Back to the Keys.......

[Adam]

Yep

So tomorrow I am going back to the florida keys again....2 days to get there....3 full days there... 2 days to drive back for a total of 7 days.

I am not going to collect plants this time because....well they just are to much hassle and they usually end up dying anyways...

I have (3) coolers...one for Fish, one for Gorgonians...one for Inverts..there is no skimmer or heater or powerhead that is going to be on these coolers...I am really hoping that keeping the stock alive will not be a problem

I have lots of plastic bags to put the fish and inverts in SEPERARELY...no oxygen the bags are all filled with ro water with the correct salinity and individual fish and inverts go into individual bags...I have used this meathod before with......85% sucess rate. The plastic bags will be open at the top so normal air can flow in and out of them. (Or at least tent air). What i plan on doing though is putting inverts and fish in a container with ocean water overnight and letting them "poop out" and then the next morning put them into the individual plastic bags......an improvement from the other trips. I hope this helps with success rate.
I also have only (1) car...well thats what i am traveling to the keys with there is a large fridge we are taking, microwave, air conditioner, portable oven, AND grill, cots, and tent and 3 coolers, 3 5g. jugs...and various other things....now U take a second and try to figure out how that and 3 people will fit into (1) buick lesabre.

I plan on putting the gorgonians all togeather in one of the coolers...but only collecting 8" or under gorgs, and NOT exposing them to the air, and NOT even barely damaging their tissue. (I beleive exposing them to air and damaging their tissue had to do with the dismal success rate of the gorgonians previously). The container with the gorgonians will not be heated or filtered with a skimmer...they will just be sitting in there. (I hope this will not be a problem). I am only going to collect exotic fish, too. Like queen and french angels (if possible) and cardinal fish and small trunk fish if possible.... nothing like high hats or damsels.

I am tired of typing, I will report when I get back, bye.

[seaspook]

You should check the regulations before you go. Collecting without a permit is illegal and they will seize your car and your boat. People have decimated the animal life around the keys by illegal collecting. My son is with the Key West PD, they take this real serious. He just told me about seizing a boat because they had five gallons of live sand on board. Good Luck.

[skeletor]

Adam, I'd suggest going to your local petco and picking up a battery operated air pump or 2, also get a couple of 4 way air valves and some airline..
this should help with your success rate, especially when you have everything stressed out and pooping into a bucket at your campsite.. :fart:

just make sure to get a spare set of batteries and you'll be all set.

since there are three (3) people going, see if one (1) of you can take a digital camera for some pics.

rich.

ps, you lucky bastard.. I wish I could go, there is a red tide in cali at the moment so I can't even go diving..

[gqjeff]

You should check the regulations before you go. Collecting without a permit is illegal and they will seize your car and your boat. People have decimated the animal life around the keys by illegal collecting. My son is with the Key West PD, they take this real serious. He just told me about seizing a boat because they had five gallons of live sand on board. Good Luck.

I agree save the cash from the trip and buy the stuff... I know its cool and all to say I caught that and I collected this but if you get caught it will all be for nothing...

[Aquatic Image]

Yeah be careful collecting things. They WILL take your stuff if you collected illegally. I am pretty sure it goes 20 items per person per day. No more than 5 Angels per day and must be under 8" depending on species. Check this site for more information Recreational Harvesting Information For Marine Species
Also, make sure you CAN keep it alive if your are collecting it.

[gqjeff]

Dustin, good link. Adam, it looks like the gorganians are NOT able to be collected..

[Diesel3443]

Jeff most gorgonians can be collected down there. Just not the sea fans. Now the problem is knowing where you are collecting. I would sugest a map Adam that shows where the Marine life sanctuarys are so that you are not even close to them. Just a percaution, because every year those sanctuarys grow in size and number.

IMO, Its better off leaving. The only thing I have ever taken are hermits and snails. I live in SoFL and fequent the Keys 10-15 times a year and understand what kind of threat that area is under. And I can garentee you in the next 10-15 yrs collecting will be strictly prohibited. Except for most fish of coarse

[Adam]

ok i am back and i know about all the rules guys....made sure this is the 6th time at least collecting down there...well i got back a few mins ago...

got some sea stalk briarium...and 2 gorgs....some polyps...and a starfish.

also a filefish, seargent major damsel..pipefish...uni'd fish...(pilotfish i think) mm little parrot fish i think some others...

i was kinda dissapointed on this trip....it seems that the gorgs are extremely difficult to ship and they need constantly moving water or something...the 2 i got back are alive tho i am pretty sure. hrmm i beleive now that fish are by far the easiest to transfer.

[nbd13]

if i am not mis-taken i think file fish will eat your sps polyps....

Nick

[Adam]

ohh...the file is not going in my sps tank, that would be stupid. :-)
It is currently in my bro's seagrass "florida keys biotype" tank untill i get my 55 up and runnin'

[Diesel3443]

The problem with the gorg's Adam is just that they are very delicate. A buddy of mine and I used to go collect them and sell them to the LFS for credit and some just do not make it. I can see how they do not make the long drive back up north

[Adam]

guess what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the 2 gorgs i collected....the polyps are coming out now at night! sweet! you know what i did tho? I put those (2) and only (2) gorgonians in a 5 gallon or so cooler and filled it half way with water and only had the gorgs and a few small fish with them....and since the water never got fouled like the hermit crabs(you dont want to know) they never died! I DID get a small 1x1" section of rock with the gorgs at the base with a tent stake and hammer. WHICH IS LEGAL (if u dont beleive me read the fishing reg's.) Anyhow....the sea stalk briariums water smelled like.........yeah. uhmm worse, actually. I put them in the tank anyways....they might or might not live but it is hard to tell with sea stalk briareums...easy with gorgs...just smell them!!!!! >:-)






uhmm and i HAVE to say.....

the chick at the pizza hut was HOT.

[ReefRockerLive]

If I get a non-resident Saltwater licence, does that mean that I can collect certain types of fish and coral?

[Adam]

fish yeah as long as you follow the length and species rules and

corals no-illeagal.

but u can collect basically all gorgonians besides the flat purple ones. (pretty obvious to spot while snorkelling anyways....and not too common unless ur way out on the reef.)

U can also collect polyps... (tan palythoa and some green zoanthid variations)

along with many, many inverts EXCEPT long spine sea urchins and queen conchs...those are the real illeagal inverts.