local tidepool tank?

[peterluber]

haha i just posted two threads in a row. what is the feasability of a local tank? whenever im at the tidepools, i always find awesome stuff like brittle stars, crabs, hermits, snails, little shrimp, fish (opaleyes?), chitons, etc. it would be awesome to set up a little 5 gallon local tank. it seems like chilling wouldnt be an issue, since they are from tidepools which get warm, not the cold ocean. they have to at least be adaptable to warm temps, right? also, though, what are the restrictions on this? i know the ocean sciences teacher at LJHS has one with a lot of cool stuff, but does he probably have some super special licence? thanks.

[suver569]

I've considered this also, but the temp thing would be an issue. Typically, our water at it's best, is 70 and below. You'd have a hard time keeping any size tank below 70.

Besides, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to be taking things from any tidepools around here. Maybe mexico, but then there would be an importing issue...Maybe not...

[The_Gryphon]

Bad rule to use, but sometimes it's necessary.

"It's only illegal if you get caught."

[peterluber]

yeah thats what i was kinda thinking

[socalkris29]

This is like the black-sea-bass/catching-lobsters-off-the-pier issue. It's illegal whether you get caught or not. You only get punished when you're caught.

So wouldn't it be nice if we left those animals where they belong because it's the right thing to do and not because of the fear of getting caught?

Tidepools are actually threatened habitats. No, they don't "house" threatened species, but as a whole, they are threatened ecosystems. And unless you have a collector's permit and are engaged in scientific research, you shouldn't remove these animals.

Do you know how many millions of people (including tourists who don't know any better) walk on and in these pools removing animals each year? Maybe they return the animals further down the beach (which could be a completely different habitat to the animal if you know about tidepools) or maybe they don't return the animal and they take it home as a souvenir (the animal dies) or to put in a tank.

I moved here from the East Coast 5 years ago, and realized how cool it is that you guys have tidepools here. They should be preserved and respected. We are already taking enough animals from the oceans. Let's focus on captive breeding/rearing instead of increasing take from the natural environment.

Okay, sorry for the rant. We now return you to your previously scheduled programming already in progress...

:D

[The_Gryphon]

I agree with the long rant :p . If you really wanna know how to go about making a tidepool tank at home, I'd ask the people at Birch. They have that tidepool display in the back and I'm sure they'll let you know what you need to do and what you can't do.

[peterluber]

yeah, thats a good idea. also, like i said, i could talk to the ocean sciences teacher aty la jolla high and ask him what kind of license he has and what he does to the tank.

[Stephen3302]

I've been interning at Stephen Birch Aquarium at Scripps and have become very interested in the tide pool animals on our shores. Getting a collecters license is difficult to say the least, of course the aquarium has one, but it too has restrictions as to how much and how often and at what times they are permitted to collect. As far as the issue of temperature is concerned, you must understand that tidal animals see an incredible range of salinity, temp., water quality, etc. Therefore, it is very possible, although illegal, to maintain these animals in warmer temperatures. In fact, I've seen it done myself on many occasions. However, as I stipulated before it is against the law, and I do not personally condone these activities. While I do agree with everything socalkris29 says in his post, it must be noted that the condition of marine ecosystems around the world have not stopped us from looting the tropical ecosystems world-wide for decades. Luckily, most of the animals commonly collected have displayed an amazing ability to bouce back from what many would conclude to be over fishing. If anyone wants further information on collecting in tropical regions let me know, I just finished a short essay and it combines a lot of great research and articles that I read.