Snorkeling & Collecting Discussion Group

[Ron Reefman]

Does anyone know if we get anything worth collecting in Tampa bay (southshore- I'm in Apollo Beach) I've always wanted to go snorkeling but the boyfriend isn't interested. I'm still holding out for a Keys trip on my birthday (late January -anything there then?)

Best advice, get a new boyfriend.
Late January is cold and water is usually murky. Now thru November is best.

@Lissa1987, as stated above, water is pretty chilly until May. Our club goes down in June for a weekend. My wife and I extend for an extra day or two most years.

We drag pool nets in the grass flats here and find dwarf seahorses. We've found a couple of big seahorses washed up on the beach, but never alive. And yes, seahorses and pipefish are difficult to keep. They need live food and they don't swim well, so the best way to feed is to over feed and then do a water change. But that's a giant PITA. We collect shrimp and small fish. I freeze most of them and chop them up for tank food.

 

[Lissa1987]

Seahorses show up in the net but are not as common. Chain pipefish and gulf pipefish show up more regularly (pay attention to the length of the nose to tell the difference). The best places to look are in any of the grass flats. If you are having to sort through a lot of pinfish and bay anchovies in the seine then you typically won’t find many killies, but pipefish may show up either way.

As I’m sure you already know, both seahorses and pipefish need live foods so make sure that you are ready for them when you go collecting. It can be a challenge because you can have the live food ready but not find your target species or you can find your target species and then be scrambling to get the food if you don’t have it ready.

I appreciate that. I always have a tank full of pods as well as a bbs hatchery just in case i ever need them for a surprise acquisition or hesitant to eat fish.

 

[Lissa1987]

@Lissa1987, as stated above, water is pretty chilly until May. Our club goes down in June for a weekend. My wife and I extend for an extra day or two most years.

We drag pool nets in the grass flats here and find dwarf seahorses. We've found a couple of big seahorses washed up on the beach, but never alive. And yes, seahorses and pipefish are difficult to keep. They need live food and they don't swim well, so the best way to feed is to over feed and then do a water change. But that's a giant PITA. We collect shrimp and small fish. I freeze most of them and chop them up for tank food.

Yes, I have actually done a huge amount of research on seahorses as I have wanted them for years, but knew I didn't have the set up to accommodate them. I am planning my next tank based on their requirements.

I appreciate that. I always have a tank full of pods as well as a bbs hatchery just in case i ever need them for a surprise acquisition or hesitant to eat fish.

Also, have you ever had any problems feeding your tank wild caught food? I am hesitant to place anything wild in my main tank since all of the fish are store bought. I have no corals in there just fish.

 

[Peace River]

. . . .
Also, have you ever had any problems feeding your tank wild caught food? I am hesitant to place anything wild in my main tank since all of the fish are store bought. I have no corals in there just fish.

Essentially you are asking a risk management question and the answer may vary based on the person, the setup, and the source of live food. I raise most of my live foods but I am always more concerned about getting live foods from most LFSs than I am from wild sources. Obviously a quarantine for your wild caught live foods would be preferable, but I usually am not that cautious for most of my tanks. If you do collect wild caught foods the main caution would be to avoid stagnant waters. I have had more issues with introducing unwanted pests with wild collected plants/macro algae than I have had with wild caught foods.

Personally, I have found the following books to be helpful when I am attempting culture live foods:

• Culturing Live Foods (Hellweg, 2008)
• Plankton Culture Manual, 6th ed., 3rd printing (Hoff & Snell, 2008)
• Encyclopedia of Live Foods (Masters, 1975)

 

[Peace River]

The dipnet that I use is "The Perfect Dipnet" from Jonah's Aquarium. It is a bit expensive, but has held up to a lot of collecting over several years.

The seines that I have came from Douglas Nets. Another good option for seines is Memphis Net and Twine. You can get a 4'-6' seine for one person or a 10' to 20' seine for two people to use. The seines (with floats and weights) are surprisingly inexpensive especially if you order only the net and provide the poles yourself by using either thick walled PVC or even broom sticks.

