Well said keepnatives and irate morman. I did mention go with caution. But unlike irate I am ascared of those suckers (when close). Fear of creatures that can harm is healthy, but knowledge of them can help you. No offense meant, but I believe that most of these post were pointed directetly at me. It seems as though every time I say something it turns into kill the nativecajun week. And yes my comprehension skills are limited and that is why when I write something I read it over and over about three of four times and I also read others over and over. Well like morman said enough figh-tin for now. I said my piece and that is my story and I am sticking to it (grin). I am a very easily threatened person that suffers from things that I will not mention if you havent figured it out yet "LOL" that little pills of different colors have to help me with but they do not always work. So my appoligies if I said anything out of line.

But all in all if a good debate ends up with some benificial thoughts at the end it is a good thing. And I think any youngin that reads this whole post will come out much more open minded and educated about gators, and will truely know that Cajuns are a bit on the wild side which I will admit proudly to anyone.

And what is a southern fish-head?

Y'all can fight if you want. I ain't ascared a gators. I'm aware that they can put a hurtin' on ya if so inclined. I give 'em space and they don't bother me none. Marvelous creatures.

"cichlids of every stripe"

Where is this Hwy 41 you speak of. Is that in the everglades or what. I have seen Tilipia, Oscars, and walking catfish in the everglades and some unknown that I could not ID but which looked very handsome. I have often wondered. You are not supposed to remove anyghing living I think is the saying about parks. But I wonder since these are non-endemnic if the park rangers would be amused if you removed as many as you could. Just wondering. I must ask next time I am down there splashing a paddle on the water to see if the alligators com-a-running to me (grin). I would love to start a chicllid tank and thought it would be neat to say I have caught them. But chichlids of every stripe? I thought the water would be very soft down thee. Just curious where the hwy 41 is you speak of and the water parameters there. If you can give me a landmark that is fairly close to that area I can find it on Google Earth maybe.

Thanks in Advance, and may every one have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed new year.

Daniel

The place I was refering to, Loop road, is a well known dirt road in the Everglades. Google it, it should turn up. There's a nice little clear water creek that runs along the road with several spots to pull over and see the gators.
We saw LOTS of cichlids, especially what seemed to be convicts, but also oscars and others that I couldn't id without catching one. Something I would not have tried as I said, 'cause the gators would' ve gotten my net away from me.
I didn't do any collecting in the Everglades but I did do some saltwater fishing. A saltwater license is required as well as a freshwater license if you stay in freshwater. Beyond that I never looked into the laws regarding catching cichlids. Seems to me if they let you fish, you could get all the cichlids you could ever want with hook and line. I never saw anything that said only catch and release fishing was allowed.
As far as water chemistry, I never checked it, but everything there was limestone. All the rocks laying around were like white limestone often with fossilized shells throughout. I'd have to guess that would be pretty hard, high pH water. I didn't check it though, so don't go by me.

"Cichlids of every stripe" was an exaggeration, of course, but there's about 6 or 8 species visible at any given time. Mayans, Oscars, Red Devils, Jewels, Dempseys, Convicts, Acaras, etc... are usually found, along with quite a number of non-cichlid exotics.
41 is perhaps better known as "The Tamiami Trail." It runs more or less parallel to Alligator Alley, ( I-75 ) about 20 miles south of it, through the Everglades. You'll see more gators along 75, but 41 doesn't have the fence keeping you away from the water. There are only a very very few spots along this skinny 2-lane road where you can stop, and the one I'm talking about is about 1/3 of the way across the swamp, going west to east. It's a wonderful place to see, no matter if you interests lie in herps, fish, insects or plants; theplace is chock full of fantastic diversity and exotic flavor even among the native stuff. The bugs will chew you to pieces, though, so bring protection. Tossing a gaily-colored grasshopper of a sort you never even imagined into the canal will bring a lot of fish close to you for inspection, and you'll like what you see. Real sunlight of tropical intensity really brings out the best colors in fishes, and you'll be impressed by how much better these fish look than the ones you see in stores. That's where I saw my first festae, and I was mesmerized.

Along I-75, by the way, at exit 14, I think, which is pretty much the only exit along the whole width of the Alligator Alley, is a truckstop run by native americans. It's a pretty neat little place as truckstops go, but it has a canal running beside it as well, this time with a fence around it. The water there is also full of gators and exotic fish that you can easily view, but these gators are commonly fed by humans. It's pretty easy to see the difference in their demeanor, and it's a good thing there's a fence.

Back to the topic of fish catching and/or watching...

