Native NJ Livestock

[DaveK]

I was wondering if anyone collects and maintains a tank containing SW livestock native to NJ?

Granted, there are no coral reefs, but many areas of the state have salt marshes where some of the smaller "bait" fish live, and there are easily several other species of snails, shrimp, hermit crabs, other crabs and so on. There are also several type of macro algae that might be able to be kept.

About 30 years ago, I kept such a tank. While the fish were not as showy as the more tropical ones, it was an interesting tank, and my first attempt with SW inverts.

Today, there might be a lot of restrictions on collecting livestock, and of course there are restrictions on collecting anything of commercial value. Still, this could be an interesting project.

 

[Hawkeye]

When Adventure Aquarium opened - (then called Camden Aquarium) they had the idea of only showing local (NJ) fauna. I went and unfortunately (as you noted) it was pretty dull (color-wise) and the variety was limited at best.

Question though - wouldn't the waters in our area be cooler? So would you be running a chiller on it?

Personally I'd love to have a multi-compartment tank with Callinectes sapidus. When they get big, I'd just throw some old bay on em and put em on a steamer. ;D

 

[DaveK]

Yes, I do remember the problems they had at the Camden Aquarium due to, at least in part, NJ waters not containing a lot of exotic livestock.

Most of the stuff I collected years ago, was in tidal pools, or in the "back bay" area behind the barrier islands in south NJ. The water there gets quite warm in summer, so a chiller is not really necessary.

Ah, Callinectes sapidus, otherwise known as blue crab, is an interesting crab. However, it's also s species that has commerical value and is thus regulated. So, make sure you obey all the rules and regs about capturing them.

As far as keeping them in a tank, they are a real problem. Notice the two rear claws for large paddles. They are a swimming crab, and can go after just anout anything in your tank. The other problem is that blue crabs also like to eat each other, so when one molts, all the others will make "crab salad" out of it.

 

[Hawkeye]

Yes, I do remember the problems they had at the Camden Aquarium due to, at least in part, NJ waters not containing a lot of exotic livestock.

Most of the stuff I collected years ago, was in tidal pools, or in the "back bay" area behind the barrier islands in south NJ. The water there gets quite warm in summer, so a chiller is not really necessary.

Ah, Callinectes sapidus, otherwise known as blue crab, is an interesting crab. However, it's also s species that has commerical value and is thus regulated. So, make sure you obey all the rules and regs about capturing them.

As far as keeping them in a tank, they are a real problem. Notice the two rear claws for large paddles. They are a swimming crab, and can go after just anout anything in your tank. The other problem is that blue crabs also like to eat each other, so when one molts, all the others will make "crab salad" out of it.

yep - you'd have to have a kind of raceway tank connected via bulkheads where each compartment held a single adult. Then when it was molting time - you'd have soft-shelled Callinectes sapidus. I find those especially tasty when rolled in sushi rice.

sorry for the hijack.

A tidal pool biotope would be really interesting.