Keeping California Tidepool fish as pets in home aquarium (i.g Tidepool sculpin, Opaleye).

[XxAlex_OhxX]

Good evening everyone, i have been in the saltwater aquarium hobby for almost 6 years now and during this 6 years i have successfully kept many of the animals you encounter such as clownfish, tangs, anthias, shrimp, coral, anemones, you name it. As a california resident, i often take advantage of the breathtaking experience of the local tidepools particularly in the San Pedro. If youve been to the tidepools along the west coast, then youve probably seen the many fish and inverts that inhabit this beautiful delicate ecosystem. Among these animals are Opaleye (Girella nigricans), olive colored fish with gorgeous ocean blue eyes and the tidepool sculpin (Oligocottus maculosus). Let me get to the point, nobody plans on keeping these as pets as opaleye are often eaten and not really sought after on top of the fact they are wild and can introduce disease. People, my parents for one, often say "leave them in the ocean". I can say however as a hobbyist I have successfully kept these underappreciated yet majestic fish successfully with my other tank inhabitants.

How did I do it? Obviously you have to catch an opaleye, preferrably one less than 6 inches in length. The smaller, the easier to catch. You can catch very small ones about 3/4 of an inch easily with a net around summer, as they arent fast swimmers whatsoever. They can be kept in a 10 gallon at this stage and generally grow slowly. Have a bucket of seawater and keep them in it as youll need it during the acclimation process. You will keep them in a quarantine tank for at least 2 weeks like any other fish and dose 1 drop of copper per gallon, no more, no less. These fish arent used to such substances and dosing innapropriatley can prove to be fatal. They do wonderfully in both frigid and tropical waters. No heater required if you dont have one. After the quarantine period, you can safely introduce them to your reef tank, assuming you have no predatory fish tank. Opaleye get along beautifully with clownfish (be cautious with maroons), tangs and other peaceful/semi-aggressive fish. With my experience, they are reef safe with caution as they have the tendency to be nippy to softies like coral beauties but wont bully other tank mates unless they breed. Keep ph at 8.3 as always and have at least a 75 gallon to accomodate them when fully grown and have lots of liverock to hide in as these fish will be severely stressed if not. Highly reccomended to keep 2 or more as these are social fish. The results is very rewarding as these fish are highly intelligent and will eat from your hand, going as far as doing a small hop from the water and glass surfing upon entering the room. Truly magnificent.

Tidepool sculpins on the other hand are a completely different story. Long story short, they are extremely difficult to keep alive and are extremely picky, preferring only mysis shrimp and if not that, then live copepods and small inverts. They dont tolerate tropical temperatures whatsoever and perish at 80 degrees. Almost just as impossible as keeping Moorish Idols and these are the very definition of "best left in the wild".

If you have any questions, feel free to respond

 

[KrisReef]

Do you have a fishing license?

How long have you kept these temperate water species alive at the elevated tropical tank temperatures?

Have you ever thought to get a chiller and keep these under appreciated fishes in a more comfortable environment?

I trust you have been to the Cabrillo Aquarium?

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

Do you have a fishing license?

How long have you kept these temperate water species alive at the elevated tropical tank temperatures?

Have you ever thought to get a chiller and keep these under appreciated fishes in a more comfortable environment?

I trust you have been to the Cabrillo Aquarium?

Yes i have a fishing license and ive been to the Cabrillo aquarium before. I have kept em previously at 77 degrees along with my other fish and they thrived and they do well. They are comfortable at this temperature, and act normally. A chiller isnt really necessary as long as the inside temp doesnt go above 90 degrees which it almost never does.

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

Yes i have a fishing license and ive been to the Cabrillo aquarium before. I have kept em previously at 77 degrees along with my other fish and they thrived and they do well. They are comfortable at this temperature, and act normally. A chiller isnt really necessary as long as the inside temp doesnt go above 90 degrees which it almost never does.

