peppermint shrimp

Neopterygii

Neopterygii

Amphipod
#41
#41
Update:
Waters getting warmer. Ive gotten this report, its from about 30 mins ago:

Went to Galveston to see if there was any peps and lo and behold the sargassum was coming in. So I nixed the pep collecting and went through the sargassum. Found 3 pipefish about 10 anglers, sargassum shrimp and also found some peps in the sargassum, I'm taken it that's how the peps are traveling in from the deeper waters to the jetties. Now for the sargassum it is not coming in very thick yet but it is a start.
Now for you folks that criticize us for collecting I only kept the shrimp and 2 of the large pipefish and 4 of the smallest anglers. Here are the pics.

He didnt post the pics though. Im going to talk to Joe about another collection trip, if he doesnt organize one with in a reasonable amount of time i will go by myself to get yalls shrimp.
 
ReefCheif

ReefCheif

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
Platinum Sponsor
#42
#42
That would be awesome, ive been holding out on buying any peps in hope this goes through.
 
Neopterygii

Neopterygii

Amphipod
#46
#46
I feel like an ***, we went looking for the shrimp using 4mm nets we managed to pull 6 up. We could see groups of them coming up with the nets but were so small they were slipping through the holes. Its not only me but the rest of MARSH cant find them either, these are their reports:

"well i was out these and unless they are smarter than normal, here were none to be found. i was told by a fellow member slightly before gashing my foot open, and slipping on the jetty and hitting the rock pretty hard
which sucked for the record, he had found like 2 or 3 at another location but they were very tiny, maybe next weekend we be better"

"My buddy said the sargassum was thick at the beach soooo....I went to Galveston to see if I could sort through some sargassum and find some crabs/shrimp etc. As per usual, I hung out until after dark and went to net the jetties. There was nothing there! I've been collecting 4-5 times and have experienced bountiful harvests and slim, but this time was incredible. I tried 3 jetties and netted a total of 2 blennies and 3 skillet fish(+4-5 misc snails). I didnt catch a single pep! I can't recall what months I've gone collecting, just that I go when it's warm out. What gives?"

"I went last weekend and caught zero peps. There was plenty of blenny and snails. We also caught a porcelain crab which was pretty cool and a shrimp that had claws that snapped. I am guessing for barnicals. First one I have ever scene like that. We were after peps but it was still fun with kids. Note also tide was out, not sure that matters but made rocks a lot more slippery. We will be trying again this weekend."

"I have a feeling(if you're going for peps) it'll be fruitless. I came again today(am still on the island). I found plenty of life in the sargassum today. The lifeguard scared the hell out of me with his whistle and I dropped a crab. Just after sunset there was a lot more life than I found yesterday. Lots of skillets, a few BABY blennies, a couple adults, some baby shad(they were like 1.5cm, hard to identify) and loads of snails. ZERO PEPS. I tried again at 10:30, less wildlife, higher tide, slightly elevated wind speed, slightly more violent surf. Tried again at 1, almost zero wildlife, slightly elevated surf. 3+hr to high tide. At 1 I went around to all the calm/transparent pools on the jetty and looked for life. There were zero peps. I saw some blue crabs and some sargassum crabs(the jetties are packed full of sargassum). I had never seen the seaweed tractor. I guess they work all night. It's very effective. I'm staying out here until high tide. Curiousity got the best of me and I decided to find the answer. Ill report my findings, but am not expecting any difference."

"We tried to collect peps last night but the rocks were so slippey we could not get to the flat rocks safely so we gave up and no seaweed coming in like I was hoping for tiny clumps here and there."
 
ReefCheif

ReefCheif

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
Platinum Sponsor
#49
#49
Any update on this?
 
ReefCheif

ReefCheif

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
Platinum Sponsor
#51
#51
Awesome, please let us know, I have a nice 2 head frag of frog spawn and a nice 2 head frag of hammer set aside.
 
B

bubbarockies

Anthias
#52
#52
Oh man. It's been so hot here I can't imagine the water isn't warm enough in Texas. Either way I hope you're being more careful than the guys in the quote. A few peps so aren't worth that much. Good luck and have fun!
 
Neopterygii

Neopterygii

Amphipod
#53
#53
Well we actually thought we found them tonight, caught about 25ish shrimp for a buddy with an aptasia problem. It wasnt until he got home and was acclimating them over that the colors came through, we ended up with 1 peppermint shrimp:
[attachment=64614:name]

And 20ish of these, sargassum shrimp:
[attachment=64615:name]

Weve already set the date for the next collection trip, about a week. Once again sorry guys, I had no idea this year would be out of the ordinary.
 
X

xxHLTxx

Detritus
M.A.S.C Club Member
#57
#57
Hmmm. Anyone else with mantis down for getting a live food shipment together for those Sargs. Depending on how many can be shipped and how many people want in. MMy mantis is on live food and that's hella cheaper than fish.
 
F

Fitz19d

Bat Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#58
#58
Depending on price, sure. Might be small enough for my lion. If they are reef safe probably wouldn't hurt my other tank either.

Is it a spearer or a club plum? I'd move to a mix of dead and live if not all dead. Seem to do just fine w/ out, especially if you want to baste frozen food in vitamins. My little one used to even love flake food till I think he got spoiled on rods predator blend, more picky now.
 
X

xxHLTxx

Detritus
M.A.S.C Club Member
#59
#59
he will eat dead to an extent... has to be rather fresh to be honest. Frozen he wont touch. Ive tried rods predator, elite reefs mix and larger blend, as well as frozen silversides, clam meat and other assorted seafood. Flake he would swim over and kick around, seemed as though he wouldnt even notice it. That and pellet. Rather picky mantis tbh.
 
Neopterygii

Neopterygii

Amphipod
#60
#60
Fresh update from another MARSH member:

Collected in two spots. Infront of Rain Forest and in front of Ft. Crockett right before battery laval. 5 Sgm damsels, a few skillet fish, a couple dozen molly millers. NO PEPS!! Not even a Sargassum shrimp :/ But destroyed a new net. Sorry about the short notice. No date tonight so I went on a whim. Going to try again next week.

I did stumble across this:

A simple experiment performed at Sustainable Aquatics has demonstrated the Molly Miller blenny's appetite for Aiptasia. Two cubicles in a large, recirculating system were emptied of fish. Each cubicle contained a similarly sized population of Aiptasia and red microalgae (unidentified benthic rhodophyte), as well as an equivalent amount of detritus. A tank bred, four-month-old S. cristata specimen was placed into one of the two cubicles. The fish did not receive supplemental feedings throughout the trial. By Day 2, there was a marked decrease in Aiptasia and algae populations as well as a reduction in the amount of detritus in the cubicle containing the fish; no changes were observed in the adjacent cubicle. By Day 10, much of the algae, most of the detritus and all of the Aiptasia had been eliminated. The fish was transferred to the adjacent cubicle after 10 days. Over the next 10 days, a very similar pattern was observed in the cubicle containing the fish; during this same time, no Aiptasia, some algae, and significant amounts of detritus reemerged in the vacated cubicle. While the results of this experiment do not conclusively prove any of the aforementioned claims circulating within the hobby, they do suggest that the presence of S. cristata can suppress proliferation of microalgae and Aiptasia, as well as reduce detritus accumulation.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/9/fish
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top