# Couple of my catches at the beach today



## s13 (Aug 17, 2007)

Hermit crab (with feather duster?)

















Small hermit









Sea Hare









Other hermits

























Another Sea Hare









Whatcha think?


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Nice .
Where exactly are you located?

Btw, the "feather duster" is an anemone.


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## s13 (Aug 17, 2007)

In the Panhandle of Florida. Those were caught in Pensacola. Yeah, I kinda figured that was an anemone after thinking about it. Thanks for the compliment!


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

While I was down in Florida, I collected a few (well, 30) of that species of hermit. They would be trapped in big pockets of water in the middle of the day, along with a few fish . Do you happen to get anything else?

And no problem!


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## s13 (Aug 17, 2007)

The water was pretty rough today on the gulf side but in the bay, I just caught a couple snails, couple hermits, a small shrimp, and the sea hares. If I had some goggles on I would have had much better results but I don't have any goggles at the moment but now I know a couple good spots =] . Whenever I get some goggles and a green flag at the beach, I look forward to hitting up the gulf side for some arrow crabs, stone crabs, sea horses (probably just see them, not catch them because I do not have a tank set up for them nor know any specific care they need) ect...


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## Guest (Nov 20, 2007)

looks good, I like the sea hares...lol

Reminds me of Cancun earlier this year....My cousin and I went out everyday to cout the tidal pools. we cought hundereds of hermits, mexican/zebra turbo snails, a little scooter blenny like fish, tons of brittle stars, queen conches, blue crabs, baby sergant majors, etc. even a really cool looking moray eel, almost like a snowflake, but it wasn't. we just saw him, didn't even try to catch him...lol

I like the crab with the anenome as well...it's kinda cute...lol


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

The sea hares won't survive long if they don't have enough beneficial algae to graze on. The hermits are cool - but be careful with some of them. They may not be reef safe and may get large. I was going to say that hermit has an anemone on his shell but someone beat me to it. Now watch your water parameters since you added new creatures from the ocean. But DO NOT return it to the wild where you found them. Nice catch though ...


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## s13 (Aug 17, 2007)

All of the creatures in this 20 gallon tank are "local" fish that I caught in the wild. My friend has been keeping a couple sea hares for about 3 months now.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

we have similar anemone harmit crabs here in Hawaii.... we catch them in tidepools or on the reef when the tide is low....


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## jasno999 (Oct 16, 2006)

YOu should not be takign things out of the water. It is illegal and there is a reason for that. If we let everybody do this the reef environments would be devestated by people taking creatures out of the habitat. 

The worst part is if you are goign to do something like this then you should not broadcast it on a website..... the last hting you should do is put that in writting cause if you do get caught there is written proof that you took animals out of the ocean.........


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

agreed! i couldn't ethically reconcile the fact that i was taking something out of its native habitat to put in my tank. i try to avoid wild-caught fish species in my own tanks...


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2007)

trashion said:


> i try to avoid wild-caught fish species in my own tanks...



Says the person with 3 wild caught ottos in their tank....

Please people...We all know that it isn't a good idea, but I'm sure that they know the laws...


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

yeah, i learned that after i bought them...i actually have 5. 

hence the "try."

though the fishery is supposed to only supply us with tank-raised...i should have known better than to trust them :\


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## s13 (Aug 17, 2007)

Florida fishing and hunting license / collectors license.


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2007)

Let's see...you need a simple fishing license to catch/keep fw fishes from property other than your own...people catch fish every day and eat them, mount them on a hunk of wood on the wall, or toss them back in the water. You need a sw fishing license to catch/keep fish from the ocean. People also catch, eat, and mount sw fish on a hunk of wood on their wall every day .

This is how we get fish to begin with...the wild. This is how we learn about fish...the wild. This is how we can preserve species and observe them for the future when far worse things could happen to their environments...the wild. I'm not for capturing endangered fish or the like, but what if you can successfully breed them to release back? The hermits you get in fish stores are just as likely to have been caught in the same way.

