PaulB's amphipod collection thread

[Paul B]

collecting

OK we went collecting today again and it was a beautiful day.
Two people cancelled (Sissies) I diden't mean to think that outloud.

Only Tunacata showed up. Luckily for me, she has a degree in Marine biology and she could name a lot of the stuff we collected. I did see (and collect) tiny green anemones which I have never seen before. There are quite a few of them. I have them in my Long Island Sound tank and will see if they live. We also collected a few different types of algae which Tunicata hopefully will name.
The horseshoe crabs are very numerous and we saw about 10 of them in a few meters. I don't collect those.
We brought home the usual grass shrimp, amphipods, snails and Japanese shore crabs. There are also fiddler crabs which we left alone.

Then we took a ride on the boat because I diden't really have it up to speed yet this year and I am booked friday, Sat and Sunday so I wanted to try it out.
We got stuck.
Yep stuck.
The engine overheated about a mile out from the 5 MPH buoy. I jumped in the water to try to clear the intake on the outdrive but it was fairly clear. After it cooled we started back and made it half way. I realized it would damage the engine because it was running way too hot so I called my friend at the marina who came and towed us back.
Unfortunately we (or I) forgot to change the water in our collected animals and we lost some shrimp but not too many.
We were out longer than I figured we would be with the stuck thing and everything.
It is nowhere near the first time I had to get towed but it is all part of boating.
Back at the marina Tunacata (Chanel) continued to collect while I removed the water pump impeller to find it practically missing. Just the core was intact so we were not going anywhere. It sometimes happens that you pick up a pebble or barnacle and it disintegrates the impeller.
An hour later I installed a new impeller and it again runs beautiful. I removed the exhaust riser and drove to Freeport for a new gasket because due to the overheating I had to change the rubber exhaust hoses which slightly melted. I will install that tomorrow.
The joys of boating.

Tunicata

 

[tunicata]

Muuahahahha, I was just uploading my pics. I made a tank from the stuff we got today. It was seriously cool.

Yes, we got stuck, it wasn't bad though. I think. Well, on second thought I think I should have been scared since I have no clue as to how a boat works, but figure tons of smoke from the engine is pretty bad.... I am too calm sometimes.
It was cool seeing the engine room though. It doesn't seem too complicated. Paul knows what he's doing and was so nice during the ordeal it actually seemed odd he wasn't more worried about his boat than if I was okay or not!

Anyway, I was mostly worried about losing face and throwing up overboard! Usually I get seasick pretty easily but tried hard and won!
And I do admit I was worried about getting my hair wet...that's kind of sad though but felt I should mention it.

Let me go get those pictures

 

[tunicata]

Btw, I took the shore crabs to send up to my old professor. We had done some research up in Maine doing a search of their coastal waters for the crab. I figured she would be psyched to have a live specimen for her new students to see/to go along with her research.

When I got home a lot of the shrimp had died on the car ride, but there are still quite a few up and running. There is even a large one that is has babies (berried?). There are of course TONS of amphipods. It was pretty fun letting them crawl all over my hands. A nice tickling feeling.

Oh! I was collecting tunicates from the side of the dock. I've wanted to do that since the last time I had the opportunity (but no tank) which was maybe a year ago. Didn't figure I could do something like that while I lived in the Tri-State area. So far the tunicates are doing fine in my tank.

The little anemones are out and about. I also have a few barnacles filter feeding and being cute about it.

So far I 'fed' the tank a mixture of frozen Ocean Nutrition/Nutramar Ova/Prime Reef/Mysis. I saw a bunch of the critters running around with peices of the stuff in their legs so I figure they like it.

Algaes: ulva, chondrus crispus, Agardhiella tenera (the red one with long filaments) are all doing well so far. They have the stock lighting the eclipse came with. Which should be fine.

I'll take another good look in there later and see what else came in with the water!

Oh, and of course bryozoans on the rocks.

Right now the tank is a 8g eclipse I think. Tomorrow I'll 'upgrade' it to a standard 10g. The next largest size I have is a 45g.... Though...I do have a 20g tank that just needs a bit of silicone. We'll see.

