anclote key

jiffy · Mar 20, 2011

a couple things i picked up while i was out on the boat...

my step mother found this in a lil lagoon along with another one with no legs but she put that one back. had no idea they were even found in florida..

6 or 7 snails (anyone know what these are called?) i had one in my tank for a while that hitched in on my live rock.. from my observations they are harmless scavengers...

and like 5 fresh mangrove shoots for my gf's tank

jiffy · Mar 20, 2011

if only this piece of sps was still alive, found it up high on the beach..

zoous · Mar 20, 2011

Mangroves cannot be placed completely underwater. It will not survive. The top half should be exposed to air.

_Alex_ · Mar 20, 2011

zoous said:
Mangroves cannot be placed completely underwater. It will not survive. The top half should be exposed to air.

was about to say the same thing. you need to get the top 2-4" above the water lvl or the will not make it. they really dont prefer saltwater but have learned to survive in it. just get the tops about the water and hopefully they will be ok.

jiffy · Mar 20, 2011

ive seen more than a few people growing them underwater, actually i posted a thread about it.. plus i found them rooted in the sand, under water... im pretty sure they will be fine, thanks for ur concerns though. =]

Tenacious716 · Mar 21, 2011

I'm pretty sure they won't last more than a week or two underwater (from personal experience)... good luck though!

PS- The Visitherm Stealth heater you are running was recalled due to numerous issues. I would highly suggest swapping it out (free of charge) at Petsmart for something a little more reliable.

jiffy · Jun 13, 2011

Tenacious716 said:
I'm pretty sure they won't last more than a week or two underwater (from personal experience)... good luck though!

PS- The Visitherm Stealth heater you are running was recalled due to numerous issues. I would highly suggest swapping it out (free of charge) at Petsmart for something a little more reliable.

i dont know where i originally bought it, ive had it for a long time.. can i still return it at petland?

extremehobbyist · Jun 13, 2011

do u have to have a permit to collect stuff from the wild? or can u just go and grab what u want? just wondering cause i thought u need one

jiffy · Jun 13, 2011

lol no permit, and I think there is a limit I'm not sure where the rules and what not are posted but they need to make that information available to everyone not just marine biologists and local divers maybe someone on here has more info on the the rules and regulations. but the snails I was picking up are really common out there. ull probably see 9-10 of them every 5 feet if not way more. I also collected a couple of all white hermit crabs too but they were super aggressive and kept trying to kill my blue legs lol..

NaplesAquatics · Jun 15, 2011

First, the snails look like baby Florida Fighting Conch. Reef friendly but they grow big enough to disturb the tank decor.

Collecting in Florida is regulated by Fish and Wildlife and requires, at a minimum, a saltwater fishing license. MyFWC.com. Keep in mind that live shelling is restricted in many areas.

Jeff

cmcneil · Jun 15, 2011

You really do need to get the tops of those mangroves above the water line if you want them to survive.you do need a licence to legally collect stuff from Florida waters,even hermit crabs.I would be careful with any starfish from local waters as well since we don't have any true coral reefs locally.they may feed on your corals.we do have some cool fish you can collect like the slippery d I c k wrasse,they have some neat colors and patterns and stay somewhat small.our local reef club has setup collection trips out to fort desoto in south pinellas county.we have done it two times so far and gathered some neat stuff.

jiffy · Jun 15, 2011

well technically my dad collected the star fish and he has a fishing license but I've seen them for sale at a few LFS (the starfish he collected is my profile picture).. but I knew there were regulations, just didnt know where to find them. sorry if I made anyone upset in anyway..

and the mangroves have been above the water for sometime now, but what reef club are you apart of and what did you guys go out and collect?

jiffy · Jun 15, 2011

also did a lil research on the slippery D I C K wrasse, and it is not a good addition for me tank. it eats small fish, snails, crabs, shrimp, even starfish(brittle).
and my tank is an invert only tank with only one small fish and the rest shrimps, crabs, snails, and stars.

BlazinNano · Jun 15, 2011

Couple of things:

First the mangroves do not need to be out of the water. I had one grow leaves completely underwater. They do need a little flow to let the air bubbles (oxygen) they release to come off their leaves. They will live and grow underwater. I have done it.

Second: in the state of Florida you are allowed to collect up to 20 ornamental fish a day but no more then 10 of the same species. This can be done with a simple saltwater fishing license. You are allowed to collect up to 5 polyps of soft coral a day. No SPS can be collected at all from florida. No live rock, red seafans can be collected either. Snails, crabs, seahorses can be collected but I am unsure of the limits of them. All info can be found on the florida fish and wildlife website.

jiffy · Jun 15, 2011

yea one of my local fraggers has told me about collecting 5 polyps of soft coral a day with a fish license. but thanks for the extra information. but yea I've seen alot of people growing them under water. but I didn't have enough flow nor light in my gf's old tank, in her new tank (fluval edge) I have them rubber banded together and poking out the top opening.

jiffy · Jun 28, 2011

couple more small starfish i found way up on shore at low tide just baking in the sun.. they are doing ok now, were a lil shocked when i through them in my tank.. also some crazy kool scallops, which i have just found out they are more trouble than i bargained for.. lol they make a loud clapping noise as they jet to the top of the tank snapping their shells to get a better position.