Of course, with any collecting that you do please make sure that you know the rules and regulations for where you can collect, what collection methods is allowed, and what is allowed to be collected. I was planning to collect in another US state this past year and was surprised to find out as I was researching the trip that the rules were very different.[/user][/QUOTE]

 

[Ron Reefman]

Yes, I have actually done a huge amount of research on seahorses as I have wanted them for years, but knew I didn't have the set up to accommodate them. I am planning my next tank based on their requirements.

Also, have you ever had any problems feeding your tank wild caught food? I am hesitant to place anything wild in my main tank since all of the fish are store bought. I have no corals in there just fish.

Glad to hear that you are doing the research to accomplish your goal. Too many people just jump in feet first and then get upset when sea horses or pipe fish die. So good job by you!

I've never had any issues with wild caught food (mostly shrimp and bait fish). They come home live, get put in a ziplock bag without water and put in the freezer. Then I can chop them up before I use them as food.

I've also had a wide variety of wild caught animals that end up in my tank. I've collected snails, crabs, sea stars, sea cucumbers, anemones, shrimp, clams, sea hares, mollusks and more. I usually do a week long quarantine just so I can see that they are healthy, moving around OK and feeding. Then it's into the DT. In 15 years the only pests I've every had are flat worms, aiptasia and mojano anemones and they all came from LFS or friends tanks! I've never had any issues with wild caught livestock.

The dipnet that I use is "The Perfect Dipnet" from Jonah's Aquarium. It is a bit expensive, but has held up to a lot of collecting over several years.

The seines that I have came from Douglas Nets. Another good option for seines is Memphis Net and Twine. You can get a 4'-6' seine for one person or a 10' to 20' seine for two people to use. The seines (with floats and weights) are surprisingly inexpensive especially if you order only the net and provide the poles yourself by using either thick walled PVC or even broom sticks.

Of course, with any collecting that you do please make sure that you know the rules and regulations for where you can collect, what collection methods is allowed, and what is allowed to be collected. I was planning to collect in another US state this past year and was surprised to find out as I was researching the trip that the rules were very different.[/user]

[/QUOTE]

Good info on the nets, thanks!

And the warning about rules and regulations should really be taken seriously. We've been checked by FWC rangers while on the water as well as at the boat ramp and on the beach! Fines in Florida can range from $500 up for a simple mistake. Like all stony corals (sps & lps) are 100% illegal in Florida. And even soft corals like zoas and ricordia have a 5 polyp per day per person limit.

 

[soflmuddin]

Sad thing is that most of the fwc officers I run into have no clue on the regulations for ornamental fish and inverts. I got checked while I was diving today and the officer asked how many species I had. I wasn't sure how to answer that without sounding like a smart butt but luckily he followed with "you know your regulation right?". "I sure do" I answered quickly. But no matter what they do and don't know you can guarantee they all know.......NO ROCK OF ANY KIND. Also, have your dive flag. The tickets were $75 twenty-five years ago. I would hate to see what they cost nowadays.

This is the net I use...https://www.diversdirect.com/p/a-pl...XvSliaswuvMZyYERWfc02u2L-Kc0bFaRoCt-QQAvD_BwE

 

[LArifleMAN]

The family and I plan on heading down at the end of June to the Marathon area. I was hoping to do some collecting and I've read through the regs as far as licensing and what I can't collect.

What I'm more concerned with is where I can and cannot collect. Obviously the state parks are off limits, but are there any visible designators.

 

[soflmuddin]

The family and I plan on heading down at the end of June to the Marathon area. I was hoping to do some collecting and I've read through the regs as far as licensing and what I can't collect.

What I'm more concerned with is where I can and cannot collect. Obviously the state parks are off limits, but are there any visible designators.

