An intercoastal waterway tank...

[kenneth]

consisting of maybe some tiny filefish, shrimp, maybe a croaker or spot... can it be done? I have tried searching but i have had no luck. If you, or someone you know has a tank like this, please let me know. Thanks :)

[Max]

Sure you can do it but, your going to have to get a chiller for your tank the water there really shouldn't get out of the high 60's. there are lots of neat fish & inverts out there but , they do like cooler water. You might also have a hard time finding critters for it unless you dive. Hey though shouldn't be a problem if you get a big enough chiller! Keep us posted I'd like to hear how this one turns out. also keep in mind the animals adult size some of those little file fish get huge.
hth
Chris

[kenneth]

Originally posted by maxilaria
Sure you can do it but, your going to have to get a chiller for your tank the water there really shouldn't get out of the high 60's. there are lots of neat fish & inverts out there but , they do like cooler water. You might also have a hard time finding critters for it unless you dive. Hey though shouldn't be a problem if you get a big enough chiller! Keep us posted I'd like to hear how this one turns out. also keep in mind the animals adult size some of those little file fish get huge.
hth
Chris

Thanks for the response but the water temp here in the summer is in the high 70's - low 80's. I guess i should have listed my location. I live in Myrtle Beach, SC. I could get the fish and shrimp by simply scraping pilings (with a thick dipnet.) You would really be surprised at what you can catch! I think i will give it a shot with a 10g tank that I am currently using for freshwater.

Of course, anybody else's opinions are welcome too! Thanks

[redpaulhus]

Very do-able.
I don't know many specific details about the Inter-coastal in your area, but when I lived in Florida I collected and kept many fishes from the Intercoastal and the Indian River Lagoon system... plus I keep native New England marine fishes now.

I keep my native marines in the basement so the temp range is lower than ambient even in the summer, but I also try to collect coastal species that can handle a range of 60-75 degrees without any issues... you may want to make sure they are in an airconditioned room in the summer.

My latest tank uses a deep sand bed (southdown sand) and a protein skimmer, but in the past I've used every method you can name (hob filters, sponge filters, etc). I use both natural sea water and Instant Ocean. I've kept smaller (10g, etc) tanks as well as 55g and larger. If you can pick up about 3 gallons of water a week from the ocean, you can easily keep everybody healthy and happy with regular partial water changes.

You will probably find quite a few interesting crabs and shrimp on the pilings... you may also see some neat fish like toadfish and clingfish... I would make sure you have some frozen foods (mysids and spirulina loaded brine shrimp are good bets) on hand for any picky eaters - I've found very few native fish that will gobble dry foods willingly... although I've usually been able to wean them onto the occasional flake... just make sure you ID anything you collect - don't take any gamefish, and be careful which fish you select as tankmates (killie fish and toadfish = dinner for toadfish )

A few flowerpots can help make the fish feel secure, and some dry caribsea "reefrocks" or baserock will help provide some biofiltratioin (eventually)...

Here's an article I wrote on native marine aquaria for the local aquarium society newletter:

http://communitytank.aaquaria.com/articles/nativemarine.htm

[kenneth]

Exactly what i was looking for... Thanks alot :) :cool: