")

As for the local collectors who use Cyanide. I know personally, after going out on a dive with him once, that a very popular local fish collector who was recently on the news for his "strong business skills" and had an article about him in the USA Today, uses Cyanide in his collection process.

Ah. I'm not really surprised, to tell the truth.

Are you sure it was cyanide, though? There are other fish anaesthetics available that aren't nearly as toxic as cyanide (but still illegal to use in Hawaii).

When I first started the hobby, I did not know better...and purchased a wrasse that had a rather large hole on its body.

That's odd, because the usual method of pinning wrasses is to do it through the butt. Generally they respond very well to it and I haven't seen any cases of damage or infection in the ones I or my friends have caught.

Pinning a wrasse through the side sounds near imbossible the way their swim bladder is located. They also squirm around a lot when you're holding them so I imagine a lot of damage could be done.

The problem is that, how do you know whether a fish was properly decompressed using a needle or not?

You can't. The same holds true for fish that haven't been pinned, though - they can still be injured internally from collection or decompression even though they might look fine on the outside. I think it's best to just stick with somewhere that you know has a good history of healthy fish. Or you can collect everything yourself

I wouldn't buy a fish with visible pinholes. If they haven't healed it's either a sign that the fish either hasn't acclimated yet or is having other health problems.

He said that only the fish that get stuck in the net are in bad shape, and the fish that get piled on top of it are usually ok, so he sells those, and kills the fish that look like they cannot be sold.

That makes my brain hurt!