Any Reefers in Hawaii?

ReeferWarrant · Jun 25, 2020

Wife and I are probably moving back to Oahu, I'm curious what the limitations are on reef tanks there. We went home on Christmas and I wanted to check the store in Hawaii Kai and saw they had Clown fish which threw me off. I'm curious if there's a restriction on owning corals and other animals?

Mahalo!!!

(Profile pic is about 1/4 mile off of Electric Beach)

Daniel@R2R · Jun 26, 2020

bump for any Hawaiian reefers!

spbluei · Jul 9, 2020

I live on the big island and From all the research I did it is illegal to own coal on the islands so that is a no go so I have a fish only tank. Most people out here only keep fresh water but there are some of us out here.

Urban · Jul 9, 2020

I was shocked to see your thread because I am virtually in the same boat. We are considering a move to Oahu within two years hopefully. I can’t remember exactly where I read it, but my understanding is that the SPS corals (and those with ‘skeletons’) are prohibited. I may be mistaken on this, and pray that I am given the number of colonies I have, because even the thought of having to dismantle my reef makes me feel sick; aquariums have literally been the one constant in my life since childhood. Hopefully some more people will chime in on this one. I have also been told repeatedly that our beloved hobby is a very sore subject for many people on the island. If we both wind up there, maybe we can figure something out!

On another note, I don’t believe any retailers will even ship livestock there.
I wish I could find the article regarding the stony coral. I will continue to look, but here is an interesting read regarding a few things:
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/habitat/coral-reefs/coral-and-live-rock-laws-of-hawaii/

Acrofiend · Jul 9, 2020

Pretty sure @A. grandis is from Hawaii.

Urban · Jul 9, 2020

I am keeping my fingers crossed that those who live there will chime in. This one has me worried on a new level.

alton · Jul 9, 2020

Had a friend fellow reefer move to the big island and fish only. But you will live in the second biggest aquarium in the world, so just grab a snorkle and go.

Variant · Jul 9, 2020

I grew up on Oahu and I believe you cannot have any coral in your tank. You acnnot harvest any rock or coral from the ocean. I have taken fish from tidepools for a small tank as a chold though...

It's a small island so I would not do anything that is frowned upon since people will find out one way or another.

One of the reasons I am hesitent to move back. ):

ReeferWarrant · Jul 9, 2020

alton said:
Had a friend fellow reefer move to the big island and fish only. But you will live in the second biggest aquarium in the world, so just grab a snorkle and go.

Trust me I enjoy it there, I'm out free diving every weekend when I lived there

ReeferWarrant · Jul 9, 2020

Variant said:
I grew up on Oahu and I believe you cannot have any coral in your tank. You acnnot harvest any rock or coral from the ocean. I have taken fish from tidepools for a small tank as a chold though...

It's a small island so I would not do anything that is frowned upon since people will find out one way or another.

One of the reasons I am hesitent to move back. ):

Yeah absolutely not going to do that, my wife is from Oahu and her dad does environmental studies. He has friends that study the reefs for UH, I'll probably hit them up and see if I can volunteer in their studies.

ReeferWarrant · Jul 9, 2020

Urban said:
I was shocked to see your thread because I am virtually in the same boat. We are considering a move to Oahu within two years hopefully. I can’t remember exactly where I read it, but my understanding is that the SPS corals (and those with ‘skeletons’) are prohibited. I may be mistaken on this, and pray that I am given the number of colonies I have, because even the thought of having to dismantle my reef makes me feel sick; aquariums have literally been the one constant in my life since childhood. Hopefully some more people will chime in on this one. I have also been told repeatedly that our beloved hobby is a very sore subject for many people on the island. If we both wind up there, maybe we can figure something out!

On another note, I don’t believe any retailers will even ship livestock there.
I wish I could find the article regarding the stony coral. I will continue to look, but here is an interesting read regarding a few things:
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/habitat/coral-reefs/coral-and-live-rock-laws-of-hawaii/

I think it's all corals, to be honest. Hawaii as a whole is very strict with the risk of introducing foreign species. The news on the big island freaked out because they found a 4 ft ball python near the Airport. It just threw me off that there were Clown fish in the store there, with there being such a huge deal of not introducing species to the island. If they get loose they could easily start reproducing.

