Tide pool/shallows native tank?

[Reeftanker3295]

Every year I go to the Hamptons and drag net for tropical fish and always catch juvenile lookdowns, pipefish, juvenile kingfish and all sorts of cool stuff. My 29 biocube is now empty due to my 90 gallon upgrade and I want to bring home a few of these fish and inverts. I was thinking of getting 5 of the smallest fish I can find. There are tiny sea robins, bergals, killies and alot of tropicals. After collecting my fish (This year I will snorkle and catch fish much easier, I have seen lots of people doing it there) I will get a nice patch of sea lettuce (ulva) connected to a substrate and try not to lose any living things on it like baby crabs and pods hiding within the leaves. I will then collect around 15 small hermit crabs and a few glass shrimp, snails and maybe some other cool stuff, and then transport it all home in buckets with air stones. The sand bed in the tank will be 2-3 inches deep.
Does this sound like it could work to you guys? The PC bulbs are strong enough to grow the ulva and the animals should create a nice ecosystem.

 

[SWITCH420]

sounds like it just make the temp the same should work.doesnt paul b?i think thats his tag.he has local fish he caught and keeps.

 

[KathyC]

Every year I go to the Hamptons and drag net for tropical fish and always catch juvenile lookdowns, pipefish, juvenile kingfish and all sorts of cool stuff. My 29 biocube is now empty due to my 90 gallon upgrade and I want to bring home a few of these fish and inverts. I was thinking of getting 5 of the smallest fish I can find. There are tiny sea robins, bergals, blackfish, and alot of tropicals. After collecting my fish (This year I will snorkle and catch fish much easier, I have seen lots of people doing it there) I will get a nice patch of sea lettuce (ulva) connected to a substrate and try not to lose any living things on it like baby crabs and pods hiding within the leaves. I will then collect around 15 small hermit crabs and a few glass shrimp, snails and maybe some other cool stuff, and then transport it all home in buckets with air stones. The sand bed in the tank will be 2-3 inches deep.
Does this sound like it could work to you guys? The PC bulbs are strong enough to grow the ulva and the animals should create a nice ecosystem.

Some have tried it, most have failed. As in high 90's %...

I assume you realize how big some of those fish get?
Do you know when they get too large that it is an extremely poor idea to put them back in the ocean?

Are you prepared to buy a chiller for the tank...you are looking to mix tropicals with colder water fish...somebody won't live long.

There are a great many threads on MR..(use the Search Feature up on the blue bar ) related to this topic every year and you will find it causes much debate.
From most accounts I have read, the fish are the losers. IMO best left in the ocean

 

[smoq]

A little off-topic- do you know any place that you can snorkel and actually see anything in Long Island?

 

[Reeftanker3295]

The shallows of the inlet (only 1-2 1/2 feet of water) have water temps of around 70-72 degree water and my tank will be at that temperature if not cooler. I probably will not keep tropicals, just some VERY small fish and inverts.
The shinnecock inlet is a good spot to snorkel from what i've heard and seen.
I have seen people keep the angels and other fish they caught in their own tanks and if I do some research on the fish I am guessing I can keep them until I can atleast upgrade so that I can keep them in a larger system.

 

[KathyC]

The shallows of the inlet (only 1-2 1/2 feet of water) have water temps of around 70-72 degree water and my tank will be at that temperature if not cooler. I probably will not keep tropicals, just some VERY small fish and inverts.
The shinnecock inlet is a good spot to snorkel from what i've heard and seen.
I have seen people keep the angels and other fish they caught in their own tanks and if I do some research on the fish I am guessing I can keep them until I can atleast upgrade so that I can keep them in a larger system.

How are you going to keep the tank at 70-72 year round? It's going to be a heck of an electric bill running that chiller 24/7/365...

