A little taste o' salt

I've noticed not alot of people here have much interest in marine fish. I also wonder if there is a bias against the use of the word "tropical" as being sort of the opposite of "native".
Nevertheless, there are numerous really cool native marine fish that are perfect for aquarium life. That includes the ones from warmer places. They're still "native" and can be hand collected by anyone here who is a reasonable drive from anywhere on the Atlantic or Gulf coasts [the Pacific is a whole nother ballgame].
For that reason, I am continuing my efforts to introduce saltwater natives to those willing to take a look.

I had a very reduced fall season this year. Being unemployed in September really set me back and the dismally poor surf fishing this season has killed my incentive to go much in October. I did get to make two weekend trips and saw and caught a few cool fish. What follows are pics from the temporary tank I set up to acclimate and tame my new additions from those two trips.
It's an oddball mix of cool water and tropical, er, I mean warm water species.



I inadvertently grabbed a pair of rainwater killies when I was blind netting for sticklebacks.





Despite bragging about how easily I could get sticklebacks, I didn't turn up too many. Of course I didn't spend much time in the marsh either. I did get two each of 3 spine and 4 spine. In the second pic of the rainwaters above you can see a top view of a threespine that shows the lateral keel on the caudal peduncle. That is the feature that I look for when I'm shining a flashlight down on a school of sleeping silversides hoping to find a stickleback or two mixed in.
They are one of my favorite salt/brackish cool water native.



The fourspine is also a great fish, if a little nippy at times.


Finishing up with the cool water stuff, ghost shrimp can be found in amazing numbers in the saltmarshes and make interesting scavengers as well as great feeders.


Stay tuned for the warm water species.

A big part of my fall collecting trips is the hunt for strays from the warmer regions to the south. The Gulf Stream carries eggs and larvae from certain resilient species as far as the Gulf of Maine and beyond. When their arrival in the north coincides with warm summer water temps, the recently transformed post-larvae are able to survive on the rocky reefs and jetties until late fall water temps finally kill them.
It's a pretty slick strategy really. It must allow those species to colonize distant waters as well as expanding their range if climate change warms the waters further north. That is the reason spotfin butterflyfish can be found throughout the entire Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic from Maine to Brazil.
Spotfins are by far the most abundant coral reef species to show up in New England. They must arrive here by the thousands. They are absolutely reliable. In almost 20 years, I have never seen a season when they couldn't be seen in good numbers. That can not be said for any other tropical.
In warm water years, the first post-larvae may settle out as early as July. They find plenty to eat and in those years, fairly large subadults can be found in September and October. When they get that big, they're almost impossible to catch with hand nets. The little dime sized ones are much more common and much easier to catch. The downside is they can be a little trickier to acclimate. The good news is, if you can get them eating, and they survive their first week in captivity, they're all set and will live for years.
These are typical of the size most often seen in New England.



You can see the odd shaped face of the post-larvae. A few weeks of good feeding and they will change to the more familiar adult shape.


Another tropical species that shares the reproductive stategy, as well as the extensive range as the spotfin, is the scrawled cowfish. They are more commonly found in the eel grass beds. I've only ever found two around the rocky jetties I hunt. The first was a tiny one that only lived a few days in my tank. The one I found this year is about the size of a golf ball. I googled this fish and found very little useful captive care info. Mostly everybody just goes on about their ability to release toxic chemicals and kill all your fish. I had to wing it when finding a way to get him feeding but have succeeded. It'll be interesting to see how he does long term.
An odd looking fish to be sure!




Well, that's all the tropicals I got this year.
Normally, my Rhode Island trips are more heavily geared to surf fishing for striped bass, bluefish and false albacore. This has been an odd season though. Bait fish have been very scarce. I didn't have a fraction of the success I normally do.
I did get a few nice stripers though.


No matter what I catch or see, a trip to Rhode Island in the Fall is one of my favorite things in life. One of these days I'm gonna run away from home and move down there and be a beach bum.


Hope you enjoyed!

Very nice! I would definitely keep some saltwater natives if I wasn't afraid of killing them and I lived a little closer to the Atlantic.

Nothing wrong with saltwater natives, i did saltwater reef keeping for a few years including fish, until my wife told me it was either cool it or take out another mortage on my house. Those fish are beautiful and interesting, not the opposite of native just a different facet of our diamond. My main reason for switching to freshwater fish native to the U.S. was interest, it was a different facet as well to me and today when i say i keep natives most people look at me like That dont compute but when i show them the fish most that have any interest at all in fish say HMMMM!! that does compute. So i say to you...Do what floats your boat and i, will look on and still feel a warm spot for one of my past endeavours that just became less interesting to me at the time.

I like brackish fish. I have two small brackish tanks now, a ten and a twenty, with brackish tropicals. Someday I'd like to try some brackish natives.

