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Saltwater Bay Collecting

Started by Guest_madtom123_* , Jan 31 2012 04:10 PM

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#1 Guest_madtom123_*

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 04:10 PM

Hi again everyone,

I was thinking about a whole new section of collecting lately. Beside from freshwater collecting, does anyone have any experience collecting in saltwater? I have a boat that i always take to the bay several times every spring and summer. Specifically the Barnaget Bay in New Jersey. I fish for bluefish, fluke, and striped bass there. On the shallow flats there is weed growth and rocks in some places. I had just begun to think about what i could catch with a seine or dip net in that stuff. I tried to look for information but i could not find any. Does anyone think this sounds like an interesting idea,and has anyone ever collected in saltwater before?

PS: I will not be collecting to keep anything, saltwater tanks are way past my budget! Just catch and release. :biggrin:

#2 Guest_davidjh2_*

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 04:53 PM

I remember seining in the Barnegat Bay as a kid back in the late 70's and early 80's. We were looking for bait though not collecting. We did do well as I remember. Most of the bay is shallow enough for wading too.

#3 Guest_madtom123_*

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 05:03 PM

I remember seining in the Barnegat Bay as a kid back in the late 70's and early 80's. We were looking for bait though not collecting. We did do well as I remember. Most of the bay is shallow enough for wading too.

do you remember any of the speciesyou caught?

#4 Guest_davidjh2_*

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 09:14 AM

I don't know their scientific names but I know we caught small Oyster Crackers,Spearing,and small Blue Claw Crabs. I know we caught more types of fish but I can't recall the species.

#5 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 10:42 AM

Around the edge of the bay around any salt marsh you could net a variety of killifishes - mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus), striped killifish (F. majalis), sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) and rainwater killifish (Lucania parva), all good aquarium fish except maybe the striped killifish. If you look in the upper marsh in what looks to be really wet mud you find the spotfin killifish (F. luciae) that will look very similar to a small mummichog until you look more closely, and it's a good aquarium fish too once you wash the mud of them.

#6 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 12:21 PM

I've collected a little bit in similar habitat in North Carolina. Besides the fish Fundulus mentioned (of which the first three constituted the great majority of what I caught) I also found pinfish, pipefish, tongue soles, blennies, fat sleepers, silversides, mosquitofish, and juveniles of various larger fish such as flounder, snappers, and tripletail; I also saw stingrays and small sharks of some kind. Of course there were also different types of shrimp, crabs, snails, comb jellies, scallops, clams, oysters, mussels, squids, isopods...all sorts of interesting critters. These were all caught with a dipnet in water mostly less than knee deep. Different microhabitats yield different species.

Don't be too intimidated by the complicated reef tanks- you can set up a salt water tank pretty much like a basic freshwater tank. You just have a couple more water parameters to keep track of, and of course the expense of salt. Bay species have to be pretty tolerant of fluctuating temperature, salinity, etc., so precise control is not crucial.

#7 littlen

NANFA Member

Washington, D.C.

Posted 01 February 2012 - 01:28 PM

Madtom, I completely agree with what Nate said. I have done a lot of collecting all around the Chesapeake Bay and have found all those species. My only advice would be to know what you are taking home with you as many juveniles of larger, predatory fish will also make marshes/estuaries/bays their home (Drum, Snapper, Jacks, Bluefish, etc). As you know, a 45 gallon tank is not suitable for them once they get some size on them. And of course, re-release is not an option.

You could make a really cool habitat containing inverts AND fish with species found on the coasts. Piles of oyster shells, whelk (and other snail) shells make awesome habitat to keep things like: Skilletfish, blennies, gobies, killis, Mud crabs, Grass shrimp, etc.

Good luck. I'm interested in what you come up with.

Nick L.

#8 Guest_madtom123_*

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 08:15 PM

Thanks everyone,

I cannot wait to try to do this. Maybe a saltwater bay tank would be cool. I may have to ditch that freshwater one i was talking about earlier though. What would i need as far as plants and rocks? Would it be possible for me to take rock from the bay and consider it live rock? Should i collect anh plants for the tank? This bay tank sounds like a really cool idea. I like it especially because i am not there that often so it would be nice to be able to be reminded of it every once in a while. I actually have a good amount of knowledge of saltwater tank set up. I was going to start my own reef tank this winter. I researched for months on how to set one up but in the end i just couldnt deal with the huge price. Heres what i assume i would need for this.....
55 gallon tank
sand....bagged, not natural bay sand correct?
lighting.....i guess i would have to do t5 but that could come later.
Heater....this is interesting. the temp changes for the fish in the wildwould i even need a heater?
Protein skimmer: i assume this would be a necessity?
powerheads...would it be a good idea to provide some current?
test kits
salt mix
Decor...rocks and plants.....how would i do this...?

This seems like an interesting idea. I would love to try and make a tank like this. I read on a web site that this one guy got all of his saltwater fish through collecting the colorful tropical fish that got swept up here by the gulf stream. I'm not sure if this is true though. He claimed to be catching tangs and other warm water species. Anyone have any idea if this might be true?
I would love to make this into a project and keep you updated on how I do it.

#9 Guest_AquaticEngineer_*

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Posted 02 February 2012 - 02:27 AM

This is actually all I do now for my aquariums.

I have a 325 gallon combined coldwater marine system with all animals I've collected.

Check the NOAA website and find what the high and low water temps for the area you are collecting in are for the last year and try to keep your tank somewhere in the middle ideally. You will most likely not need a heater, but more likely you'll need a chiller.

If you decide you want any marine species of fish or invertebrates from the Northeast Pacific, I'm licensed to collect and sell my catch.

