How much has your experience in the ocean benefited your reefing?

[ScottR]

I spent a good deal of my childhood in the ocean. The crashing of the waves is still a passion of mine. I just loved the water but eventually, seeing and discovering the life that lives in the water eventually became a new passion of mine. Growing up in Hawaii, I saw so many cool creatures: Portuguese man-o-war, box jellies (ouch), limpets, wrasses, sea turtles, corals and urchins. Urchins and jellies are my biggest enemies. I started trying to keep some of these animals when I was a teenager. I wasn’t successful as not much info was available back then. But slowly, through trial and error, I was able to learn how to successfully keep fish and some other inverts. So for all of your ocean dwellers, how has the ocean helped you in your reefing journey. @Ron Reefman has shared lots of great threads on this subject. And his rock flower anemone experience is second to none.

 

[TvanB1]

Occasionally I will go scuba diving off the coast here in Cali. It’s a bit colder than the water in Hawaii and much less reefy. After seeing how fat and happy all of the fish were I definitely stepped up my game with providing proper care.
Now all of my fish are spoiled and eat better than me lol.
I actually got into reefing after snorkeling in the Dominican Republic.

 

[robbyg]

I started Snorkeling and spear fishing at about the age of ten with my brother and two of my cousins. We loved every minute of it . I remember during the summer holidays I would spend at least four days out of the week out at sea from about 8am until the sun was near setting. We would drop off our gear a hundred feet or so from a local beach and pickup lunch and get warm for an hour and then head back out. I saw a lot of stuff back then from Sharks to manta rays and an occasional turtle along with a lot of nice snappers and groupers and parrot fish that we would spear.

My first attempt at keeping an aquarium was when I was about eleven or twelve and this was in the 70s so there was just about zero info on the subject. I used a ten gallon tank with a under gravel filter and added two sergeant major fishes. I could never figure out why the fish always died after a month or so. I had no idea what salinity really was and I certainly did not know about cycling the tank. I remember that I topped up the water with a gallon jug of NSW that I kept in my bedroom. The lighting was a 40 watt bulb and I think I had one air pump. Those poor fish did not have a chance .

It was not until the mid 1980's I picked up the hobby again. This time I at least had some basic info as there were a few books and magazines on the topic. Anyway that's another long story in itself but the good thing was that I did have some success in keeping the animals alive for several months.

 

[TvanB1]

While snorkeling in the DR I was lucky enough to spot an octopus. Slowly I got closer and closer until it seemed comfortable with my presence. I ended up spending 6 hours in the water staring at it. I can definitely believe that they are some of the smartest creatures on earth.

 

[ScottR]

Occasionally I will go scuba diving off the coast here in Cali. It’s a bit colder than the water in Hawaii and much less reefy. After seeing how fat and happy all of the fish were I definitely stepped up my game with providing proper care.
Now all of my fish are spoiled and eat better than me lol.
I actually got into reefing after snorkeling in the Dominican Republic.

Funny you mention that about the fish being fat. I’ve noticed that too. And I don’t think many hobbyists realize how big wrasses are in the ocean.

 

[ScottR]

I started Snorkeling and spear fishing at about the age of ten with my brother and two of my cousins. We loved every minute of it . I remember during the summer holidays I would spend at least four days out of the week out at sea from about 8am until the sun was near setting. We would drop off our gear a hundred feet or so from a local beach and pickup lunch and get warm for an hour and then head back out. I saw a lot of stuff back then from Sharks to manta rays and an occasional turtle along with a lot of nice snappers and groupers and parrot fish that we would spear.

My first attempt at keeping an aquarium was when I was about eleven or twelve and this was in the 70s so there was just about zero info on the subject. I basically used a ten gallon tank with a under gravel filter and added two sergeant major fishes. I could never figure out why the fish always died after a month or so. I had no idea what salinity really was and I certainly did not know about cycling the tank. I remember that I topped up the water with a gallon jug of NSW that I kept in my bedroom. The lighting was a 40 watt bulb and I think I had one air pump. Those poor fish did not have a chance .

It was not until the mid 1980's I picked up the hobby again. This time I at least had some basic info as there were a few books and magazines on the topic. Anyway that's another long story in itself but the good thing was that I did have some success in keeping the animals alive for several months.

Nice Rob. Where did you go snorkeling?

 

[robbyg]

Nice Rob. Where did you go snorkeling?

Florida and Jamaica.

 

[csb123]

After my first snorkel in Hawaii, as a little kid, my passion for the ocean ignited.
From then on I wanted to be a marine biologist. But being an MD paid better....I know...sellout.

 

[ScottR]

Florida and Jamaica.

I can’t wait to do Florida. Lots of goodies there.

 

[ScottR]

After my first snorkel in Hawaii, as a little kid, my passion for the ocean ignited.
From then on I wanted to be a marine biologist. But being an MD paid better....I know...sellout.

