I've set up, and done a bit of the cycle. Ten days in, and my ammonia has been zero for four, after the spike, so I took the big step of hitting the tide pools.
I initially wanted only local for everything, then realized how hard that would be. Live rock isn't allowed on my permit, nor is aquaculture, and the sand is silicate. So I grumbled a bit and bought live rock, and some aragonite sand.
However, the tide pools are coated with corals and anemones, and I've seen clownfish and angels, so I'm going to do my best to keep it to what I can catch.
Went to some tide pools today for the clean up crew. Ended up with about seven snails, two limpets, and a small armadillo chiton, maybe an inch and a half long. I brought my reference book to check on everything before putting it in the bucket. Also noticed that some gorgeous zoas were encrusting oysters. Well, grand - we have permits to collect oysters, and soft corals. So my husband simply ate the oyster and handed me the shell. We ended up with three plugs of pretty purple and green polyps, without having to work out how the hell to get them off the rocks. As they live in tide pools, they have to be pretty hardy. Those pools are stagnant in the 95 degree sun for most of the day.
Not sure about fish so far, but the local gobies and blennies also inhabit tide pools the size of teacups and survive, so I'm leaning towards a couple of those, local clownfish, maybe some local wrasses, and maybe if I can catch an emperor angel, taking my chances. They're quite common, and if they nip corals, well, it's not like I'm going to keep rare or expensive stuff. It is all free, easy to come by, and abundant.
I initially wanted only local for everything, then realized how hard that would be. Live rock isn't allowed on my permit, nor is aquaculture, and the sand is silicate. So I grumbled a bit and bought live rock, and some aragonite sand.
However, the tide pools are coated with corals and anemones, and I've seen clownfish and angels, so I'm going to do my best to keep it to what I can catch.
Went to some tide pools today for the clean up crew. Ended up with about seven snails, two limpets, and a small armadillo chiton, maybe an inch and a half long. I brought my reference book to check on everything before putting it in the bucket. Also noticed that some gorgeous zoas were encrusting oysters. Well, grand - we have permits to collect oysters, and soft corals. So my husband simply ate the oyster and handed me the shell. We ended up with three plugs of pretty purple and green polyps, without having to work out how the hell to get them off the rocks. As they live in tide pools, they have to be pretty hardy. Those pools are stagnant in the 95 degree sun for most of the day.
Not sure about fish so far, but the local gobies and blennies also inhabit tide pools the size of teacups and survive, so I'm leaning towards a couple of those, local clownfish, maybe some local wrasses, and maybe if I can catch an emperor angel, taking my chances. They're quite common, and if they nip corals, well, it's not like I'm going to keep rare or expensive stuff. It is all free, easy to come by, and abundant.
