wild shrimp

[Derry]

I got a 4x 6" magnifying glass at Michael's for about $10. Look over by the needlework. Works great for taking a close look at the tank critters.

[JamesL]

I feel like a postwhore for posting so much today.

Heh.. don't feel bad... this is a great thread, as it shows everyone what they can collect from the coast.

[netmaster]

the little fish u called a minnow is cool looking , I dont know if it looks that way in person but from the pic it looks like a clear clown goby

[netmaster]

the pill bud lokking things could actually be a form of pill bug I know that there is an under water pill bug ( proper name is wood louse, thought I would throw that in there) the are huge and live on the bottom deep in the ocean, so there might be a smaller type

[+o0zarkawater]

the pill bud lokking things could actually be a form of pill bug I know that there is an under water pill bug ( proper name is wood louse, thought I would throw that in there) the are huge and live on the bottom deep in the ocean, so there might be a smaller type

Yeah, I've seen the pictures of those guys. FREAKY looking.

I'm pretty sure these are just isopods, hopefully I can get them to stand still long enough to get a better look/picture so I can look through some of the online pics to narrow down the possible species. And decide if they are bad enough to kill, or just leave them be.

I kind of want to toss in a decent sized fish and see if he eats all of these creatures or not.

Maybe a small damsel?

[+o0zarkawater]

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

So, there are lots of these isopods in there. And they all converge into a big pile at night. These pics were taken after I had already made quite a few run off by shining the flashlight at them. I need to get a red cello cover for my light.

Click for really big pics. ( Shift + click to open in a new window, then hit the little magnifying glass under the pic for the original 2+mb pics)

The little clear fishies seem to want to try to eat these guys, but they are too big. When I was shining the light in there, they kept going and nibbling at them.

Should I buy a bigger fish to put in here in the meantime who will eat these guys? Or should I just suck them all out with a hose at night, since it seems they converge into a ball at night.

After a week the rock anenomes are still doing fine, all 5 of the little clear fish are still alive. I still see quite a few of the skeleton shrimp. Most of the barnacles are still alive as well. Both of the snails are also still chugging around. They are great sand stirrers, but thats mainly because of their size. I need to try and get some good pics of them to get some input. I am pretty sure they are whelks and not good for a reef tank.

Edited March 21, 2010 by o0zarkawater

[netmaster]

they do look just like pill bugs, or a horseshoe crab without the tail, i would put them in the sump or fuge if u have one, if they get sucked into the display tank thats just free food

[+cyrus]

so I was down there on morgans this past weekend and got grass shrimp an 2 types of fish I have yet to identify from the marshes. The time i was out the tide was high so no pools.

[cardsfan12]

Are there any laws as far as collecting stuff on the coast? I'd love to collect a few things on the next trip to the beach, but I don't want to end up with a ticket or something.

[JamesL]

Are there any laws as far as collecting stuff on the coast? I'd love to collect a few things on the next trip to the beach, but I don't want to end up with a ticket or something.

Read through this entire thread, I think someone already answered this (fishing license, saltwater stamp, something else?).

[Starsprinkle Rainbowsmile]

Read through this entire thread, I think someone already answered this (fishing license, saltwater stamp, something else?).

That should be sufficient with two more restrictions: no diving gear (snorkel only) and hand-net only (no special traps etc). Anything more than that requires further licensing I think. Could have changed though so be sure to call Texas Parks and Wildlife.

[+o0zarkawater]

Update on the stuff from the coast.

All 6 rock anemones are doing fine, I actually fed them some shrimp today. I don't have the worlds best lighting on this tank, so I think they have been unhappy.

Fewer of the skeleton shrimp. I hope the little minnows have been eating them. No sign of the nudis I saw when I first put the rock in there.

Most of the barnacles are still sweeping the water.

And there are apparently at least 3 small crabs. One of which I caught eating one of the minnows today. The minnow was larger than the crab. Dont think these guys are very reef friendly.

So I'm down to 3 of the clear minnow fish from the original 5.

Still have both of the snails, but they dont really do anything. Still need to take some pics of them.

Then theres those isopod creatures which are still hanging around. I bought a small school of 3 chromis to put in there to see if they will eat them!

[Brooks]

Alright, wild goodies time.

This piece of rock is INSANE as far as different life on it.

I would definitely suggest having a quarantine tank if you are ever going to do this. It is just full of random weird life that I would not want near my DT.

Thats the best pic of the whole rock I could get right now. Has 6 total anemones on it. It is also covered in what I think are barnacles. They are all opening and sending out a little scoop shaped fan. There are hundreds of them, looks like the rock is alive and pulsating.

