Any divers around here?

[tyler1503]

Do many of the R2R community go diving much?
I have a few questions for the divers or snorkelers :)

 

[Eienna]

I don't, but I want to SSSOOOO bad! My closest experience was at the WDW Typhoon Lagoon snorkel pool (and a few paddles around the pond behind our house in Bishop...)....loved it!!!

 

[sqcube4me]

certified diver here since 78 .. dive/surf trips have been to Tahiti .. indo .. bali .. costa rica .. mexico .. Hawaii .. grand Cayman .. st thomas .. st crox . barbadous .. freeport .. up and down both fla east coast and west coast .. next dive trip planned for 2015 to Philippians Australia and fiji for 2 months . .

 

[droblack]

I was born in a jacuzzi and speak Flounderish. Also a certified diver and experienced snorkeler. What'ya want to know?

 

[saltyhog]

My Christmas present was a diver certification course for my wife and I. Gonna do our open water certification dives in March in Fla. (inland springs, can't remember the name). I'm excited.

Those with lots of trips under your belts, where was the best place for corals, fish, beauty?

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

Long time diver here.

 

[tyler1503]

Wow big response!
How many of you collect things when you dive? Fish, inverts etc.
I'm wanting to know the easiest way to collect something underwater. On finding nemo, when nemo is first captured off the reef the diver has a net/mesh clip lock bag thing. I've looked around the local dive ships and can't find anything resembling that. The only other thing I can readily use is an aquarium net and small containers, but I can almost guarantee anything I catch won't hang around in a net long enough to be put into a container and sealed in!
Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[sqcube4me]

with collecting you have to go by the laws where you live .. seeing your in the north west coast i would just call your local fish and wildlife and ask them rules and regulations on wild life collecting of sea life .. most countries have a bag limit and what you are allowed to have and not ..

 

[tyler1503]

My Christmas present was a diver certification course for my wife and I. Gonna do our open water certification dives in March in Fla. (inland springs, can't remember the name). I'm excited.

Those with lots of trips under your belts, where was the best place for corals, fish, beauty?

I snorkelled at turtle cove and the ribbon reef off Port Douglas North Queensland. Absolutely amazing! Relatively cheap too. It cost me and my partner $350 per day for a return trip on a catamaran, buffet lunch and snorkelling gear provided and at turtle cove you can go for a walk around the island with a marine biologist she talks about all the different stuff found on and around the island from the birds and insects to the corals and fish. It costs extra for scuba gear though. Turtle cove has a lot of turtles (obviously :P), but it also had mainly soft corals. The ribbon reefs has mainly hard corals, particularly acros. I found my dream fish at the ribbon reef :)
We saw countless fish, inverts, rays, reef sharks, turtles, I even had a golden trevally follow me around or a few hours!
I definitely recommend it if you want to spend some time in Australia.

 

[tyler1503]

with collecting you have to go by the laws where you live .. seeing your in the north west coast i would just call your local fish and wildlife and ask them rules and regulations on wild life collecting of sea life .. most countries have a bag limit and what you are allowed to have and not ..

Most things I'm after don't have a size or quantity limit. Although it's a good idea to check with the national parks and wildlife service anyway. Thanks for the tip :)
Any suggestions on how to get something safely out of the water and home though?
Oh, and by the way, I'm on the south east coast of Australia :)

 

[sqcube4me]

tyler we are doing the gold coast when we come will be there for 2 weeks .. im so stoked .. cause i want to surf bells beach and snapper rocks plus get some dives in .. before we leave for Tavarua .. i have seen pictures of ribbon reef .. but really not got into details of it ..

 

[tyler1503]

Ah the Gold Coast! Gorgeous place :) the beaches are amazing. The theme parks are supposedly awesome too, although I've never been. If you have some time to go up north to cairns or port douglas you should really do it. The only downside to it up there is you can't just go for a swim at the beach this time of year. It's jellyfish season at the moment.
Ribbon reef was definitely something I won't forget. If your an acro or wrasse lover it's perfect!

 

[sqcube4me]

yea got to love those box jellies up there .. we will be on the gold coast march of 2015 ..

 

[eburnsed]

This past November I took my girlfriend to Aruba for 5 days. We went diving there for 1 of the days. Was really awesome. Just wish I could have put some of the fish in my tank. Was able to hand feed some, but catching them...not so easy....plus a little concerned about customs lol if I was to try to bring something back.

 

[Rjramos]

Hey Tyler;
Greetings from south florida, USA . The above recordia mushrooms were harvested by me from local reefs. Everything here is regulated by size and quantity unless you have a commercial license which allows you more. Any reef building corals(stony corals) are prohibited from harvesting, not even a frag! Zoanthids are common and colorful although not a lot of varieties. I used to collect tropical fish here many years ago, now, only if I could put it in my reef tank. Last year I caught a beautiful jackknife fish( picture on this site)only to find out they are not too reef friendly. A LFS sold it for me and gave me store credit. As far as collecting equipment I have always used rectangular frame nets with clear plastic sides and a green screen bottom. 2 sizes 9"&16".The nylon mesh nets (slic) I used once and never again the fish get very skittish and they can get caught by gills, spines, and fins. Slurp guns for small gobies etc. are not too successful, however a great tool to flush a fish out of a hole. If your on SCUBA any fish caught beyond 30ft should be brought up slowly. I used to tie my catch bag with plastic containers to my anchor and bring them up at 6' intervals when retrieving the anchor from the boat. Beach diving on snorkel or SCUBA can be productive too.Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Rich

 

[Mr. E Wrasse]

certified diver here since 78 .. dive/surf trips have been to Tahiti .. indo .. bali .. costa rica .. mexico .. Hawaii .. grand Cayman .. st thomas .. st crox . barbadous .. freeport .. up and down both fla east coast and west coast .. next dive trip planned for 2015 to Philippians Australia and fiji for 2 months . .