There are no markings. What's worse is the really isn't any one place online that you can go and check. I have a lot of spots but the current is usually bad. If your wanting to take the family with you collecting the best spot is n.w. side of channel 5, Craig key. After you park head north on the bike path a couple hundred feet and you'll see a small path to your left. It's a little bit of an incline but you'll find a lot of things there, Angels, wrasses, a few different butterfly fish, tangs, eels, high hats, flamefish, gobbies, blennies, puffers and lots and lots of damsels. Flip over some rocks where you go in at and you will find A lot of emerald crabs. The small brown/black crabs are small stone crabs, don't take them. Flip the rocks back over after your done as nothing on the topside can live on the underside and nothing below lives up top. You will also find different colored mantis shrimp, coral shrimp and arrow crabs. The coral shrimp and arrow crabs are closer to the bridge under bigger rocks you can't move. Current is bad in and near the channel.

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[Peace River]

There are no markings. What's worse is the really isn't any one place online that you can go and check. I have a lot of spots but the current is usually bad. If your wanting to take the family with you collecting the best spot is n.w. side of channel 5, Craig key. After you park head north on the bike path a couple hundred feet and you'll see a small path to your left. It's a little bit of an incline but you'll find a lot of things there, Angels, wrasses, a few different butterfly fish, tangs, eels, high hats, flamefish, gobbies, blennies, puffers and lots and lots of damsels. Flip over some rocks where you go in at and you will find A lot of emerald crabs. The small brown/black crabs are small stone crabs, don't take them. Flip the rocks back over after your done as nothing on the topside can live on the underside and nothing below lives up top. You will also find different colored mantis shrimp, coral shrimp and arrow crabs. The coral shrimp and arrow crabs are closer to the bridge under bigger rocks you can't move. Current is bad in and near the channel.

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This great info! Thanks for sharing! I hope to get down there to collect and this is just more motivation!

 

[LArifleMAN]

There are no markings. What's worse is the really isn't any one place online that you can go and check. I have a lot of spots but the current is usually bad. If your wanting to take the family with you collecting the best spot is n.w. side of channel 5, Craig key. After you park head north on the bike path a couple hundred feet and you'll see a small path to your left. It's a little bit of an incline but you'll find a lot of things there, Angels, wrasses, a few different butterfly fish, tangs, eels, high hats, flamefish, gobbies, blennies, puffers and lots and lots of damsels. Flip over some rocks where you go in at and you will find A lot of emerald crabs. The small brown/black crabs are small stone crabs, don't take them. Flip the rocks back over after your done as nothing on the topside can live on the underside and nothing below lives up top. You will also find different colored mantis shrimp, coral shrimp and arrow crabs. The coral shrimp and arrow crabs are closer to the bridge under bigger rocks you can't move. Current is bad in and near the channel.

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Awesome info! Thanks. The collecting is more of my thing and the wife and kiddos will be on the beach.

 

[soflmuddin]

Awesome info! Thanks. The collecting is more of my thing and the wife and kiddos will be on the beach.

There is a county/city beach on marathon, ocean side, that is pretty nice. Good for paddleboarding also, might want to check if you can collect there. I saw some rocks on either end that probable would support some zoanthids or palys. The one time I was there it was crazy murky so I have no idea what you might find. Let me know what your looking for and I can tell you where I have found it.

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[LArifleMAN]

I think my only other issue is transporting everything home. I'm planning on rigging a cooler with either a bait bubbler or an air pump. It's a 16hr drive home so I guess I'll have to cross my fingers.

 

[soflmuddin]

I think my only other issue is transporting everything home. I'm planning on rigging a cooler with either a bait bubbler or an air pump. It's a 16hr drive home so I guess I'll have to cross my fingers.

For my inverts I use this air pump https://www.walmart.com/ip/Baby-Bub...QgG9IoMNDcJBrexXISlcxPmNrDbcpQzsaAuDhEALw_wcB
and this container https://www.walmart.com/ip/Marine-Metal-Cool-Bubbles-8-Quart-Foam-Bucket-and-Pump-Kit/16494325
With these batteries https://m.harborfreight.com/aa-heavy-duty-batteries-24-pk-61323.html

The batteries I get free from harbor freight (get the app)https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.g2018.hfcoupons
2 AAs last 6 hours. I use a 40 gallon live well for the fish so not much help there but I'm sure if you only had a couple of fish in a 5 gallon bucket the air pump I posted in the link to would work.