I'm not able to get the best pictures right now, and I would like to spend some time with my SO since she's been gone for a while. But I will try tomorrow.

But heres a quick rundown. Any info is appreciated! I will be looking through the hitchhiker ID guides as I find neat things.

This is what the anemones look like:

In this pic you can see some nudi's, they are tiny, but don't look good to me. They are not in focus, but I will try to get a better pic. You can sort of make out their shape if you know what you are looking for. There are at least 2 here just about dead center of the pic.

This is one of the little minnows she caught. I don't know why she decided to bring them, but whatever. There are I think 5 of these guys. Pretty much see-through.

There are lots of these little guys, they are about 1/2" tall. They are standing up on what I assume are leg like appendages. They dont seem to swim, more crawl. Something from the pod/shrimp family maybe?

I also saw a very very tiny crab and all sorts of different looking pod type creatures.

The things that she said were swimming around real fast are not flatworms, I saw one and it really did remind me of a pillbug. But he was really fast, so hopefully a better pic or description later.

She also brought 2 snails who I will take pics of later. Pretty sure they are a type of whelk, and not something I want to keep.

Any input / criticism appreciated.

Thanks.

Ah! That is too cool!!!

[diabeetus]

i went last week and brought back a rock with about 30 of those anemones on it. popped one off for myself and gave the rock with the remaining 30+ to RCA to sell. someone bought it the next day!!

here is mine!! i caught several peppermint shrimp, snails, hermits (even one with an anemone on it!!!) but i decided to throw everything back. but it was quite the experience catching all that.

[+o0zarkawater]

Nice man.

All 6 of mine would most likely look like that if I put them in the main tank. My QT tank has cheap lighting so they arent very happy. They have all perked up since I fed them earlier though.

I think most of the weird hitchikers that were on my rock are mostly gone now.

I do hope to do something with these guys soon though. My original plan was to move my 10gal to this 20gal tank, until I decided to use it for QT for these wild caught goodies.

We'll see!

Nice nem though, have you had any problems with him?

[diabeetus]

Nice man.

All 6 of mine would most likely look like that if I put them in the main tank. My QT tank has cheap lighting so they arent very happy. They have all perked up since I fed them earlier though.

I think most of the weird hitchikers that were on my rock are mostly gone now.

I do hope to do something with these guys soon though. My original plan was to move my 10gal to this 20gal tank, until I decided to use it for QT for these wild caught goodies.

We'll see!

Nice nem though, have you had any problems with him?

yeah, last time i went i brought back some smaller stuff and alot of it died off eventually, but this nem is doing great! its eating well and look great too! still perky as can be. hasnt moved at all from where i originally put it either. i fed it a frozen shrimp that was WAY too big for it (not realizing the size difference when i pulled it out of the freezer) to see if it would eat meaty foods and it took the whole thing!! it took a while, but was quite the show to watch it eat.

but last sept. when i went to port A i got a bunch of snails and hermits that burrow in the sand, which i thought would be good for sand sifting purposes, and some are still alive that i see everyday, so i DO believe it is possible to keep some of those snails and stuff without any problems.

i have also tried putting some of those burrowing clam looking things you find on the shore that are revealed when the tide comes up but instantly dig back into the sand, but they seem to only last about a week at most in my tank. i was too afraid of puting the entire nem rock in my tank cause, like yours, it was full of living organisms!! so i chipped the piece with the nem i wanted off, then wiped the rock completely off before i threw it in my DT.

fun stuff tho, i plan on doing it again!

[diabeetus]

oh, also!!!

i went on that dolphin watch/nature tour in port A and the guy puts out a shrimp net to catch all kinds of goodies out in the "deep" ocean.

long story short he caught tons of things!! decorator crabs, tiny squid, sea horses, fish, starfish, pipefish. etc.

it made me sad when the kids would pic up all the wildlife and squeeeze them til their eyes pop out. (R.I.P. baby squid )

and play spongebob with the rest. i finally stood up and told them (because all the parents were doing were taking pictures of the kids doing these things or talking to other people) that these are actual living, breathing creatures and not toys. one little boy wouldnt stop and before i could say anything another little boy told him to "stop!! those arent toys!!" looking at me. the little boy continued to throw everything back into the water so the other kids couldnt kill anymore.

it really just upset me that the parents just sat there and let this happen.

then the tour guid gave some lady, that had no earthly idea how to run a SW tank (you could tell by the way she talked about "having a set up") about 10-15 seahorses!!! what?!?! lucky!!