And by inside temperature i mean the ambient room temp because california does obbiously get hot during summer, especially july

 

[EricR]

Thanks for posting this -- very interesting.

I've often wondered about temperature needs of Southern California tide pool wildlife.
*seems like they'd be used to some pretty dramatic swings but have always been unsure how they'd handle long-term, sustained, tropical temperatures

I've been more curious about inverts than fish, like local anemones/urchins/limpets/mussels/etc.

 

[Reefer Reboot]

Thanks for posting this -- very interesting.

I've often wondered about temperature needs of Southern California tide pool wildlife.
*seems like they'd be used to some pretty dramatic swings but have always been unsure how they'd handle long-term, sustained, tropical temperatures

I've been more curious about inverts than fish, like local anemones/urchins/limpets/mussels/etc.

Ocean temperatures here (LA/OC areas) run around 65*f +/- 5*f depending on the season. Most of the tidepool residents can handle warmer temperatures but not for extended times. With two high and two low tides usually each day, the tide pools get flushed out and re-cooled at least once a day. Before the Garibaldi became the state marine fish and gain the protection that comes along with it, they used to be sold at the LFSs. They didn't seem to fair too well long term at tropical temperatures. Then again, this was decades ago (like 3 to 4 decades). I guess we will never know if the improved techniques of today would change this. (Illegal to own in California.) With the proper water temperature, Giant Green Anemones are pretty easy to care for. They don't need as much PAR as tropical anemones but they do need to be fed. Urchins eat a ton of kelp, Limpets will scour the algae and mussels are hard to maintain due to their need for lots of particulate food floating by. The hardest invert that I've kept was a Spanish Shawl (Flabellinopsis iodinea) which required a specific diet of Eudendrium hydroids as that is all they eat. (It helps to live by the food source.) So sure, easy peasy!

PS as I'm sure you know, collection laws are much stricter nowadays.

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

Ocean temperatures here (LA/OC areas) run around 65*f +/- 5*f depending on the season. Most of the tidepool residents can handle warmer temperatures but not for extended times. With two high and two low tides usually each day, the tide pools get flushed out and re-cooled at least once a day. Before the Garibaldi became the state marine fish and gain the protection that comes along with it, they used to be sold at the LFSs. They didn't seem to fair too well long term at tropical temperatures. Then again, this was decades ago (like 3 to 4 decades). I guess we will never know if the improved techniques of today would change this. (Illegal to own in California.) With the proper water temperature, Giant Green Anemones are pretty easy to care for. They don't need as much PAR as tropical anemones but they do need to be fed. Urchins eat a ton of kelp, Limpets will scour the algae and mussels are hard to maintain due to their need for lots of particulate food floating by. The hardest invert that I've kept was a Spanish Shawl (Flabellinopsis iodinea) which required a specific diet of Eudendrium hydroids as that is all they eat. (It helps to live by the food source.) So sure, easy peasy!

PS as I'm sure you know, collection laws are much stricter nowadays.

You arw absolutely right. Not all tidepools are reef compatible for obvious reasons including temperature swings, diet and overall habitat conditions and layout. As far as im concerned, i will only stick to opaleye and sometimes sea hares which dont live that long anyway

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

In fact, i think you are going to have to dedicate a whole tank on its own for the highest rate of success. California tidepool inverts are also extremely hard to keep alive, including mussels, barnacles, oysters, abalone (which is illegal to collect without special licensing), giant keyhole limpets, some sea slugs, especially california aglajas as they are highly predatory that eat other sea slugs and your most prized inverts. Brittle stars on the other hand are extremely hardy, even at tropical temperatures. I still have mine i collected over a year ago!

 

[Nano_Man]

I keep cold water rock pools

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

I keep cold water rock pools

where did you get those beautiful red anemones from? What are they called and where do they live?