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[LArifleMAN]

I think what I'm going to do is set up a cooler for fish and a bucket like the one you posted for inverts.

 

[Peace River]

I think my only other issue is transporting everything home. I'm planning on rigging a cooler with either a bait bubbler or an air pump. It's a 16hr drive home so I guess I'll have to cross my fingers.

I often use coolers when transporting small live fish and I have upgraded to a USB air pump (same format as the battery powered ones, but it lasts longer and you can even plug it in to a USB port when in the vehicle or in the hotel). Obviously all livestock have different needs, but I would suggest that another big concern is temperature control so keep that in mind as you travel (another reason that I like coolers is because it mitigates the temperature swings a bit).

Additionally, another consideration is that if you are collecting fish and transporting them in coolers where they have some swimming room then they can swim directly into the flat side of a cooler (I have even seen fish injure themselves or worse from this). Fish in the wild do not understand life in a box and the white walls don't help! This is more of an issue for some species than for others, but even for puffers, gobies, and blennies it can provide a sense of cover. My solution that has always worked for me is to make "spawning mops" and add a few to the cooler. A spawning mop is essentially 50 strands of natural yarn tied together and hung from a floating cork - plastic plants can also work but IMO not as well. If you are unfamiliar with spawning mops then a quick Internet search will give you more details. The mops give the fish somewhere to hide without adding anything else that is organic (like real plants) to the water; adds some structure to the otherwise empty white cavern; and limits them from getting a swimming start into the wall when startled. If you take this approach, make sure that you use yard that has not been dyed.

 

[Ron Reefman]

LArifleMAN, are you after more fish or more other inverts?

I've never been to the spot soflmuddin suggested, but I'll check it out the next time I'm down there (June).

If you are looking for inverts, a spot called The Horseshoe which is at the NE end of Spanish Harbor Key (one Key down from Bahia Honda) is really good. There is an areal photo in post #50 of this thread. And if the weather is cooperating the other side of the road from The Horseshoe is really good as well. Not as many fish (or at least hard to collect) but lots of inverts.

 

[LArifleMAN]

LArifleMAN, are you after more fish or more other inverts?

I've never been to the spot soflmuddin suggested, but I'll check it out the next time I'm down there (June).

If you are looking for inverts, a spot called The Horseshoe which is at the NE end of Spanish Harbor Key (one Key down from Bahia Honda) is really good. There is an areal photo in post #50 of this thread. And if the weather is cooperating the other side of the road from The Horseshoe is really good as well. Not as many fish (or at least hard to collect) but lots of inverts.

Thanks Ron, that's one of the areas I'd like to make it to since I found this thread. You guys just have so much more biodiversity down there compared to what we have here in Louisiana.
I've collected blennies, gobies, warty nems, pistol shrimp and a few other bland critters here.

 

[Ron Reefman]

If you have the time, rent a kayak and use the boat ramp at the SW end of the Seven Mile Bridge. About a quarter mile out NE from the ramp is an island called Little Money Key. From the dock out on the east side of the island, around to the north and northwest side is fabulous snorkeling. Even in 2' of water up close to the island there are zoas, sponges and tons of life under the broken stony coral and rocks that just litter the bottom. The area is probably a 3 to 5 acres in size. We go there a lot and can easily spend several hours there collecting and taking photos. I'm hoping to get the Ocala Reef Club out there this July if we have enough watercraft!

 

[soflmuddin]

The other side (ocean side) from horseshoe is one of my better spots for rock flower anemones. At least more red ones there than my other locations and I even have found a couple of purple ones there. They are in 1' to 15' depth. When you see one there is usually three or more of the same color within a foot. Last weekend I flipped over t of an old lobster trap up and there were close to 20 under it. Some 3" in diameter. That was at conch key but there is not too many green or reds there but plenty of white stripped ones.