Btw, the camera batteries have died. I'll get the pics up when I replace them.

 

[cb747]

Ahh yes the joys of boating! Paul knows his boat well so there was never a worry on his part im sure

 

[Paul B]

Chris the collecting for some reason is going great. Even though I have been doing this for, well a long time, it gets better all the time. I have some nice pictures of beautiful orange stripped green anemones about an inch wide which are pretty numerous there that I have never seen before. Tunacata really discovered them.
I can't publish the pictures just yet they are going into a MR article. I fed them some mussel tonight. I doubt they will live long in my reeef as they live under rocks in scurvy water. Well my tank is pretty scurvy so maybe they will live. Luckilly for me, the collection place is about 50 yards from where I am spending my weekend tied up to a bunch of other boats, boats that diden't get stuck this week.
I have spent almost every weekend for the last 15 years or so anchored off a collection tide pool and 15 years before that I was off different tide pools. Of course most of that time I was floating in the water next to my main squeeze :inlove: drinking Italian Champaign yelling "Hey throw me another shrimp" or I need another drink because I am parched.
But hey, someone has to do it. :shhh:

 

[REEF MANIA]

Paul it sure sounds like you have the life. Hope to be there oneday.

 

[Paul B]

Life is what you make it.
I don't have much money but I am real happy.
Have a great night.
paul

 

[cb747]

That is so true Paul! I cant wait to see the pics after you can post them Those anemones sound pretty neat!

 

[boozeman]

Glad you enjoyed it.
how did this weeks trip turn out?

 

[tunicata]

it was great

 

[boozeman]

pics? details? inquiring minds wanna know

 

[MikeyNYC]

Paul, I'm about 5-10 minutes from the Orienta location that you mentioned and was thinking about heading over there tomorrow to see what I can find. I've read in the thread that you recommend just grabbing some seaweed and throwing that into a bucket will yield a bunch of pods. I don't have a "dip net" but I do have a few brine shrimp nets, thinking about attaching one of those to a 6ft stick. Any other recommendations before hitting the water. Thanks, Mike

 

[Paul B]

Mike if you are going to Orienta at low tide you can lift some rocks and swish them in some water to collect amphipods. I used to spend my summers there as a Kid.

You could probably collect loads of grass shrimp at the boat docks if they don't chase you away

 

[MikeyNYC]

I will give it shot. One last thing, how can I find out when the low tide is, I've been bound to land and don't much about boating and such. Thanks again for the info

Found some info on weather.com
11:38 low tide, and I'll be out there with bucket in hand. :tongue1:

 

[Paul B]

pics? details? inquiring minds wanna know

Booze, the collecting went well. We got the usual pods and shrimp but we also got some nice bright orange stripped anemones which I put in my reef and so far they are doing good. They even left the rock they were on and traveled across the tank.
I can't publish the pics yet, Jhale wants to use them in an article.
Here is Tunacata collecting those anemones.

and you remember that rock pile where I left a lot

of skin

 

[mray]

You guys found anemones too? That's really cool.

 

[tunicata]

Yeah, they are wicked tiny. Like generally no bigger than a quarter in size. Bodies are green base with a very light pink thin stripe in a pattern similar to star fish leg pattern. Their tentacles are this same pink. It reminds me of bepto bismol (sp).

I hope Paul is getting good pics of his catch. My pics SUCK

 

[boozeman]

very cool !!
I wonder what other species can be found as the season progresses.
It would be interesting to organize a collecting trip for tropical fishes that get swept up by the current. I believe LIRA does something like that... collecting butterflies, lionfish and triggers.

 

[cb747]

LIRA has there annual collecting trip in September. Ive collected myself on the south shore. Best time is late August to late September.

 

[Paul B]

There are no tropical fish in the western Sound. You need to collect on the south shore for fish.
I was again at my collection place today and yesterday but yesterday we were just there at night for the fireworks and today I diden't go ashore.