So, my point, I don't believe it is illegal, least not where I am, and I don't think s13 would ignore the laws of his/her state and broadcast it publically. I think it's far worse to pointlessly hunt/fish animals than to keep them alive for personal education and possibly doing good in the future with them. We have all kept wild caught fish. We do a lot more damage to the environment in other ways every day .

s13, nice, great pics


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

its legal to collect in certain coasts, but there are limits, last i heard there are no sources of captive bred hermit crabs, so everyone that you buy is wild caught. keep it friendly and learn your laws before attacking people on an open forum, because as you said, its in writing.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

commercial marine licence.....state of Hawaii.....it allows me to collect listed species(allowable by the state) and sell to the aquarium trade....Hermit crabs do not breed in captivity.....so there are no captive bred hermits....especially with an anemone...thanks for the concern though...aloha!!!


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

An interesting question to you wetpetshawaii : You mentioned hermit crabs with anemones on the shells. Do they need proper lighting as you would for an anemone ? Also I've seen crabs with anemones on their backs or claws as well. Curious because they do look cool and might be on my wish list for a future SW tank.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

not at all.....they do not require any speacial lighting...kept anemone hermits for years in a nano tank with no lighting at all.....its sooooo cool one night I was watching this one anemone hermit changing its shell to the one I dropped into the tank...I hand painted my sons nome on the shell and thought it would be cool to have a hermit live in a shell with a custom paint job LOL!!! anyways it worked...I saw it checking out the shell one night trying it on for size...struggled to stay awake and watch it....it took a whole 40 minutes but the hermit decided to make his move....and he did.. to our customized shell....oh and you know whats the cool part....it went back to its old shell and with its pinchers gently peeled off the amemones and stuck them on his new shell....(covered up my custom paint job with the anemone) bummers...LOL but it was cool to watch the whole thing happen....wish I had a video cam that night.....anyways the next low tide is in about two weeks....I can collect them for you....just pay the shipping (fed ex) $25 and maybe kick in a little extra for gas money and I will ship as many as you need right to your door........take care...A hui hio kakou (till we meet again)


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Wow ! That is cool ! One last question : are they reef safe ?


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## Ice Prince (Jun 15, 2007)

Wow lol that would be cool to watch.


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2007)

jasno999 said:


> YOu should not be takign things out of the water. It is illegal and there is a reason for that. If we let everybody do this the reef environments would be devestated by people taking creatures out of the habitat.
> 
> The worst part is if you are goign to do something like this then you should not broadcast it on a website..... the last hting you should do is put that in writting cause if you do get caught there is written proof that you took animals out of the ocean.........


You should really not be posting about things you know nothing about. 

Laws and regulations vary greatly depending on locale. You cannot say "it is illegal" unless you know the laws and know the permits the said person has. 

I've personally read enough of your ranting on this subject around the site for one day, especially since you tend to bring back a lot of old threads and make comments that are false.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

No arguments there. Well said.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

thanks.....the anemone hermits are reef safe.....Aloha


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Reef safe? Really? 
Are you sure about that?
You can't think of anything that could possibly go wrong, then?


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

I am aware of the collection laws in both hawaii and florida... and I will be collecting down there as well next time I go. No need to attack people for collecting things when it is perfectly legal.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

wetpetshawaii said:


> thanks.....the anemone hermits are reef safe.....Aloha


dont they move around and sting anything that they can?


