I've brought in several batches of bumbble bee groupers, some caught in river mouths, "semi-brackish", some were captive raised babies in very low saline water. Either way, most lived for me, and a few for others, but unfortunately many did not live well once moved to other tanks. I've since then stopped importing them for this purpose. I have however, raised several specimens, kept them for a couple of years to date, and still alive, currently this one is at 16" and growing, eating like there is no tomorrow.
I do not recommend acclimating anything to freshwater, as you'll get bashed, flamed, and pissed on by the "internet" users in this world.
i have special understanding of their husbandary needs when keeping these fish, i've spent over 20 years in this subject, "salt water fish in freshwater", and there are actually universities overseas dedicated to this area of study.
therefore, I do not recommend anyone else trying this at home, as most of them will result in death.
humane or not, in the name of study or research, it could be justified, if some specimens were sacrificed, and not just wanton killing of any species.
I've noticed over the years of fish keeping, people can be very judgemental and very argumentative over ethics of fish keeping, and practices. Instead of arguing with people, the winner of an internet argument is like a winner of special olympics, I'll just state my points for people to read.
Keeping a salt water fish in freshwater, eventually leading to its ultimate death, prematurely, or not, is not any better than people buying feeders for their favorite fish to eat. or compared to chickens that are raised in cages all their life for our consumption.
I personally do not agree with wanton killing of any animal, or wasteful usage of anything. It all depends on which side of the coin you look at, even catch and release fishing is cruel, by hooking a fish, and releasing it, leaving it a scare in the mouth, open to infections, and "might" lead to a premature death, is not much better than anything else we do.
people need to realize there are many ways of looking at an issue. I've spent some time reading the shark section and see people get all bothered by the people who irresponsibly keep sharks, which I agree with the fact that people shouldn't do that. But the main focus is really the lack of education, and ignorance of the people who do it, its not entirely their fault, but they're molded by the society in which they live in .
A few weeks ago, I read the thread about that guy who stabbed the seal to death when it took his fishing bait, and then he got arrested, and some people responded by saying that the man should pay by death, or castration, which is a bit harsh, again. It was unecesary of what he did, and a bit wrong, maybe broke some laws, but he did not sell crack to people, or molest some kid. It was a seal.
Same with keeping fish, we keep fish, really mainly for our enjoyment, and entertainment, so the "ethics" committee should really not come into play unless you want to be part of PETA. We, Americans have spent billions of dollars on breeding dogs, then catching stray dogs, killing them, and then breeding more, and same with all the other animals, for what? For our "entertainment" . People condemn those that keep a grouper or araipaima that can't properly house them, leading to their premature death. Well, you know Botia macracanthus, the clown loaches are actually endangered too, fish over 5" are not allowed to be exported, but they are, and they're being bought a a lightning fast rate. Datnoids, our favorite here, Datnoid pulcher, from Chao Phyara, are actually near extinct in the wild, due to habitat destruction, over fishing, pollution and what not, but does anyone feel guilty about buying one? I don't think so.
I do not understand why there is a internet war between different boards. If we could all get along, and make it into a super board, it will be like a freshwater version of reefcentral. Its just fish keeping, there are always bad personalities, and people who don't get along. Whether its accusations of people copying each other's ideas, or spamming, or emailing people, etc...etc... at the end, I still go to sleep at night, I don't claim any affiliations to anything. its just fish keeping. We should all be able to enjoy it without feeling like we've betrayed someone. if you want to go to another board, its your choice. UNITY is really the best approach, i've emphasized this over and over. Also I believe in survival of the fittest, first there was K-mart, then Target, and Walmart, and now, K-mart is almost completely gone, and the strong will survive. I'm not saying that one board is stronger than another, but people have the right to choose what they want, after all, we live in a free country.
Ok, so after writing all this, I'm sure most will not sit to read it, and its ok. I just wanted to get it off my chest. I buy fish, sell fish, keep fish, eat fish, and its all ok, the world will keep turning.
that fish looks awsome