#10 Guest_AquaticEngineer_*

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Posted 02 February 2012 - 02:46 AM

http://www.nodc.noaa.../cwtg/catl.html

Found this for you, hopefully it is helpful

The highest recorded water temperature for areas near Barnegat Bay last year is 73F in August and the lowest was 37F in January. Its currently in the mid 40's right now.

I would try and keep your tank in or around the 55F mark which is right in the middle of those temps, and right where I keep mine also.

So if you are going to run your tank temps below room temp you will want to have an acrylic tank, ideally as thick as possible, to help insulate the water and prevent condensation build up.

Another good link is this one:
http://www.dpcalc.org/
Its a dewpoint calculator that you can use to figure out when condensation would occur on your tank.

Edited by AquaticEngineer, 02 February 2012 - 02:51 AM.

#11 Guest_madtom123_*

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Posted 02 February 2012 - 03:53 PM

Thanks for the input engineer. I chekced out the links. Very helpful thanks for getting them for me. A 325 gallon tank seems really cool, what kinds of fish do you keep in it? Also, what kinds of fish do you sell that would be suitable for my tank to be (also any fish that look cool). Do you know if i can get live rock from the bay? What about plant life? Also, would it be a good idea to keep any types of crabs in my tank?

Oh and by the way, do you keep a protein skimmer on your tank? Would you suggest one?

Edited by madtom123, 02 February 2012 - 03:54 PM.

#12 Guest_AquaticEngineer_*

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Posted 03 February 2012 - 04:00 PM

Thanks for the input engineer. I chekced out the links. Very helpful thanks for getting them for me. A 325 gallon tank seems really cool, what kinds of fish do you keep in it? Also, what kinds of fish do you sell that would be suitable for my tank to be (also any fish that look cool). Do you know if i can get live rock from the bay? What about plant life? Also, would it be a good idea to keep any types of crabs in my tank?

Oh and by the way, do you keep a protein skimmer on your tank? Would you suggest one?

Search my previous posts here and you'll find some good pictures of my tanks and the kinds of fish I keep. I can send you a list of the species I can get if you'd like, it has scientific names as well which makes it really easy to google image search.

Collection of rock is a state by state issue, what state will you be collecting it in? I can check it out for you and look into the legality. Plants and algae is the same thing as the rock, also the same as most animals. So check with local fish and game and maybe Dept of agriculture.

I keep a bunch of different crabs in my tanks, shore crabs I use only as food for my octopus though. Just do your research on what they eat before you find out the hard way

#13 Guest_madtom123_*

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Posted 04 February 2012 - 07:22 PM

Yeah if you wouldn't mind sending me a list of what you can collect that would be great.

#14 Guest_AquaticEngineer_*

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Posted 05 February 2012 - 08:36 PM

Yeah if you wouldn't mind sending me a list of what you can collect that would be great.

I'll PM it to you.

If anyone else is interested let me know

#15 Guest_AquaticEngineer_*

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Posted 08 February 2012 - 02:10 AM

If you get out there collecting anytime soon, keep an eye out for any of the east coast species of cool water seahorses. I wanna get a few to go with my coldwater pipefish.

#16 Guest_madtom123_*

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Posted 08 February 2012 - 09:13 PM

If you get out there collecting anytime soon, keep an eye out for any of the east coast species of cool water seahorses. I wanna get a few to go with my coldwater pipefish.

Ok i will. And are there any speciesof octopus i could catch myself around the new jersey area? maybe some small tidepool octopus? If i could catch one on my own, i would definitely be willing to make a tank out of it. Not that i don't want yours, i just want to catch one i think it would be so cool. I did a lot of searching onlie but found all of tide pool and small octopus caugfht to be in the pacific coast pools.

#17 Guest_AquaticEngineer_*

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Posted 08 February 2012 - 09:37 PM

Ok i will. And are there any speciesof octopus i could catch myself around the new jersey area? maybe some small tidepool octopus? If i could catch one on my own, i would definitely be willing to make a tank out of it. Not that i don't want yours, i just want to catch one i think it would be so cool. I did a lot of searching onlie but found all of tide pool and small octopus caugfht to be in the pacific coast pools.

If you are looking for resources about octopus make sure and check out www.TONMO.com, that will be your best online asset. I'll poke around and see what kind of info I can come up with on North Atlantic cephalopod species.

Edited by AquaticEngineer, 08 February 2012 - 09:37 PM.

#18 Guest_AquaticEngineer_*

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Posted 16 February 2012 - 02:16 AM

Octopus Vulgaris could possibly be found in your area. Keep an eye out

Or talk to someone who divers regularly or does collections for the marine trade and I bet you can find a native one.

#19 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 16 February 2012 - 07:47 AM

I collected around Corson Inlet in NJ a year and a half ago. We were mostly fishing for flounder but I broke out collecting gear and minnow traps after a while. Definitely got tons of mummichogs, some sheepshead minnows, a few striped killifish and rainwater killifish. I would've loved to have found spotfin killifish but probably didn't know where to look. In the less marshy area I seined some of the actual inlet and remember coming up with some pipefish and a few small flounder, as well as some grass shrimp. I believe there were more species but can't remember them off the top of my head right now. It was definitely fun and cool to see a different assemblage of fish.

#20 Guest_madtom123_*

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Posted 17 February 2012 - 03:57 PM

ok cool thanks a bunch, i would love to find an octopus around here. I will try and find someone who might know more about the area. And thats cool about the variety of fish you caught. When it gets warm ill go down there and try it out. I'll take pictures of what i find and show you guys here on the forum.

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