[quote name='mikez' date='Oct 24 2008, 06:47 PM' post='48270']
I've noticed not alot of people here have much interest in marine fish.

HI Mikez
i enjoyed the pic's of your new fish.
have you ever caught one that shocked you?
i few years back I was in Texas on the coast with my net and
I netted a few fish that were 3" long dark tan color when i picked up the fish
it gave me a electric shock mild but enough to leave them alone.
My hands tingled for a few hours

Stargazer.

Unless the fish that zapped you was obviously a thick, chubby stingray-looking critter, I'd have to bet that the electric fish that got you was a Stargazer. ( The ray is called a Torpedo )

I once dove in and found myself literally face to face with a startled Stargazer at the bottom. A most peculiar, if unpleasant, sensation then followed. DC current hurts a lot more than AC, and it felt like someone had grabbed the bridge of my nose, right between my eyes, with a pair of pliers.

Hi Mike,

If you're willing, I'd love to see a thread in the native plants section about how you are keeping coldwater algae, etc. I see stuff washed up on the beaches here that I think would be awfully nice in a tank. You've got me going now about putting together a salt water tank after we move, but of course... I'd like it to be planted...

Substrate, species, anything you have something to say on?

Hi Mike,

If you're willing, I'd love to see a thread in the native plants section about how you are keeping coldwater algae, etc. I see stuff washed up on the beaches here that I think would be awfully nice in a tank. You've got me going now about putting together a salt water tank after we move, but of course... I'd like it to be planted...

Substrate, species, anything you have something to say on?

I was afraid someone would ask me that.
I really wish I knew how to keep that stuff growing long term. I have to assume it takes intense lighting, possibly faithful reproduction of ocean water chemistry as well. I don't use heavy lighting on salt tanks for algae reasons and store bought salt, in my opinion, does not reproduce ocean water chemistry closely enough.

The fact is, all those plants you saw in my tank actually are serving a very important role in acclimating my new fish to cativity. The little butterflyfish as well as the cowfish are very reluctant to feed on unfamiliar food in the first few days to a week of captivity. Being grazers used to muching all day, they lose body mass incredibly fast if they don't eat. A few days without food usually weakens them beyond recovery. I believe this is the real reason most people fail to succeed with the little butterflies.
The role of the seaweed is to provide little sessile critters, snail eggs, algae and other tidbits for the fish to graze on while they aclimate to captivity. Little by little, they get more relaxed and start to sample the frozen brine, fish market mussels and other strange foods. Eventually they will have grazed off most of the food from the plants and come to rely on the food I provide - mission accomplished.
Unfortunately, over time, the seaweed will start to break down and have to be removed. I really wish I could keep the stuff growing because I love the look of it. I have been known to keep replacing it with freshly collected stuff just cause I like it. The only problem with that is all the larval crabs that come in on the weeds. They're really good at evading the fish and growing to large destructive size.
It's my understanding that the brown marine algaes are difficult even for advanced aquarists with hightech gear. If anyone knows something I don't, I'd love to hear it.

I was afraid someone would ask me that.
I really wish I knew how to keep that stuff growing long term. I have to assume it takes intense lighting, possibly faithful reproduction of ocean water chemistry as well. I don't use heavy lighting on salt tanks for algae reasons and store bought salt, in my opinion, does not reproduce ocean water chemistry closely enough.

The fact is, all those plants you saw in my tank actually are serving a very important role in acclimating my new fish to cativity. The little butterflyfish as well as the cowfish are very reluctant to feed on unfamiliar food in the first few days to a week of captivity. Being grazers used to muching all day, they lose body mass incredibly fast if they don't eat. A few days without food usually weakens them beyond recovery. I believe this is the real reason most people fail to succeed with the little butterflies.
The role of the seaweed is to provide little sessile critters, snail eggs, algae and other tidbits for the fish to graze on while they aclimate to captivity. Little by little, they get more relaxed and start to sample the frozen brine, fish market mussels and other strange foods. Eventually they will have grazed off most of the food from the plants and come to rely on the food I provide - mission accomplished.
Unfortunately, over time, the seaweed will start to break down and have to be removed. I really wish I could keep the stuff growing because I love the look of it. I have been known to keep replacing it with freshly collected stuff just cause I like it. The only problem with that is all the larval crabs that come in on the weeds. They're really good at evading the fish and growing to large destructive size.
It's my understanding that the brown marine algaes are difficult even for advanced aquarists with hightech gear. If anyone knows something I don't, I'd love to hear it.