None of the fish you mentioned are remotely small..do you know how big a look-down gets to be..if it lives? I could tell you, but I'd like you to find out yourself...
..and why is upgrade always in these threads? lol

May I suggest that you do the research now?
I don't mean to be so negative, but it is rare to be successful with these fish..even the tropicals and, even with a LOT of SW experience under your belt and IF you did get anything local to stay alive for more than a few months, there is no place to trade it off to when they get ...ehhh..HUGE. The Public Aquariums don't want them and you can cause great harm returning them to the ocean.

Please leave them out in the ocean so Smoq has something to look at when he goes snoreling

...stepping off my soapbox now

 

[Reeftanker3295]

How are you going to keep the tank at 70-72 year round? It's going to be a heck of an electric bill running that chiller 24/7/365...

None of the fish you mentioned are remotely small..do you know how big a look-down gets to be..if it lives?
..and why is upgrade always in these threads? lol

May I suggest that you do the research now?
I don't mean to be so negative, but it is rare to be successful with these fish..even the tropicals and, even with a LOT of SW experience under your belt and IF you did get anything local to stay alive for more than a few months, there is no place to trade it off to when they get ...ehhh..HUGE. The Public Aquariums don't want them and you can cause great harm returning them to the ocean.

Please leave them out in the ocean so Smoq has something to loo at when he goes snoreling

...stepping off my soapbox now

My biocube without a heater only gets to 73 during the day. No idea why everyone elses gets so hot. There are a few exceptions for the size of native fish. I do know how large lookdowns get, I was just using them as an example as 1 of the fish that I see often. There are naked gobies, killies, and then there are baby bergals that could live in a 30 gallon for a year while I get a larger tank up that could sustain them fully grown.

 

[smoq]

[/QUOTE]
Please leave them out in the ocean so Smoq has something to look at when he goes snoreling

[/QUOTE]

LOL. I will definitely check it out, I love snorkeling (and sometimes 1400 miles trip down south is not an option)

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

The important thing to remember is that you need to completely research all of the proper care requirements of every organism you collect so you can be sure to give it the proper environment to live in immediately. The fish and inverts will be stressed enough when removed from that environment and transported over an hour to your home. To risk an upgrade transfer may be pushing it. Don't agree with local collecting at all. Primarily because people go collecting and bring stuff home then post how do I take care of this threads and it really makes me sick to think in his day and age of technology people can't research things before they take a life from its natural environment and put it in their fish tank.

 

[jrobbins]

+1 also watch out for the inverts. that cute little crab will most likely turn into a large pain in the a**

 

[e.muehlbauer]

I like the idea, but I would stick with inverts. If you want fish, get sheepshead "minnows". They adapt well to a tank, stay 2" and under, and the males can be very colorful.

 

[Reeftanker3295]

I was deffinetely thinking of an invert dominated tank here, I just want maybe 2-3 very small fish that I research before catching and take care of. How do I catch sheepshead minnows?

 

[SWITCH420]

keep us posted i would like to see the tank when u do it thanks.

 

[SWITCH420]

also do u have 2 be a member at theses places or anything .i would like to come check it this summer..

 

[Reeftanker3295]

also do u have 2 be a member at theses places or anything .i would like to come check it this summer..

At the shinnecock inlet there are a few spots for you to park if you are not registered but if there are no spots there you can park in the beach parking lot and then walk back with your buckets and whatever you want and when you want to leave you can drive your car over and load it up and then leave.

 

[SWITCH420]

cool deal thanks 4 the info.

 

[Reeftanker3295]

Np. I already have 3 naked gobies and some crabs for the biocube, which just finished filling up. I think I will add them in a few hours once the sand settles. And no I am not a newbie reefer, I know tanks need to cycle. I held all of the LR in another tank while I emptied out the biocube and the bioballs and LS remained underwater, so there was no die off and still plenty of bacteria. We will see in a few hours how it is going.

 

[SWITCH420]

cool deal u know whats next..



















PICS.......lol:biglaugh:

 

[Reeftanker3295]

Haha yea I will post pictures soon.