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## s13 (Aug 17, 2007)

Mine got him a damsel lol with the anemone


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## s13 (Aug 17, 2007)

I actually also caught a sand dollar and I thought it died because it sat on its back for like 3 weeks but I just put him in my peac0cks tank and he burried himself quickly


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Yes, drummer, that's exactly what'll happen.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

I just saw a pom pom crab in liveaquaria.com and they say to be used with caution in a reef tank. I agree with leveldrummer & TOS regarding the hermit with the anemone on his shell that is to be used with caution in a reef tank. They are better off in a tank with no corals.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

I will not argue with an experienced reeferon the hermits with amenomes.....we have FO systems here in Hawaii so my experience with reef is.....next to none....I would build live reef replicas out of sun bleached out rocks, resin and pigment colors to try and get a live rock look I know how to catch fish and take care of FO tanks....you guys are lucky to be able to have such awesome corals and rocks.....


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Decorator crabs usually stay in hiding, IME/O, theyre not really worth getting.
I wouldnt worry about the decorator crab killing off your precious SPS speciens..... the anems they carry pack a tiny punch compared to regular sized colonies. On the otherhand it might not be the best thing if you want smaller invert populations to thrive. 

Overall in my humble opinion, its not something worth spending money on.... yeah it looks pretty in the pictures, but how often are you going to see it?
And i wouldnt place any significance on the fear that it might hurt your coals, unless your adding a whole bunch to a small tank.


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## jasno999 (Oct 16, 2006)

Ichthius said:


> Let's see...you need a simple fishing license to catch/keep fw fishes from property other than your own...people catch fish every day and eat them, mount them on a hunk of wood on the wall, or toss them back in the water. You need a sw fishing license to catch/keep fish from the ocean. People also catch, eat, and mount sw fish on a hunk of wood on their wall every day .
> 
> This is how we get fish to begin with...the wild. This is how we learn about fish...the wild. This is how we can preserve species and observe them for the future when far worse things could happen to their environments...the wild. I'm not for capturing endangered fish or the like, but what if you can successfully breed them to release back? The hermits you get in fish stores are just as likely to have been caught in the same way.
> 
> ...



Most states have laws against collecting things from the ocean. Soem places will not even let you take sand from the beack nevrmind live animals from the ocean. YOu need to double check your states laws and look into the details... The problem is that if everybody was allowed to take what they wanted out of the ocean then the habitat would be devistated.... Peopel go fishing but there are more fish than there are coral habitats--- nd the coral does not reproduce as quickley.....

Granted I am sure somehting in my tank is from the wild... However I would rather get my coral from places that try to breed in captivity. And if not that I would rathr get them fro ma place that has the proper paperwork to legally pull items out of hte sea.....

All I am sayign is that you should not be doing this.. YOu do it and then share your storry on this fourm or on any site and then everybody else thinks it is ok for them to do it to.. Soon everybody is doign it and the habitat is being hurt.....


Just think about it....


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2007)

lmao, just think about the law jason. if you dont know it, dont talk like you do . if you dont support taking things from the wild..but admit to probably having something in your tank from the wild, doesnt that make you a hypocrit? please do look around this forum, and understand that there are many posts with people who are taking things from the wild in an unethical manner and getting bashed hard for it. 

My words of wisdom, think before you speak. If you dont know for sure, dont talk like you do.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2007)

jasno999 said:


> Most states have laws against collecting things from the ocean.


NO! WRONG!
_SOME _states have limits or regulations but not made ILLEGAL. You need to stop preaching your "laws against taking marine life" until you get your facts straight!



jasno999 said:


> Peopel go fishing but there are more fish than there are coral habitats--- nd the coral does not reproduce as quickley.....


Please show me again where people were posting about collecting corals? I don't recall this ever being an issue...



jasno999 said:


> All I am sayign is that you should not be doing this.. YOu do it and then share your storry on this fourm or on any site and then everybody else thinks it is ok for them to do it to.. Soon everybody is doign it and the habitat is being hurt.....


Again, prove to me where this is hurting the environment, as in a credible source stating that small-scale collection like this damaging. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. You're just playing Mr. Eco-Friendly and until you have some actual proof to backup your anti-collection statements, you should not be going around the site making them.

