Whats your preferred product for increasing biodiversity?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I was curious about temperatures but a quick google states that the temperature doesn't really fluctuate much between NY, Boston, and Maine. I thought maybe they stayed a touch warmer but we all get down within like 5° with maine being around 31 today and 36ish in Boston and new york. I wonder how the native life would transition to a tropical enviroment?? This is a very interesting idea...

I'm considering jump starting my refugium with materials collected in northern Massachusetts, before ultimately using real ocean sand and rock in the tank. I expect that from a bacteria perspective, it is better than nothing and likely very good. Most bacteria have a quite wide range of temps they thrive in. I certainly expect the species distribution is not the same as it would be in warmer water (published studies show this), but many of the same species overall will be there, with some subsequently increasing in percentage and some decreasing.

 

[Subsea]

I'm considering jump starting my refugium with materials collected in northern Massachusetts, before ultimately using real ocean sand and rock in the tank. I expect that from a bacteria perspective, it is better than nothing and likely very good. Most bacteria have a quite wide range of temps they thrive in. I certainly expect the species distribution is not the same as it would be in warmer water (published studies show this), but many of the same species overall will be there, with some subsequently increasing in percentage and some decreasing.

Randy,
I will look for it. A facility on Mass estuaries was selling, what I call grass shrimp, they called ghost shrimp.

I catch grass shrimp in all saltwater marshes that I have visited. Here on the Texas Gulf coast, I catch Peppermint Shrimp on rock jetties at night.

PS: In my search, I found this posted on Boston Reef Society website

WTB - Saltwater Ghost Shrimp

Does anyone have or sell saltwater ghost shrimp? My dwarf lionfish eats frozen but not reliably, I'd like to have some shrimp as backup.

bostonreefers.org

“I don’t know if you fish, or like to walk the marshes or shores in the area, but if you do, I have two great options:
Grass shrimp.
1. Collect yourself (free)- where: Any marsh with freshwater input on the ocean.
Look in the flow of freshwater into the high marsh, in narrow streams, that are overgrown with filamentous algae. The grass shrimp spawn in spring in the low salinity waters along the upper marsh. Scoop the algae clumps with a dipnet. The shrimp are translucent to brown or green, depending on the backdrop. They jump around so grab them out of the net and put them in your bucket quick.
2. Fore River Bait and Tackle in Weymouth has these for bait for smelt fishing. Maybe not this time of year, but if you are near them they might tell you where they collect locally.
Smaller individuals may suit your lionfish better if it is small, but they don’t get huge. Think peppermint shrimp size.
Storing a number live is easy in a cool spot with airpump in your house. A five gallon bucket could sustain a two week supply pretty easy.”

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy,
I will look for it. A facility on Mass estuaries was selling, what I call grass shrimp, they called ghost shrimp.

I catch grass shrimp in all saltwater marshes that I have visited. Here on the Texas Gulf coast, I catch Peppermint Shrimp on rock jetties at night.

PS: In my search, I found this posted on Boston Reef Society website

WTB - Saltwater Ghost Shrimp

Does anyone have or sell saltwater ghost shrimp? My dwarf lionfish eats frozen but not reliably, I'd like to have some shrimp as backup.

bostonreefers.org

“I don’t know if you fish, or like to walk the marshes or shores in the area, but if you do, I have two great options:
Grass shrimp.
1. Collect yourself (free)- where: Any marsh with freshwater input on the ocean.
Look in the flow of freshwater into the high marsh, in narrow streams, that are overgrown with filamentous algae. The grass shrimp spawn in spring in the low salinity waters along the upper marsh. Scoop the algae clumps with a dipnet. The shrimp are translucent to brown or green, depending on the backdrop. They jump around so grab them out of the net and put them in your bucket quick.
2. Fore River Bait and Tackle in Weymouth has these for bait for smelt fishing. Maybe not this time of year, but if you are near them they might tell you where they collect locally.
Smaller individuals may suit your lionfish better if it is small, but they don’t get huge. Think peppermint shrimp size.
Storing a number live is easy in a cool spot with airpump in your house. A five gallon bucket could sustain a two week supply pretty easy.”

Thanks.

At one point in my last tank, I had noticed swarms of pods in the surf in the same area. These were fairly large,1/4-3/4", IIRC. Using a salt bucket I scooped up a ton of them, and when added to my tank, the fish went into a frenzy chasing them down and eating them. It's a lot of work that I did mostly for fun, and might not bother again, but the fish reaction was incredible.

 

[Subsea]

I fish often and I don’t always catch fish to eat. Bringing a minnow net or a seine has salvaged many a fishing trip. The grass shrimp I catch in fresh water adjust to full salt. The same applies to the green mollies I catch in both fresh & brackish and they adjust to full strength marine.

PS: Once while in Puro Rico, I visited CQuest hatchery. They had the most beautiful Saltwater Mollies that I have ever seen and apparently were native marine to Porto Rico. Those mollies were street smart in that they recognized the dangers of an anemone.

 

[Patx]

JL Aquatics (Canada) sells live rock in I believe 20 lb boxes; I'm definitely considering ordering a box for my 125 gallon upgrade tank!

I'm also now seriously considering snagging a bottle of sea water when I go visit my brother next on Vancouver Island haha.

@Barncat
Oh i didn't see that last time i search.
Please keep me inform if you buy !

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I'm considering jump starting my refugium with materials collected in northern Massachusetts, before ultimately using real ocean sand and rock in the tank. I expect that from a bacteria perspective, it is better than nothing and likely very good. Most bacteria have a quite wide range of temps they thrive in. I certainly expect the species distribution is not the same as it would be in warmer water (published studies show this), but many of the same species overall will be there, with some subsequently increasing in percentage and some decreasing.

I feel like it bacteria would probably handle it well as long as the temp increase is gradual. That said, I wonder if the higher, stabilized temps of our tanks would prevent the larger fauna from reproducing in a captive, tropical setting

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I feel like it bacteria would probably handle it well as long as the temp increase is gradual. That said, I wonder if the higher, stabilized temps of our tanks would prevent the larger fauna from reproducing in a captive, tropical setting

Larger creatures are an issue. I would not assume any will thrive long term unless they also live in warmer climates.

 

[fandaga]

I actually am doing the aquabiomics test before and after dosing AF LifeSource. I sent in the initial test a few weeks ago and started dosing LifeSource per directions weekly. My tank started with dry rock and bottled bacteria.

The fish definitely are stressed after adding LifeSource, but I haven’t switched to night dosing yet. I’ll do that next week to see if they are less agitated.

Below is my tank an hour after dosing. I also used a magnet to remove some of the magnetic particles and mixed it on a stir plate.

 

[fish farmer]

I was curious about temperatures but a quick google states that the temperature doesn't really fluctuate much between NY, Boston, and Maine. I thought maybe they stayed a touch warmer but we all get down within like 5° with maine being around 31 today and 36ish in Boston and new york. I wonder how the native life would transition to a tropical enviroment?? This is a very interesting idea...

Once you get below Cape Cod the probability of finding tropical fish from Florida increases. Baby butterfly fish, queen angelfish drift up with the Gulf Stream and settle during the summer. There are scuba folks who collect them before they die in October.

When I walk salt marshes in Rhode Island, they can be pretty toasty. Once I seeded a FO tank at college with seaweed and a couple of stones taken in the fall. The tank exploded with amphipods and copepods. I might try grabbing stuff this coming fall on my annual trip.

Do you have any warmish tide pools/estuaries in Maine or is it all rocky cliffs.