Coldwater Bobtail Squid (Rossia Pacifica)

[AquaticEngineer]

I searched through the forums here for info on Bobtail squid and really only came up with people collecting the species found around Hawaii. I'll start a duplicate thread on TONMO as well.

Anyone here ever kept, caught , or worked with the coldwater species found along the west coast of the US, Rossia Pacifica?

Just wanted to try and gather as much info in one place as possible about the them since I'll be collecting several tomorrow (hopefully) and plan on breeding them since I'll have more than enough live food and space to keep them.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Well I got skunked on my last trip out.

Going to go again on monday night. This time I'm bringing a 7mm 2 piece wetsuit and snorkel gear. Going at a -.5 tide again at night and staying until the tide is coming in for a couple hours.

Last time I went night collecting during these conditions is when I found my juvenile Giant Pacific Octopus feeding in the shallows.

Wish me luck

 

[reefergeorge]

No replies, but i'm sure others are following like me. Looking forward to pictures!

 

[Jasanden]

Good luck tonight. I like pics too.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Thanks guys Both me and my collecting partner have 7mm wetsuits now, no fins yet lol, but got everything else. We are wearing em out tonight so we can float along in 3-4' of water and look down into the sand bottom.

Anyone else ever collect Bobtail squid from other regions? Any Hawaiian collectors? Im just curious what their habits and tendancies are. I know they have a habit inking 2 or 3 times and then changing to the color of their ink and floating to the bottom disguised as a blob of ink. I know they prefer to bury themselves in sandy/rocky substrate. I'll be looking for reflections off their eyes with my dive light and dragging my hands and net through the substrate. Any other tips or ideas?

I think that is the only way I'm going to find them. Theres a 70% chance of rain tonight also, with a night time low of 46F. Gonna be cold and wet, at least its not freezing.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Ugggghhhhhh.......

Horrible visibility, and didnt manage to find anything but the usually inverts and a big shovelhead sculpin that ate the rest of the bait fish we caught

But even though I didnt find any bobtail squid, or octopus, or pipefish, it was still totally worth it to finally get out in the water with all my gear on.

Its been a few years since I have been snorkeling, and even then it was just in warmer fresh water. Coldwater snorkeling is a whole other world I gotta tell you guys I got the diving bug bad now with just that little taste. By this summer I will for sure be fully geared and trained for scuba.

 

[daviesri]

What makes one even want to snorkel in 46 degree water? You have a cold tolerance gene that I must be missing. What triggered you interest in the bobtailed squid? Also, how do you keep a tank cold enough for the sqid?

 

[AquaticEngineer]

What makes one even want to snorkel in 46 degree water? You have a cold tolerance gene that I must be missing. What triggered you interest in the bobtailed squid? Also, how do you keep a tank cold enough for the sqid?

I was surprisingly warm in all my gear, except for the occasional blast of cold water when I adjusted my goggles. Its the thrill of the hunt I guess

I keep a lot of different cold water animals now, even a giant Pacific octopus. I would always see divers pictures of the bobtails from Puget sound and I had to know if I could find them here in Oregon.

I just us Chillers on my systems, usually 1/2 horse, and I keep the water at a consistent 55f.

 

[mkbtank]

Really interesting. Subscribed

 

[AquaticEngineer]

I had a hell of a time catching a fish underwater that I can normally catch on land in less than 5 seconds so I'm building a custom slurp gun now for catching these guys as well as other fish.

Definitely mounting a light on it for night dives, havn't decided on the laser site and scope yet or not, but it'll get a nice pistol grip for sure