• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Starting my saltwater tank

I have kept bat stars (Patira miniata), ochre stars (Pisaster ochraceus), california mussels (Mytilus californianus), purple sea urchins (Stronglocentrotus purpuratus), red urchins (Stronglocentrotus franciscanus), hermit crabs, giant keyhole limpets (Megathura crenulata), sea hares (Aplysia californianus), giant green anemones (Anthopleura xanthogrammica) and probably many more little things like barnacles and sea spiders. I had a converted lobster tank with a sump, so my tank was 100+ gallons.

When the temperature got around 70, I would start losing animals like the red urchins and the giant keyhole limpets. The sea stars are prone to getting some kind of infection that makes their arms fall off. Some of these tidepool animals live deeper in the tidal zone so they would be less affected by the heat because they would be in deeper water. I lost fewer animals once I installed a protein skimmer...

I think a tidepool sculpin would do fine in your tank, they don't get very big and live on the bottom.

What kinds of animals does your permit cover?
 
i haven't checked the guidelines on marine species but I have collected reptiles on the permit. I can find a link for you if thats what your looking for. anyway, if all those animals need super cold water, than maybe I shouldn't use a california themed tank...
 
Originally posted by Marineboy
i haven't checked the guidelines on marine species but I have collected reptiles on the permit.

As far as I know, the permit from Department of Fish and Game is species specific, that is you have to apply for the permit and request how many of each type of animal you will be capturing. I had to fill out a list of each animal and how many I captured and what happened to each animal (put into captivity, sacraficed, or died) and send it back to the DFG every two years to reapply for the permit. You are also supposed to only collect in non-protected areas, the DFG has a map of areas they allow you to collect in. If you need more info, you can PM me and I will help you.

I don't see the harm in trying a few local species in your tanks. Hermit crabs and sea anemones (if you can get them off the rocks, ha, ha...) would be fine in a higher temperature range and probably the sculpin too. Purple urchins would probably be OK...
 
cuttlegirl said:
As far as I know, the permit from Department of Fish and Game is species specific, that is you have to apply for the permit and request how many of each type of animal you will be capturing. I had to fill out a list of each animal and how many I captured and what happened to each animal (put into captivity, sacraficed, or died) and send it back to the DFG every two years to reapply for the permit. You are also supposed to only collect in non-protected areas, the DFG has a map of areas they allow you to collect in. If you need more info, you can PM me and I will help you.

When I was trying to track down regulations, I was told by a biologist at the California Department of Fish and Game that if you were collecting for your own personal use that you could use a sport fishing license. That wouldn't allow collecting animals for sale or trade, and probably not for institutional use, but he said that collecting animals for your own personal tank it was OK (subject to sport fishing quotas, size limits, and other such regulations). I think that would get around the "specific species collection paperwork" as long as you looked up what restrications there were for sport fishing of each species you wanted to collect. I expect that most tidepool animals can be taken in small quantities without any trouble, although I know the sea urchin population was hit hard by the demand for uni sushi, so they may be restricted in some way. And lobsters and abalone are heavily regulated, but you probably wouldn't want them in your tank anyway.

How would one collect anemones without hurting them? Is there a way to get them off the rocks, or is the only way to find one that's clinging to a piece of rock you can take?
 
Originally posted by Monty How would one collect anemones without hurting them? Is there a way to get them off the rocks, or is the only way to find one that's clinging to a piece of rock you can take?

If you can find one clinging to a small rock, that is the best way. If not, then you hope to find one clinging to a smooth rock, then get your fingernails under one side and carefully pry them off of the rock the whole way around the suction cup.

It doesn't make sense to me that tidal invertebrates can be collected with a fishing license, but the DFG official is probably right.
 
ok, my tank is half full with water and has inch of live sand, and two pieces of live rock which has all come from the reef. the protein skimmer is going to be added.
 
ocean water. Hey is it ok to add old shells I found on the reef? Everything on them has died (all the algae and so forth) but they still would look nice in the tank. I cleaned them out with boiling water to just in case.
 
FYI, you don't have to cycle a tank with live critters. You can cycle a tank by throwing in a piece of chopped up shrimp. It will go through the cycle process and you should be fine without risking losing any fish.
 
Thank you everyone who has posted on this thread! My tank has been up and running FANTASTICLY for almost two weeks now. I have 6 or 7 small green hermit crabs, 2 small giant green anenomes, 6 pieces of live rock, one small unidentified minnow, and a Sea Clone protein skimmer. Nothing has died so far and the tank is staying extremely clear and clean. the only issue is getting the tank cool in the middle of this heat wave (im sweating as i type this...) the floating ice is the technique its running on right now but when I gain enough money I am going to buy a chiller I like that has a good price (200$).
 
Congrats! You're certainly inspiring me to think about tanks more seriously, too. I want to wait until I have time and money to "do it right," and you're certainly being a great example for how that can work... hope it continues to go well!
 
thanks, and I hope the best for you. OH, and the fish has been identified as a young opal eye (which means he is eventually going to outgrow the tank)
 

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