I just want you to know that I don't like you haha. Tahiti and bali are top on my list so im really jealous. I went to australia a few years back and did a liveaboard so we were able to go really far out to osprey reef and dove the ribbon reefs on the way back to cairns. It is INSANE!!!

 

[tyler1503]

This is my idea of a DIY fish holding/catching....thing. It would have caught me a scorpionfish on my first dive of the year today! But unluckily for me, I had to try to net him, put him in a container and seal the container up while treading water. Not easy to do! :P
Essentially it's a PVC pipe, about 6" long and 6" (maybe even bigger?) in diameter with a net cable tied and glued to the bottom. The PVC has a thread on top and a lid screwing into the thread sealing it completely. The net is large enough that if I catch something with my aquarium net, I can dump the entire aquarium net and my catch into it without having to actually empty the net and risk losing my catch. That way I can come onto the shore and sort out the catch there, instead of having to try to do that, and tread water at the same time. Plus, if I turn it upside down (so the lid is facing downwards and the net is on top ) there will be a small amount of water being held in the PVC allowing the fish to be fully submerged in water allowing it to breathe as I carry it onshore.
Sorry for the bad drawing, it was done on a drawing app on my phone.

Comments, suggestions or thoughts anyone?

 

[Rjramos]

Here is the 8" version of the net I was talking about . There is a larger one, I believe About 15-16". This is IMO, the best net for tropical fish collecting. As far as getting a fish out of your net, I use plastic snack jars, large as possible but has to fit inside the net frame. I open small holes in the lid for pressure changes. A halyard is tied around the neck of the bottle. On the surface or below, the fish can be easily transferred from net to container with the following method. First make yourself comfortable, negative buoyancy on the sand, and positive buoyancy on the surface. Inflate your bc if you have one, and breathe through your snorkel, keeping your masked face in the water .You shouldn't have to tread water. Then you compress the plastic sides of the net surrounding the mouth of jar inside and coral the fish into a corner of the net and then screw on the plastic lid.
I place all jars within a mesh net, i feel this relaxes the fish while you swim around. Remember, over, app.30ft, bring them up slow, otherwise, I haven't had issues with fish caught shallower. It's nice to have a fish in your tank with a story like NEMO behind itlmao, hopefully he doesn't quite get away down the sewer on you, he'd definitely be dead quick! I have a pair of neon gobies I caught this past summer. From the moment I caught them I knew I had a pair. They were inseparable! Now, they are spawning in my tank!!!

 

[sqcube4me]

tyler if you can find acrylic nets .. they work the best .. fish cant see them ..

 

[tyler1503]

Here is the 8" version of the net I was talking about . There is a larger one, I believe About 15-16". This is IMO, the best net for tropical fish collecting. As far as getting a fish out of your net, I use plastic snack jars, large as possible but has to fit inside the net frame. I open small holes in the lid for pressure changes. A halyard is tied around the neck of the bottle. On the surface or below, the fish can be easily transferred from net to container with the following method. First make yourself comfortable, negative buoyancy on the sand, and positive buoyancy on the surface. Inflate your bc if you have one, and breathe through your snorkel, keeping your masked face in the water .You shouldn't have to tread water. Then you compress the plastic sides of the net surrounding the mouth of jar inside and coral the fish into a corner of the net and then screw on the plastic lid.
I place all jars within a mesh net, i feel this relaxes the fish while you swim around. Remember, over, app.30ft, bring them up slow, otherwise, I haven't had issues with fish caught shallower. It's nice to have a fish in your tank with a story like NEMO behind itlmao, hopefully he doesn't quite get away down the sewer on you, he'd definitely be dead quick! I have a pair of neon gobies I caught this past summer. From the moment I caught them I knew I had a pair. They were inseparable! Now, they are spawning in my tank!!!

Thanks for the suggestion :) Did you find yours at a dive shop? I may need to have a better look next time.
I've found a few gobies in some rock pools. Dull colours, but full of personality! Awesome little fish. Plus I found out yesterday that they will develop a symbiotic relationship with shrimp like other some gobies! I was watching them for ages. Now I just have to catch a shrimp :)

tyler if you can find acrylic nets .. they work the best .. fish cant see them ..

Are the acrylic nets similar to the pic Rjramos posted?
Oh, and I'm so jealous that you got to dive at all those places!

A bloke at work suggested a laundry bag. Net the fish, put him in the bag and zip it up and your good to go! My only concern is it would be a one time use thing as the zipper would rust.