Not so sure about snorkeling, but catching fish should be fun. I've used a cheap wal-mart net in the ditches before and have came up with sailfin mollies, bluefin killifish, and Heterandria. You can fish in smaller waters while staying very near the bank and still come up with interesting fish.

thanks for the responses... i'll post pictures if i get any worth seeing while i'm here

thanks for the responses... i'll post pictures if i get any worth seeing while i'm here

Don't pass up any water without good reason, years ago my brother-in-law stopped at a gas station in the city of Jacksonville and I grabbed my ten inch aquarium net jumped in the roadside ditch and by the time he filled the tank I caught enough Sailfin Mollies , Flagfish, least killies, golden ear killies and I think some pygmy sunfish to fill mine. He quickly jumped in to join me but made the mistake of leaning on the bank on a nest of fire ants. Later on walking over a boardwalk to get over to another area to sample he was leading the way and both of us were looking more to the side for wildlife when I noticed he was about to step near a rattlesnake sunning on the boardwalk. I figured if I said anything he'd stop right next to the coiled snake. So I said nothing and hoped he wouldn't step directly on it. He didn't, the snake rattled some but let him walk by. After he got a few steps away I pointed out what he almost stepped on and never saw or heard. I've never yet found Flagfish as colorful as those from that gas station ditch.

The good news is that I caught some fish. Unfortunately, my camera stopped working before this happened. During the trip I kept (loose) track of the fish/invertebrates that I saw (though there were a few more in the pond that I couldn't identify from the bank). Here it is:

Ocean
Boxfish? (dead on beach)
Portuguese Man o' War
Assorted jellies

Mangrove Swamp
Atlantic Needlefish
Checkered Pufferfish
Mangrove crab
Striped Mullet
Snapping/Popping Shrimp

Freshwater Pond
Fundulus chrysotus
Heterandria formosa (kept a few of these guys)
Gambusia affinis
Lucania parva? (Tons of whatever this was, I couldn't identify it for sure)
Lucania goodei
Palaemonetes paludosus? (Ghost/grass shrimp)
Ramshorn? snail (genus Planorbella?)
Tilapia? (saw this one in a canal near the pond)
Various sunfish
Peacock Bass (caught by an angler on the pond next to this one)
Etheostoma fusiforme

I found the spot on Google Earth. I have traveled this road several times with my wife. And I must agree that it is the most beautiful drive one can ask for. Native fauna, birds, fish etc etc makes for a wonderful drive. I have probably stopped at that exact spot since it looks familiar and it is about the only place on that road that I also have found that one can get off of the road any distance at all. Thanks for the info again and I will definatly check it out next time down. Hopefully now that we have my Sons Wedding, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all behind us we may be able to afford to do the everglades in a month or two. I also have not checked the water down there but just assumed I guess that it would be soft since it "appears" to be the same kind of habbitat as in South America. And I will definatly check the fish out down there when I pass through. As I recall I did not venture off of the road but a few feet. Seems there was a store or something there. So maybe that is not the loop road I was on. But still an amazing spot.

Thanks again,
Daniel

The place I was refering to, Loop road, is a well known dirt road in the Everglades. Google it, it should turn up. There's a nice little clear water creek that runs along the road with several spots to pull over and see the gators.
We saw LOTS of cichlids, especially what seemed to be convicts, but also oscars and others that I couldn't id without catching one. Something I would not have tried as I said, 'cause the gators would' ve gotten my net away from me.
I didn't do any collecting in the Everglades but I did do some saltwater fishing. A saltwater license is required as well as a freshwater license if you stay in freshwater. Beyond that I never looked into the laws regarding catching cichlids. Seems to me if they let you fish, you could get all the cichlids you could ever want with hook and line. I never saw anything that said only catch and release fishing was allowed.
As far as water chemistry, I never checked it, but everything there was limestone. All the rocks laying around were like white limestone often with fossilized shells throughout. I'd have to guess that would be pretty hard, high pH water. I didn't check it though, so don't go by me.

Florida is almost as good as North Carolina for different water types. Florida panhandle has rivers like Alabama, with some swamps and black water. The Santa Fe river is hard water; so hard that saltwater fish can live in it. Lake Eustis is alkaline. Other areas in the center of the Florida are so sandy that the water is very soft. Down by the Everglades there is much coral and limestone. Also brackish in estuaries.

I found the spot on Google Earth. I have traveled this road several times with my wife. And I must agree that it is the most beautiful drive one can ask for. Native fauna, birds, fish etc etc makes for a wonderful drive. I have probably stopped at that exact spot since it looks familiar and it is about the only place on that road that I also have found that one can get off of the road any distance at all. Thanks for the info again and I will definatly check it out next time down. Hopefully now that we have my Sons Wedding, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all behind us we may be able to afford to do the everglades in a month or two. I also have not checked the water down there but just assumed I guess that it would be soft since it "appears" to be the same kind of habbitat as in South America. And I will definatly check the fish out down there when I pass through. As I recall I did not venture off of the road but a few feet. Seems there was a store or something there. So maybe that is not the loop road I was on. But still an amazing spot.

Thanks again,
Daniel

Shows I am no expert on water. Very interesting. Would think all of Florida would be amazonish. How is that for and educatued word. So much for me just a goin and scoopin up a fish down there and putting in my water up here, you just blew all my plans.

Florida is almost as good as North Carolina for different water types. Florida panhandle has rivers like Alabama, with some swamps and black water. The Santa Fe river is hard water; so hard that saltwater fish can live in it. Lake Eustis is alkaline. Other areas in the center of the Florida are so sandy that the water is very soft. Down by the Everglades there is much coral and limestone. Also brackish in estuaries.