If you are against wild collection, you're better off not keeping fish. Most, especially in the saltwater hobby, are caught from the wild and on a large scale.


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## stargate_geek (Dec 1, 2006)

Cool catches! I don't know how to dive, but I got to snorkel a couple times when I lived in Hawaii  My mom made me get out (I was 9 at the time) when she saw a barracuda, I just thought it was cool! We saw lots of cool fish though, I've wanted to do a reef tank ever since, but don't have the $$$


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

thanks.....its funny my friends have a lot more experience diving then I do and when we are done diving I got me about a half of 1 floating laundry basket full of fish and look over at their catch and they got like 3 full baskets oooooh one day I will top their catch....ha ha ha anyways you will be surprised at how many people wanna be your friend once they hear you got a boat...LOL!!! no worries guys we all have lic. to catch fish for the ornamental fish industry trade and the state puts strict regulations on what can be caught and what cannot....including size limitations on some species and some spots are closed on even years and only open on odd number years...so I hope that sheds some light on collecting....Aloha


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Hey, Wetpets, have you considered making your own artificial liverock? There are ways you can do this which will give you a whole tankful of great looking rock for a tiny fraction of the price of real liverock, and it would be legal in Hawaii. Try the GARF website for some ideas, and ask.com also has some good stuff in the DIY (do it yourself) sections.
I'd bet that a whole lot of hawaiian would-be reefleepers would love to get some homemade liverock, so that could be another market for you, maybe.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

I'm in 100% agreement with Mike & Scuba Kid. Jasno999 - stop with your preaching that you "think" you know it all about the laws. Florida, Hawaii, and other ocean beach coasts differ from state to state. I commend wetpetshawaii for his knowledge with his local laws on what he can and can't take out of the ocean. He has mentioned he has a license more than once in this forum topic. And to boot - he has caught some cool fishes & inverts for his FO tank.
I still like that hermit with the anemone on his shell. Makes me want to re-think of going FO instead of FOWLR setup for my future first SW tank. LOL !!


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

thanks...I will check out the sites to give me ideas to better my artificial live rock making skills...I have been building artificial reefs for a couple of years now....here is a couple of pictures on how mixing color with krylon paint, surfboard resin pigments,and red coraline color epoxy sticks to try and get the live rock look.....what do you think.....be honest oh the ornamental corals were not my choice I built the reef and my customer put the corals in 

oh dont worry using spray paint is safe and does not harm the fish after it has been through a curing process....though Im always open to learn new techniques....such as live rock aquaculture (turning dead rock back into a living rock) in a big 250 gallon vat.... havent tried that yet but its on my to do list for now fake live rock it is......taaaa daaaaam!!!




TheOldSalt said:


> Hey, Wetpets, have you considered making your own artificial liverock? There are ways you can do this which will give you a whole tankful of great looking rock for a tiny fraction of the price of real liverock, and it would be legal in Hawaii. Try the GARF website for some ideas, and ask.com also has some good stuff in the DIY (do it yourself) sections.
> I'd bet that a whole lot of hawaiian would-be reefleepers would love to get some homemade liverock, so that could be another market for you, maybe.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

hey no pilikia: (no peee leeee key a) means No problem guys Jasno 999 is probably just looking at it from the perspective that if everyone destructively takes things from the ocean, destroys reefs there will be nothing left for our children and grand children......I assure you Jasno999 that it is 100% illegal for us to break a single piece of coral off of the reef (even if a fish is hiding in it...we cant break the reef apart.....period or face heavy fines $$$ we have a list issued to us from the state with all the species,and scientific names of what we are allowed to catch, any fish size limitations,closed collecting areas,and what absolutely must never be caught or I risk having my lic/permits of my business taken away....I see where your coming from and I too want my children and grandchildren in the years to come to be able to enjoy our precious sea life.....the ornamental fish industry worldwide is a multi billion dollar industry together on the fresh and salt side.....Aloha


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Awesome tank, wetpetshawaii ! Love the Moorish Idols in there !!