 

[Nano_Man]

There called Beadlet anemones and from the uk shore line you can get them in reds / greens / orange. And this is another type Daliah anemone

This one is called a snake lock Anemone these have a nice little sting they are super sticky tentacles bit like a scratching itch on your arms if touch but not too bad

just started doing cold water jars seems too be going ok

 

[Jimmt]

Good evening everyone, i have been in the saltwater aquarium hobby for almost 6 years now and during this 6 years i have successfully kept many of the animals you encounter such as clownfish, tangs, anthias, shrimp, coral, anemones, you name it. As a california resident, i often take advantage of the breathtaking experience of the local tidepools particularly in the San Pedro. If youve been to the tidepools along the west coast, then youve probably seen the many fish and inverts that inhabit this beautiful delicate ecosystem. Among these animals are Opaleye (Girella nigricans), olive colored fish with gorgeous ocean blue eyes and the tidepool sculpin (Oligocottus maculosus). Let me get to the point, nobody plans on keeping these as pets as opaleye are often eaten and not really sought after on top of the fact they are wild and can introduce disease. People, my parents for one, often say "leave them in the ocean". I can say however as a hobbyist I have successfully kept these underappreciated yet majestic fish successfully with my other tank inhabitants.

How did I do it? Obviously you have to catch an opaleye, preferrably one less than 6 inches in length. The smaller, the easier to catch. You can catch very small ones about 3/4 of an inch easily with a net around summer, as they arent fast swimmers whatsoever. They can be kept in a 10 gallon at this stage and generally grow slowly. Have a bucket of seawater and keep them in it as youll need it during the acclimation process. You will keep them in a quarantine tank for at least 2 weeks like any other fish and dose 1 drop of copper per gallon, no more, no less. These fish arent used to such substances and dosing innapropriatley can prove to be fatal. They do wonderfully in both frigid and tropical waters. No heater required if you dont have one. After the quarantine period, you can safely introduce them to your reef tank, assuming you have no predatory fish tank. Opaleye get along beautifully with clownfish (be cautious with maroons), tangs and other peaceful/semi-aggressive fish. With my experience, they are reef safe with caution as they have the tendency to be nippy to softies like coral beauties but wont bully other tank mates unless they breed. Keep ph at 8.3 as always and have at least a 75 gallon to accomodate them when fully grown and have lots of liverock to hide in as these fish will be severely stressed if not. Highly reccomended to keep 2 or more as these are social fish. The results is very rewarding as these fish are highly intelligent and will eat from your hand, going as far as doing a small hop from the water and glass surfing upon entering the room. Truly magnificent.

Tidepool sculpins on the other hand are a completely different story. Long story short, they are extremely difficult to keep alive and are extremely picky, preferring only mysis shrimp and if not that, then live copepods and small inverts. They dont tolerate tropical temperatures whatsoever and perish at 80 degrees. Almost just as impossible as keeping Moorish Idols and these are the very definition of "best left in the wild".

If you have any questions, feel free to respond

CA. coast Red abalone in the tank. Will it live if the cooler is keeping the water around the 55 range ?

 

[ReefinIt]

It’s illegal to collect marine fish and inverts for the aquarium in CA.

 

[cilyjr]

It’s illegal to collect marine fish and inverts for the aquarium in CA.

That's not true.
Some things cannot be collected but some can

Ocean Sport Fishing

Invertebrate-Fishing-Regs

 

[Nano_Man]

Do what you want it’s Xmas soon

 

[JayM]

It’s illegal to collect marine fish and inverts for the aquarium in CA.

I don’t think so.

But - I’m fairly certain it’s illegal to transport live fish from the waters they were taken from, so it would be kinda pointless to collect them if you can’t transport them home.

Inverts may be okay to transport alive, but I’m not interested enough to dig through a million rules and regs to figure it out.

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

CA. coast Red abalone in the tank. Will it live if the cooler is keeping the water around the 55 range ?

Oh for sure. Does dont let it get above 75 for a long time or it will stress out the abalone. But from what i heard fish and game prohibited collection until April 2026. If u already have it though it should be fine