Florida FOWLR tank...
- Thread starter BBoley24
- Start date
Aquabucket
Premium Member
I think conchs are forbidden for the most part but I am not sure. I collected whelks similar to nassarius snails. They are extremely good scavengers in captivity but will attack other snails and clams. They make a great clean-up crew along with hermits because the hermits don't try to take their shells. The whelks can fight them off with little trouble. You can also find seahares in tidepools and these local species are algae eating machines. They can clean a tank full of algae infested rock within days. When they were done with their work I simply released them back into the wild. I had a bait/collector permit so releasing certain things back into the wild was not a problem.
Aquabucket
Premium Member
My collecting days in Florida are over and I miss them. I now live in GB year round.
Another great way to collect is at night with a flash light wading along the shore and from docks.
One of the coolest fish I caught in the weeds was a baby Nassau grouper. Of course I had to release that one right away as they are a protected game fish. Baby toadfish can be caught this way too. they are really cool fish and not difficult to feed in an aquarium.
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Depends on the type of sea hare. Some are very colorful and others look like grey slugs with wings. We have seasons here in Florida where the wash up on the shore and are everywhere. Some will excrete a purple dye when handled. I live on the water and collecting is my favorite pass time. I find nassarius snails in the grass flats at low tide, ceriths, fighting and crown conchs, sea cucumbers under rocks, sea urchins (the pink pincushions are everywhere), peppermint shrimp, sponges (beware of fire sponge!), sea horses, gobies, blennies, puffer fish ( several species) and tons of other goodies. And yes there is coral out there. I find lots of brain especially in water very near shore but it is illegal to collect. Have fun!
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10752230#post10752230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquabucket
Another surprising thing is when you take blind stabs into floating algae and seaweed near the shore along beaches ~ here you can find filefish, puffers, and other surprises.
EDIT: I caught this awesome sandsifting goby right next to shore with a blind stab into the weeds:
Thats a great looking fish!
marino420td
Premium Member
I caught this dude in Panama City last summer (2006), brought him back to Missouri and he is alive and healthy in my 65 gal tank.
Just had to buy a 3 day Florida fishing license.
Just had to buy a 3 day Florida fishing license.
BBoley24
New member
marino good to hear from you! Im glad you chimed in... that is one good looking fish to get out of Florida's coast line... I guess its luck of the draw here... I do see alot of pipefish here and there... are they a good species to put in a florida tank or would they not survive captivity?
Matthew,
Yeah we go south all the time and I love the CMSC. It just seems that the water clarity is better going north. I used to spend 2 weeks every summer at Port Pardise when I was in high school and also did my check out dive there. We spend most of our time at Anclote and love it!
Yeah we go south all the time and I love the CMSC. It just seems that the water clarity is better going north. I used to spend 2 weeks every summer at Port Pardise when I was in high school and also did my check out dive there. We spend most of our time at Anclote and love it!
marino420td
Premium Member
There were tons of damsels around the jetties in PCB. I saw lots of pipefish and filefish as well. But I didn't keep any of those.
tcwayne
OLDGUY-OG
I need to drive up to Tarpon Springs soon. I just lost my diamond goby that I bought at that store I will never buy fish from again (pet mart) on labor day. My params are excellent and all my other fish are great. He was not harrassed because he dug in and after a couple of days he came out and was scooping up sand like a tractor digging a ditch.
frags on a rock
New member
that would be a cool tank!
sean48183
New member
There is a reefer on here and I can't remember his name but he lives just south of the miami area and he collects some of the most awsome stuff in tidal pools right off shore. He would go collecting like every saturday and put pictures up of him in tidal pools waste deep with a net pulling out french angels, queen triggers, porcupine puffers,weird looking damsels and wrasses that I had never even seen before. It was pretty interesting. He had I believe just a fishing liscense if I remember correctly. Anyways good luck collecting a post anything cool you find.