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Hee! Those aren't Moorish Idols. Look closer.

Wetpets, that rock looks really good! It might even be safe. However, the paint fills and blocks all the pores, which kinda ruins the whole main reason you'd want liverock in the first place, right?
It's slower, but you really can make the good stuff, and since you have a 250 gallon vat handy, you're well on your way. You can't import love rock into hawaii, but can you import liquefied coralline algae and liquified sponge? You can get these by the gallon at GARF. Put that into a vat full of rock, dose with Aragamilk and Purple-up, remove filtration for a few days and provide strong light, and your little rockfarm should be up and running.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

Hey mahalo(thank you) I will try that....I will try and order this stuff online....we dont have any of that here.....bummers....I will try and aqauculture real live rock.....and yes you are right with the paint and resin it does fill the pores....It just looks like the tank has live rock in it but its stilla FO system.....thanks again....Aloha [email protected]





TheOldSalt said:


> Hee! Those aren't Moorish Idols. Look closer.
> 
> Wetpets, that rock looks really good! It might even be safe. However, the paint fills and blocks all the pores, which kinda ruins the whole main reason you'd want liverock in the first place, right?
> It's slower, but you really can make the good stuff, and since you have a 250 gallon vat handy, you're well on your way. You can't import love rock into hawaii, but can you import liquefied coralline algae and liquified sponge? You can get these by the gallon at GARF. Put that into a vat full of rock, dose with Aragamilk and Purple-up, remove filtration for a few days and provide strong light, and your little rockfarm should be up and running.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

Those are very fat heniochus.....in the customers tank....they overfeed their fish I know because I maintain their tank every two weeks and theres so much food in there....but the fish are all fat and healthy...Aloha [email protected]





Ice said:


> Awesome tank, wetpetshawaii ! Love the Moorish Idols in there !!


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## jasno999 (Oct 16, 2006)

wetpetshawaii said:


> hey no pilikia: (no peee leeee key a) means No problem guys Jasno 999 is probably just looking at it from the perspective that if everyone destructively takes things from the ocean, destroys reefs there will be nothing left for our children and grand children......I assure you Jasno999 that it is 100% illegal for us to break a single piece of coral off of the reef (even if a fish is hiding in it...we cant break the reef apart.....period or face heavy fines $$$ we have a list issued to us from the state with all the species,and scientific names of what we are allowed to catch, any fish size limitations,closed collecting areas,and what absolutely must never be caught or I risk having my lic/permits of my business taken away....I see where your coming from and I too want my children and grandchildren in the years to come to be able to enjoy our precious sea life.....the ornamental fish industry worldwide is a multi billion dollar industry together on the fresh and salt side.....Aloha



Thank you. You are the first person that gets it.

I am not sure why I am being attacked by some of the others like "Scuba Kid". I never said I knew all the laws. If you re-read my posts I am saying that everybody should look into their state laws, ordinances and such to find out what they can and can not take. I don't know all the specific laws in FL and every other state. However I do know there are regulations in place. For example the Tampa bay company that supplies live rock- they had limits on what they can collect from the wild on a daily basis and they need permits to do it. Now they have a system where they cultivate rock in the ocean and they can take more out.

Heck I know in NJ it is not legal to take sand from the beach. 

My point is I know there are some regulations in place. They are there to protect the environment. Granted if 200 people in FL go to he beach and take a few things from it I bet not much will happen. However the mindset being portrayed is that this action is ok. And if it is ok for you then it is ok for me and for everybody else.... Therefore as prices of store purchased items go up more and more people will turn to the beach to get things for free... Nobody will think there is anything wrong in doing that and after a while you can run into a situation where the habitat is being decimated by people who are taking creatures out of it....

Really there is no reason to attack me. I am all for the reefs and the oceans. I want what is best for them and I want to make sure that as we do take items out of the ocean that it is done do in an orderly process with controls. That way we will not decimated any habitats and things will be around for years to come.....