A. grandis · Jul 9, 2020

Sorry to say... illegal to collect, damage, offer for sale, sell, trade, etc.. ANY stony corals and live rocks from Hawaiian waters. They are protected by law.
Illegal to bring to the Hawaiian islands ANY invertebrate including corals (hard or soft), sea stars, zoas, cucumbers, anemones, shrimps, etc...
All we can keep here is what we find in the local store which include imported and some local fishes, some local invertebrates like stars, cucumbers, some times anemones and shrimps. Illegal to collect also fishes and invertebrates without proper license. No collecting licenses can be renewed at the moment. The stores that still have Hawaiian fishes and inverts get them from few professional collectors that still didn't have their licenses expired. There is a limited offer of legal cultured live rock in the market from the island of Molokai in one store. There is only 1 "ok" store with salt water fishes in Oahu!!!! I don't even consider the other stores at all.
Best bet is to have a fish only a the moment and make your rocks from concrete.
If you can't live without your reef tank and want to try to move here just forget about it! You're not going to be happy.

ReeferWarrant · Jul 9, 2020

It makes sense, I'd hate to be the one that introduces another invasive species to the islands. Before we left I was working on spear fishing for Roi's. Like I said before, I'll probably just find a way to volunteer with UH with their Coral propagation that they are doing.

What store on Oahu do you go to?

A. grandis · Jul 9, 2020

There is only Coral Fish Hawaii besides PetCo and PetSmart right now.

Cory · Jul 11, 2020

Cant help with the problems, but whats a yellow tang cost in Hawaii?

ichthyogeek · Jul 11, 2020

Can anybody attest to what it’s like to bring fish and macroalgaes in via airplane? I know you have to fill in a department of agriculture(?) form, but aside from that, is it okay to just fly in with your collection of small fish?

spbluei · Jul 18, 2020

ichthyogeek said:
Can anybody attest to what it’s like to bring fish and macroalgaes in via airplane? I know you have to fill in a department of agriculture(?) form, but aside from that, is it okay to just fly in with your collection of small fish?

I’m in Hawaii and I was going to get some fish sent to me but there is a permit you need. I believe it was $50 but you need it to bring any fish from the mainland or get any shipped to you. Contact the department of agriculture and they will tell you everything you need

ReeferWarrant · Jul 18, 2020

ichthyogeek said:
Can anybody attest to what it’s like to bring fish and macroalgaes in via airplane? I know you have to fill in a department of agriculture(?) form, but aside from that, is it okay to just fly in with your collection of small fish?

I'm interested in what you find out, I bet theres quite a few limitations though. Like I mentioned it's really restrictive due to the invasive species there. My Father-In-Law does studies of the streams and marine life on island, and definitely opened my eyes on what we introduce to the islands. One issue youd never think of is hiking boots bringing invasive plants to the trails because people arent cleaning their shoes before they come. If you dive there you'll see these groupers which are invasive and taking over the coastal reefs.

ichthyogeek · Jul 18, 2020

ReeferWarrant said:
I'm interested in what you find out, I bet theres quite a few limitations though. Like I mentioned it's really restrictive due to the invasive species there. My Father-In-Law does studies of the streams and marine life on island, and definitely opened my eyes on what we introduce to the islands. One issue youd never think of is hiking boots bringing invasive plants to the trails because people arent cleaning their shoes before they come. If you dive there you'll see these groupers which are invasive and taking over the coastal reefs.

Is your father in law hiring? I’m mostly interested in a research assistantship that may/may not be available in the Fall, but COVID-19 is causing a lot of hiring freezes in the academic world, so it’s kind of up in the air right now.

Interesting about the groupers. I know that larger fish tend to be fished out because most humans think they’re tasty. I would have assumed that the groupers would have provided a healthier ecological impact, but I guess not.