harvesting macro algae from the beach

lossman

New member
Was at the beach the other day (small, rarely used beach) and saw some lovely macro algae washing up with the tide. I wondered whether I could harvest this stuff, put it in the qt tank for a few weeks and then maybe introduce it to the fuge. Any thoughts on this?
 
it was probably sargassum....very cool creatures in it...i have personnaly cought:
a pipefish
a seahorse
a sragassum anglerfish
a few sargassum filefish
a ton of sargassum shrimp and crabs..
also 3 baby longfin lookdown fish.....
some seargent major damselfish
and sea lice (itchy itchy itchy)
cool stuff but i dont think it lives very long in aquaria...at least the floating kind....where where you when you saw this macro??? i live in florida and i woud say it is going to die anyway when it washes up on shore..so why not but it could be illegal..check with your states laws.....
 
It is not illegal in Florida to collect seaweed. However there is a bag limit.

Most macros do well in the aquarium given the proper lighting even sargassum.

Gene
 
It could have been any number of things considering in Tampa you have access to both Bay and open ocean macro's. Sargassum is a possibility at this time of year but not as common on the gulf coast.. more likely Hypnea, Gracillaria, Ulva, Enteromorpha and potentially Caulerpas.

I always advise a freshwater dip on macros before they go in the tank. At least a 30 min bath. Many macros will have predatory saltwater inverts attached, not so great in your tank.

Have fun!
>Sarah
 
When you say freshwater bath, do you mean ro water or tap water?

It was most likely gracillaria. I was on the bay side at the time. :)
 
I just use tap water with a teeny bit of dechlor. Watch your algae in five or ten minute intervals though.. if it starts to lose color pull it from the dip. Good luck with it if its a Graciliaria variant.. that family seems to be hit or miss. Very pretty though. :)

>Sarah
 
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