going to the coast. can I bring anything back?

[Poor Boy]

It would be cool to bring some sand back for my sump, but is there anything else I could keep an eye out for? Maybe some seaweed, a random fish, a baby shark perhaps? Oooh, what about a jelly fish!?

[Mike]

Usually everyone is interested in peppermint shrimp. Can also sometimes catch small seahorses, rock flower nems, blennies, snails, Sargasm anglers, French angelfish and even puffers. Likely nothing you catch is going to be reef safe (peps are usually, but not always). There are other shrimps you might catch which are not. I have put the snails as CUC in the FOWLR sump, but wouldn't in a reef tank. Not sure about using beach sand, have heard bad things. Maybe someone else can chime in. Have fun and be careful, the jetties can be dangerously slippery.

[Big_Pun]

trout fillets !

[Dean]

You definitely don't want to use beach sand in your sump. It is loaded with decaying organics. If you take a net the floating sargasm grass at the beach is loaded with tons of little critters. Everything from pipefish, seahorses, and small shrimp to filefish, triggerfish, and puffer fish. Tons of different types of fish.

[Poor Boy]

no net... we did catch a few baby crab, but they did not make it.

next trip i will def pic up a net and skim the water. there really wasnt any grass or sea weed though.

dumb question, but where do they get the sand that we are using today?

[cbianco]

no net... we did catch a few baby crab, but they did not make it.

next trip i will def pic up a net and skim the water. there really wasnt any grass or sea weed though.

Better luck next time. Need a net, bucket, and bubbler at a minimum.


dumb question, but where do they get the sand that we are using today?

Way off the coast, away from people and the foamy shore.

Christopher

[Mike]

Were you in port a? Did you try the jetties? Def need a net. People catch the peps at night with a net and red flash light. MAAST has done an annual port a trip for years sometime in July. I guess we took this year off. It is helpful to go out with people who have collected before, so they can help. Maybe next year...

[Bill S]

When transporting crabs, they do better damp, but out of water. Crabs have the ability to use air for oxygen. They easily drown in small amounts of water.

[cbianco]

Were you in port a? Did you try the jetties? Def need a net. People catch the peps at night with a net and red flash light. MAAST has done an annual port a trip for years sometime in July. I guess we took this year off. It is helpful to go out with people who have collected before, so they can help. Maybe next year...

It was always interesting seeing what "creatures" members would bring back from the Annual Port A Trip. Most memorable were the amount of peppermint shrimp found.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Ace would bring back Sea Whips and Sea Fans and actually managed to keep them alive through heavy feeding.


When transporting crabs, they do better damp, but out of water. Crabs have the ability to use air for oxygen. They easily drown in small amounts of water.

Good to know Bill! This also cuts down on transportation weight, less weight to carry with you.

Anyone remember what types of fish have been found on the Port A trips?

Christopher

[Mike]

Marcus (tigereyed 1) caught some French angel juveniles, others have caught numerous coastal blennies, pipe fish, Pygmy sea horses, seargent major damsels, puffers of various types, anglers, look downs, snapper, and toad fish to name a few. During one of our past port a trip meetings, one of the locals did a cool presentation on the local sea life in relation to the hobby. Most of the coastal stuff is not considered reef safe.

[Mike]

There might be a link to the presentation buried in there somewhere. Not sure. If you search port a threads can find a lot of good info, including what you can catch, instructions on how/where, and sample equipment needed for collections. As prizes for past port a meetings, MAAST put together sample collect kits which were kind of cool. HTH