Not exactly a macroalgae but is simular: where can I purchase seagrass in the UK?

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Hello. I have been planning to setup a sort of plastic tub filled with saltwater to grow seagrass and mangroves, however I cannot find any place that seems to sell seagrass. Any response would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[luckylepgw]

Found some here

https://www.aquaculturenurseryfarms.com/macro-algae-saltwater-plants/sea-grass/

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Found some here

https://www.aquaculturenurseryfarms.com/macro-algae-saltwater-plants/sea-grass/

Thanks but I'm trying to find a place that sells in the UK to reduce shipping price.

 

[luckylepgw]

Thanks but I'm trying to find a place that sells in the UK to reduce shipping price.

Understandable, good luck

 

[erk]

Most places that sell sea grass collect it from the wild. Not sure if there are any restrictions on shipping wild sea grass to the UK. As for stuff sourced locally to the UK, it would probably be a cold water species if one exists. You might be out of luck on using sea grass.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Most places that sell sea grass collect it from the wild. Not sure if there are any restrictions on shipping wild sea grass to the UK. As for stuff sourced locally to the UK, it would probably be a cold water species if one exists. You might be out of luck on using sea grass.

Thanks for the reply. Originally I was intending to collect it myself; during the summer holidays I go to Turkey and we always swim in the sea, and I was planning to try and find some and collect it, however I doubt it would survive the flight as we are only allowed to bring in 100ml of liquid, and I don't even think it's legal.

 

[erk]

Thanks for the reply. Originally I was intending to collect it myself; during the summer holidays I go to Turkey and we always swim in the sea, and I was planning to try and find some and collect it, however I doubt it would survive the flight as we are only allowed to bring in 100ml of liquid, and I don't even think it's legal.

Since it is sea grass, you don't need to worry about keeping it submersed the whole time. Just that it can't dry out. So wrapping it in damp paper towels might work, but you want to make sure you aren't violating any laws by taking it and transporting it. Not sure if customs would allow it.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Since it is sea grass, you don't need to worry about keeping it submersed the whole time. Just that it can't dry out. So wrapping it in damp paper towels might work, but you want to make sure you aren't violating any laws by taking it and transporting it. Not sure if customs would allow it.

Thanks. If I can find any seagrass I might actually try this. Thanks a lot for the info.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

I'm going to give an update but first let me give some context: right now I'm in Turkey as we are in the Easter holiday back in the UK. I decided to go to a random beach to just walk around, and there was a lot of seaweed that had been washed up onto the shore. While walking around, I suddenly notice a bunch of seagrass with its roots still intact also on the floor, so I pick it up, and take some sand to grow it in temporarily from the beach. Right now, I've placed quite a bit of sand (around 3 inches thick) into two jars and I've planted the seagrass into the substrate. I tried to collect some seawater but it was not enough so I had to fill most of the capacity of the jars with tap water. I added some table salt to the water as that is all I have available right now. What I'm planning to do is to temporarily grow the seagrass in the jars until we go back to the UK and then I will place it into the aquarium and buy aquarium salt for it. We have about a week left of holiday. Could someone please tell me if I'm doing something wrong. Thanks.

 

[erk]

I'm going to give an update but first let me give some context: right now I'm in Turkey as we are in the Easter holiday back in the UK. I decided to go to a random beach to just walk around, and there was a lot of seaweed that had been washed up onto the shore. While walking around, I suddenly notice a bunch of seagrass with its roots still intact also on the floor, so I pick it up, and take some sand to grow it in temporarily from the beach. Right now, I've placed quite a bit of sand (around 3 inches thick) into two jars and I've planted the seagrass into the substrate. I tried to collect some seawater but it was not enough so I had to fill most of the capacity of the jars with tap water. I added some table salt to the water as that is all I have available right now. What I'm planning to do is to temporarily grow the seagrass in the jars until we go back to the UK and then I will place it into the aquarium and buy aquarium salt for it. We have about a week left of holiday. Could someone please tell me if I'm doing something wrong. Thanks.

Table salt will probably kill it, not to mention that the quality of the tap water is questionable. And if the sea grass doesn't die from those things, then the death of whatever microbes in the sand probably will. Collection and transport of wild specimens is not an easy task.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Table salt will probably kill it, not to mention that the quality of the tap water is questionable. And if the sea grass doesn't die from those things, then the death of whatever microbes in the sand probably will. Collection and transport of wild specimens is not an easy task.

Thanks for the reply. I guess I'm just going to have to hope for the best.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Thanks for the reply. I guess I'm just going to have to hope for the best.

I think the species name is 'Posidonia oceanica'

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

New Update: I went to a different beach today and collected some seawater. I replaced the tap water in the jars with this seawater. I hope the seagrass won't die from such a quick change in salinity. After one day in the jar, the Neptune Grass (my specific species) started to look greener. However around two hours after replacing the water with the seawater they have started to look brown; I hope they can recover. I will try to post an update whenever something interesting happens to the seagrass or I do a change to their temporary setup.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

New update: Tomorrow I am going back to the UK. I did what erk said and using the seawater wet a few paper towels and wrapped the seagrasses into them. I then placed them into a Ziploc bag and sealed it. They have been in this state for around two days. My problem is, at home I do not have aquarium salt so I will have to place an order for that

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Mini update: The seagrass passed the security no problem. I'm at the airport right now waiting for the plane.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Update: Obviously, I'm at home now, and last Friday I placed the seagrass into saltwater (I purchased aquarium salt) in a jar. However, what I'm worried about is that it probably won't recover from the long time it spent in a wet paper towel with only the rhizome. I will update it if something interesting happens.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

After some time, the seagrass never showed any signs of growth and then died...

 

[MabuyaQ]

Most seagrasses have a symbiotic relation with bacteria found in the substrate they grow in. So without that substrate, and without those bacteria, they die.

 

[Don'tMindWhatYouCallMe]

Most seagrasses have a symbiotic relation with bacteria found in the substrate they grow in. So without that substrate, and without those bacteria, they die.

Reading back to my post, I realise that the bacteria in the sand likely died from the freshwater and chlorine. I will try this again in a few months.

 

[ThePurple12]

Probably helped kill the seagrass, too