There are several good marine algaes available at about any good marine fish store, i found that the ones that require low light worked best for me, Google Inland aquatics he usully has a good supply of different things and he ships

There are several good marine algaes available at about any good marine fish store, i found that the ones that require low light worked best for me, Google Inland aquatics he usully has a good supply of different things and he ships

I'll definitely keep them in mind. I am thinking, however, of a more locally-flavored tank (lower Chesapeake Bay). I really enjoy having plants I've collected myself. But, if I can't seem to get it going, I'd rather buy plants/algae than not have any.

Interesting. Have you tried ulva in your tanks at all? Does algae grow well if put into saltwater vats in an outdoor situation?

Absolutely! It grows like mad, in fact. The catch, though, is that you have to keep the water from getting too warm. That means a chilling system OR massive water volume.

It seems like what you'd really want are plants from deeper water, accustomed to lower light. Anything you can collect walking on the beach is by definition adapted to direct sunlight all day long.

I have experimented a few times with keeping some of the various local species of marine algae, types that would be typical in the lower bay. It has been my experience that these types of algae just don't do well in home aquaria. I think it was a combination of a lack of trace elements, sufficient lighting, and water movement. I believe that these types of algae could be cultured and sustained in a home aquarium using methods employed by reef keepers. Try to use strong lighting, at least 4-5 watts a gallon, with a combination of actinic and full spectrum lighting, lots of water movement, and doding of trace minerals. For some reason, Iodine comes to mind as a very important one, but I can't for the life of me remember why. I was moderately succesful for a period of about six months with some types, whereas other types just died. It's also important to realize that most of these algaes will only grow on hard surfaces. Rocks, shells and the like. Most of the seaweed that you find washed up on the beach has been detached and is most likely dying. I collected from areas that were abundant in shells, particuraly oyster shells, and only took specimens that were attached to something. You can also find a large variety of sponges in that kind of habitat, many of which are very colorful, but require infusoria to keep alive. be careful what you bring into the tank too, as I have found mantis shrimp in my tanks after bringing in algae. Mantis shrimp are very efficeint piscivores, and can quickly decimate a tank of smaller fish.
i might have to experiment some more this summer. Two ten gallon tanks, about 45 watts flourescent lighting, two full spectrum, one actinic. One tank will have frequent water changes of natural saltwater, the other a more normal schedule. It'll be interesting to see what happens

Thanks for your input, Kzimmerman. I still intend to try this.

Do you think that the marine salt sold at the pet store would have the necessary trace nutrients?

From my experiences with reefkeeping, a premium brand salt probably would, but I am not confident that they really have the formula down for this. Did you get your place in virginia beach, I think it was? If so, run down to the shore, grab a couple five gallon buckets of water, and try that. Or try kent marine salt, or something similar. You might also want to think about supplemental weekly dosing. I'll try to dig through my library and find the reference to Iodine and it's importance in macroalgae when I get a chance. I'm sure there are a number of nutrients and things that these macroalgaes need, as well as strong light. I'm gonna do some experimenting, ten gallon tanks set up with a modified berlin method, no protein skimmers, and try to do some research. Right now, I think I'm gonna set up five tanks, three inches of local live sand, some local oyster rocks, sans oysters, about 45 watts lighting, some grass shrimp (ghost shrimp) and maybe a couple of mumichogs. powerheads for water circulation. One tank will be maintained in a normal sense, just water changes with kent or instant ocean. that will be the control tank. Another tank normal water changes using locally available marine water, and the other three will be done with no water changes, but dosing of thee different trace elements. Calcium, iodine and another as my research dictates. It's been awhile since I've done anything like this, so it should be fun to see what develops. Maybe we should start another thread based on this, eh?

From my experiences with reefkeeping, a premium brand salt probably would, but I am not confident that they really have the formula down for this. Did you get your place in virginia beach, I think it was? If so, run down to the shore, grab a couple five gallon buckets of water, and try that. Or try kent marine salt, or something similar. You might also want to think about supplemental weekly dosing. I'll try to dig through my library and find the reference to Iodine and it's importance in macroalgae when I get a chance. I'm sure there are a number of nutrients and things that these macroalgaes need, as well as strong light. I'm gonna do some experimenting, ten gallon tanks set up with a modified berlin method, no protein skimmers, and try to do some research. Right now, I think I'm gonna set up five tanks, three inches of local live sand, some local oyster rocks, sans oysters, about 45 watts lighting, some grass shrimp (ghost shrimp) and maybe a couple of mumichogs. powerheads for water circulation. One tank will be maintained in a normal sense, just water changes with kent or instant ocean. that will be the control tank. Another tank normal water changes using locally available marine water, and the other three will be done with no water changes, but dosing of thee different trace elements. Calcium, iodine and another as my research dictates. It's been awhile since I've done anything like this, so it should be fun to see what develops. Maybe we should start another thread based on this, eh?

House is in Hampton. Close enough though.

You are describing a similar setup to what I want to try. If you do get it set up, let's start another thread to document the process.