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Let me give you a piece of good advice that will serve you well in your years to come on internet message boards, jasno:

Don't start fires if you can't take the heat.

[gump] That's all I have to say about that. [/gump]


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2007)

Hmm...

Posted by you in this thread:


jasno999 said:


> _YOu should not be takign things out of the water. It is illegal and there is a reason for that._


Posted by you in this thread: http://www.fishforums.com/forum/general-saltwater/17970-upside-down-jellyfish-really-reef-safe.html



jasno999 said:


> _Ha ha--_
> 
> _Kind of serves you right for taking something out of the ocean illegally...... _


Now I call you hypocritical. 


By the way, collection by hobbyists should be the least of your worries in terms of ocean habitat destruction.


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2007)

Jasno, I respect what you're trying to say. I get your point. Don't collect from the ocean/reefs illegally. But I personally feel that there was no reason to accuse or assume people were collecting illegally. I think you went about it wrong in the wrong place. The people who posted in this thread about collecting never even mentioned collecting reef parts/frags. 

You went from saying "taking creatures" from their habitat in a vague way to saying that you meant destroying reefs illegally, which noone to my knowledge in this thread has done. If you're going to say something, stick to one story and know what you're talking about. Other people in this thread have done that well. 

When you replied and quoted my initial post toward you, which I haven't commented on yet, you merely reiterated what you'd already said and didn't debunk anything I had said. It really had nothing to do with this thread; not having been about illegally collecting or collecting reef parts. I posted about collecting fish or the like, not about reefs. I understand the results of illegally taking from the reef. That's not what this was about. I understand the law. "YOu need to double check your states laws and look into the details" No, I really don't, I know my state laws, as do the people who posted and responded to this thread. Most of them anyway .

Don't accuse people. Don't assume. Post relavent information that doesn't accuse the OP of illegal activities. That was wrong . If you want to talk about illegally/legally taking from the ocean, make another thread about it. Don't jump on someone else's. Maybe now you'll understand why people have jumped on this topic so heavily.


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## s13 (Aug 17, 2007)

Guys I just picked up a sweet baby sea turtle at the beach today, I have it in the ol 20 gallon with all the hermits. I think he loves it! I have been feeding him chopped up hot dogs and hes doing great!



































JOKE JOKE JOKE JOKE JOKE JUST KIDDING OMG DONT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY

But on a serious note: lol.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

LOL you had me going.....ha ha ha


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

ROFLMAO !!! Don't tell me you got gullible already wetpetshawaii ... ROFLMAO !!!!


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Ichthius said:


> Jasno, I respect what you're trying to say. I get your point. Don't collect from the ocean/reefs illegally. But I personally feel that there was no reason to accuse or assume people were collecting illegally. I think you went about it wrong in the wrong place. The people who posted in this thread about collecting never even mentioned collecting reef parts/frags.
> 
> You went from saying "taking creatures" from their habitat in a vague way to saying that you meant destroying reefs illegally, which noone to my knowledge in this thread has done. If you're going to say something, stick to one story and know what you're talking about. Other people in this thread have done that well.
> 
> ...


Well said !!


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

you had me going for like three seconds.....you should have seen my face as I was reading.....WHAAAAAAAT A TURTLE!!! I see tons of those when Im diving but if we bother them we can go to jail.....that made me laugh....My fiance thought I was going crazy laughing at the computer....


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

Todays catch....flounder,harlequin shrimp....and the flame wrasse male that got away(went through a hole in my net)......bummers!!!(oh I guess that does not fall into the todays catch catagory.....gotta start a new thred todays $100 mistake..LOL!!!


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Hey wetpetshawaii - anymore catches since you last posted ? :smile:


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

here ya go......have a safe Christmas and New year everyone!!!

mele kalikimaka e hou oli makahiki hou


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