Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

Has anyone here ever successfully kept a tank with rock and corals exclusively from the gulf? I went to gulf shores last weekend to the little canal pass on the westside of gulf shores and went snorkeling just for the hell of it and saw some beautiful anemones. Some of these anemones were prettier than any I've ever seen in any pet store. Blue and purple colors and some were neon green. It made me want to try and see if I could set up like maybe a 29G or so to see what it would look like. And only put fish in it from down there and inverts. I thought that would be kinda fun. Let me know guys.

I'm always looking for colorful anemones... I bought a $6 purple conde from Rich just the other day.

Other than anemones, you're not gonna find much in the way of cool stuff locally though...

I want to snorkle some, especially here in AL where you can still hand-pick a few animals... how often do you putter over that way?

All the time and alot this summer since I missed last summer here...
The rocks that are under and around the bridge down there are covered with life. All kinds of green and some kind of bushy purple plantlike algae. Snails, hermit crabs, u name it. I even saw some blennies shoot out at me when I touched some open scallop shells.

One of the reporters here at the Mobile Register has a gulf tank setup. He lives very close to the fairhope pier and uses a cast net to get different fish and shrimp for the tank. He also has different clams, oysters, and barnacles from there and down off Dauphin Is.

He does water changes once a week grabbing a 5 gal bucket of water from the pier. The tank is only like 20 gallons. I haven't actually seen it but he has had it up for a few years now.

The only suggestion I have is to be careful before you place anything from the wild or anywhere else in you main tank.....hitchhikers can cause a problem....they can also be very small and hide...some crabs ect will eat your good stuff and hard to find and catch...might be months before a small crab shows up..not to say do not do it but be carefull. place in fuge for a while ect...

I have a few a gulf anemones in my tank. They are very tough but the color will fade soon after you put them in a tank. Remind me at the meeting and i'll show you how to get them off the rocks. It takes a special tool. You can get a few different type of blenny too. I got one in my frag tank that I might give away at the meeting. In another few week the tropical will move in and that is when the really cool stuff get here.

Snakeman wrote: In another few week the tropical will move in and that is when the really cool stuff get here.

What is the cool stuff that migrates here for the summer? I have read several documents that discuss soft corals and gorgonians off the Alabama coast, do you ever see anything like that?

Mostly just sea whips close to the shore. You can get butterfly fish, doctor fish, damsel, box fish and coral banded shrimp to name a few. All of the rock anemones and urchins move out in the winter. The anemones are back but the urchins are not back yet. If the weather is good i'm going to try and go diving Monday so I'll let you know what I see.

I was told at the dive shop this week that a guy caught some coco damsel at fort pickens last weekend. I'm not even sure I have ever even seen those. There is always something different to see.

The water has really been clear lately. Some divers were at the canal last weekend saying they were looking around for stuff to put in their tanks. I'd like to glue a bunch of barnacles and mussels on the glass of a tank like it looks on the concrete canal wall.

What kind of butterfly fish?

I've got 3 tri-color anemones, a $h!t load of red rock anemones, and I use to have a purple long-spiny sea urchin that now resides quite happily in Josh's tank. All of them came from local waters. They're cool. Oh ya, snails!

I'd be interest in just about anything if you guys happen across something. No fish, just inverts. I'd put them in my fish only tank.

spotfin butterflyfish, I don't think they are reef safe. I could be wrong. I had some but I think they were nipping at something. I forget what. Scott reminded me I have a book that has our fish in it.

Is it Dr Shipp's book?

Scott wrote:Is it Dr Shipp's book?

No

It's called Reef Fish Identification Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas By Paul Humann & Ned Deloach 3rd edition