[Coral-List] damselfish tagging

[ellenhusain]

Dear All,

I am looking for an effective method for tagging small damselfish, and would really
welcome advice from anyone with direct experience in tagging small (~ 5cm ) fish.



 I am looking for tags that:

1. Can be used to individually identify a multitude of fish (eg 30, potentially more)

2.Can be read underwater relatively easily (I do not want to have to recapture the
fish in order to see if it is tagged. I would prefer not to have to recapture the
fish to read the information from the tag.)

3. Will stay on for long time periods (ideally a year - but realise this is
wishful
)

4. Preferably can be applied underwater (but again, this might be unrealistic –
although temporarily immobilising the fish via anaesthetic should provide the
opportunity. We will have a boat, but its not ideal to drag them up & down again)

5. Have a low impact on fish fitness, etc

I realise that this is a big wish list, so trade-offs between point 2,3 and 4 will
almost certainly be necessary (point 1 is a necessity). I have been looking into this
but have as yet to come up with a good all-round solution, so would really like
advice.

Thanks in advance,

Ellen Husain.