Hawaii is a great place for diving and snorkeling. Hanauma Bay is a really good place to snorkel. Very shallow and a great place to catch giant sea turtles. I guess because the box jellies come in once monthly, the turtles have a nice snack time.

 

[SPR1968]

For any of you who can the chance, go to Galapagos

It’s teaming with life both on land and in the waters

 

[ScottR]

For any of you who can the chance, go to Galapagos

It’s teaming with life both on land and in the waters

Your thread has so many beautiful pics. Amazing how Mother Nature has so many creatures for our viewing pleasure.

 

[SPR1968]

Your thread has so many beautiful pics. Amazing how Mother Nature has so many creatures for our viewing pleasure.

Thank you Scott, it was an amazing place and I was very fortunate to be able to experience it.

For anyone who’s seen the documentaries, the animals really don’t take any notice of humans, they have no fear of us. I stood next to baby sea lions with their mothers, marine iguanas etc. Simple amazing....

 

[ScottR]

Thank you Scott, it was an amazing place and I was very fortunate to be able to experience it.

For anyone who’s seen the documentaries, the animals really don’t take any notice of humans, they have no fear of us. I stood next to baby sea lions with their mothers, marine iguanas etc. Simple amazing....

Here’s a link if anyone missed it. Worth a gander.

Galapagos - Adventures of an English “Marine Aquarist”!

So with my 50th birthday looming on the horizon, it was time to plan something a little special. I really didn’t have any idea what I could do, but having just finished watching one of the latest David Attenborough documentaries, I was overcome by an idea of adventure. I mentioned visiting the...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Ron Reefman]

Scott, thanks for the kind words about my RFA experience. I'm not an expert, but I have lots of practical experience... both at home in my tanks and in the ocean. BTW, for anybody who hasn't been to it, there is a thread here about snorkling, diving and even beach walking while collecting:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/snorkeling-collecting-discussion-group.412414/

To your main point, I have found snorkeling in the Florida Keys, and legally collecting wild things to take home to my aquarium has provided me with a huge amount of understanding about their needs.

When I started 20 years ago, I killed as many animals as I managed to get home. Mostly due to ignorance of what they needed, or ignorance of knowing that I couldn't provide what they needed. But now I can collect and transport home large numbers of animals and not lose a single animal!

This experience has also propelled me to keep a more diverse reef tank. I have a wide variety of animals in my 90g tank and most many of them were in fact, wild collected by me.

Now I snorkel with an eye for things I haven't seen before, or at least haven't seen for sale in the hobby. The down side of that is, more often than not, those unusual animals end up living under my rock structure and I rarely get to see them in the tank. And when I do, it's usually at night with a red or UV flashlight!

These 2 serpent stars came home with me after different trips to the Keys. One over 2 years ago and the other on our last trip a couple of months ago. They have found each other and have been together like this for several days!?!?!? They do come out a bit when I feed the tank, but they go back under the rock together every time. They don't seem to be showing any signs of aggression, so I'm hoping it's either friendship of love! ;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious

 

[Chrisfish]

I grew up around the ocean, Virginia Beach, Va. Puerto Rico and now Hatteras NC. The first time I went snorkeling in Puerto Rico I was hooked, I just could not believe how beautiful it was. I started out with fresh water tanks and planted tanks. About 5 years ago I decided after watching lots of you tube videos and reading everything I could and with the help of many members of R2R I jumped into saltwater tanks and absolutely love it!!

 

[najer]

England so colder waters, I grew up by the coast and spent a lot of time at the beach, rockpooling with my dad and he gave me a "By the shore" book so I could look things up once he told me what they were, marines was the obvious step when I could afford to do a tank again, many years of fresh water, I love having a lot of bio diversity to watch.

 

[ichthyoid]

I grew up in Florida with equal access to both the Atlantic & Gulf coasts, which are different in significant ways. My family had earlier lived in the Bahamas & we vacationed there also. I spent a lot of time in/on the water growing up. Not only at the beaches, but also on lakes, rivers, islands, tidal flats, oyster beds, back bays, grass beds, snorkeling & scuba diving on reefs all over the Keys & Caribbean and especially benefitted from time spent up in the saw grass estuaries and mangroves, which are the nurseries for the seas.

Watching and learning about all of the creatures reproducing, growing, living & competing in those environments, has been an invaluable part of my journey in this amazing hobby, no doubt about it.

After a two week vacation to Eleuthera, Bahamas when I was 10, I watched a Jacques Cousteau National Geographic special on TV, was hooked & have been ever since!

 

[fish farmer]

I was born in Florida and was bringing stuff back from the beach early on. I think I had some fiddler crabs in a jar when I was 8. When we moved up to Massachusetts it was the tide pools of the north shore that felt my wrath, had a 20 gallon salt tank when I was 12ish. Gave up salt for freshwater since I could keep things alive longer. I started fishing around the same time and spent time in New Hampshire chasing crayfish and minnows while snorkeling.

I made a career of fish stuff and went to college for Aquaculture and Fisheries.