Seattle Tide Pools - some pictures....

[jgalvin]

So, we've been here in Kirkland for 3 years now, and made it to Discovery Park in Seattle yesterday. It was only our second time there, we decided to walk on down to the tide pools. I was amazed by the amount of corals and marine life in those pockets of water. Lot of bright anenomes and purple starfish. Amazing all this reef life is 10 miles from my house. Just thought I'd share some pics from yesterday..

Has anyone set up a saltwater tank filled with the reef life around the Pacific NW?

check out the little fish next to the red thing (featherduster??)

 

[ac7av]

Nice pictures.
I’ve lived on Whidbey Island since 1976 and never new until 3 months ago that we even have purple coralline algae growing on the rocks around here.

 

[holdendaniel]

i hear you need a permit to collect

 

[returnofsid]

Great pictures!! If you go to my Flickr site, which is linked in my signature, you'll find hundreds of pictures of Puget Sound wild marine life, as well as pictures from the Seattle Aquarium and Point Defiance Aquarium/Zoo.

A minor correction. None of this is "reef life," and there are no "reefs" anywhere near Washington, as the water is too cold for "reef building" corals. There are probably cold water species of corals, in our area though. There are lots of cold water species of anemones.

There have been a few people, here on RF, who've set up Pacific Northwest Biotopes. It does required a chilled tank though. I've always thought it'd be cool to set one up, myself, but haven't gotten around to it, as of yet.

 

[holdendaniel]

you gotta check out deception pass they got some cool flow between the rocks which the critters love

 

[NWDiver]

Nice pictures!
The fish is a sculpin and that is indeed a feather duster.
Sid is right (of course) that we have very limited coral here, the only true coral that I am aware of is the orange cup coral found (typically) in deeper water and in high current.
I do have a cold water tank at the momment, it is a hoot to collect things while diving and attempt to provide them a good home.
Collection has been covered before, but the highlights are:
You have to have a fishing/collection permit to collect anything listed by fisheries.
Best if you have a seaweed and shellfish before heading out.
So far the fisheries folk have been very polite to me and very helpful when they check my catch.

 

[NWDiver]

Oh, the orange guys are sea cucumbers of course

 

[ac7av]

Fish looks like a baby greenling (Hexagrammidae) can’t tell exactly what kind from the picture, maybe a kelp greenling.

 

[sivart33]

tide pool tanks, i am sure most people have wanted one(i have a 10g sitting around i want to make one). but the issue is chilling, most expensive part.
you can do a DIY chiller. they would be easy to maintain since most animals in tide pools can handle the temp swings an chemistry changes due to being in a tide pool.

Best example of one i have ever found.

http://www.jonolavsakvarium.com/blog/index.html

ya i haven't been out to any tide pools in a long time. actually maybe plan on doing it this weekend. Great pictures.

 

[mancho_91]

For those who haven't seen it and maybe not as accurate of repensentation as the previous link. http://www.oregonreef.com has to be one of my favorite. Very interesting read on his coldwater setup, especially the australian box fish. And his warm water setup is ridiculous..

Be sure to click on coldwater setup link at the top of the main page.

 

[sivart33]

looks good, still thinking about making one.
http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_coldwater.htm the link to coldwater

 

[NWDiver]

ac7av: I'm interested in why you think a greenling?
Greenling adults look very different obviously, but the juvi's I have seen (that I could identify) were red or blue and lacked the serrated gill plate.
If it were a juvi with adult coloration I would think cabezon...
Not trying to start a fish-fight, just wondering what you saw that I missed

 

[ac7av]

Greenling can be different colors and is not a specific type of fish. Its like calling a fish a tang. Could look a lot different from one type to the next. I’m just guessing on a kelp greenling but could be some other type. I don’t believe it’s a sculpin, the moth is to small and look thinner and not flatter like most sculpins. I could be wrong but its just my guess.

 

[cyberdeth]

fish-fight

This shizzle just got foreezle!

Sry, had the image in my head.

 

[NWDiver]

Cyber: Bwaaaahahahahahaha!!!
ac7av: Yep, I'm rather familiar with the family of fishes known as greenlings
You mentioned the kelp greenling and so I was addressing that fish in particular. The (kelp) adults are rather spectacular in coloration and the juvi's that I have seen look very different than the fish in the photo.
I asked, not to question your ID, but to see if you had noticed something I missed.
I count fish for REEF http://www.reef.org/ so I am always interested in getting pointers for making a correct ID.
FWIW: Diagonal barring and lateral spines are common on sculpins...

 

[ac7av]

It sounds like your may be more familiar with that fish types in the area then I. Ether way that fish is only less then 2 inches judging by the tube worm its on. Those are mostly around ½ in wide tubes or less in the tidal areas that I’ve seen. Anyway the pictures are probably distorted a bit from the water. We catch something that looks just like that only there 12 to 18 inches long when we are fishing for silvers on the west side of Whidbey.

 

[jgalvin]

thx for all the replies! yes, that fish was about 2 inches long. He swam a bit (goby like) but was just perched on that tube. i had the camera like 2 inches from him, he just chilled and didn't move the entire time.

while on the beach, i was happy to hear so many parents teaching their kids to be respectful of the wildlife, watch where they walk, etc. having a saltwater tank for the past few months has given me a new appreciation and wonder of the ocean and the life in it (and how delicate it can be).

i'll check out those links, yep i guess the cold water would be hard to maintain; i have a tough enough time with my current tank.

hope you enjoyed the pics!
James

 

[dtd87]

I need to get out more lol I'm missing out on all this beautiful wildlife around here.

 

[FreakinReefin]

Great pictures!! If you go to my Flickr site, which is linked in my signature, you'll find hundreds of pictures of Puget Sound wild marine life, as well as pictures from the Seattle Aquarium and Point Defiance Aquarium/Zoo.

A minor correction. None of this is "reef life," and there are no "reefs" anywhere near Washington, as the water is too cold for "reef building" corals. There are probably cold water species of corals, in our area though. There are lots of cold water species of anemones.

There have been a few people, here on RF, who've set up Pacific Northwest Biotopes. It does required a chilled tank though. I've always thought it'd be cool to set one up, myself, but haven't gotten around to it, as of yet.

We actually have many reefs in the Puget Sound and outlying areas. A reef is not something that has to be built by coral; just a sanctuary for sealife to live and flourish. In fact the sunken Galloping Girtie is a protected reef sanctuary in the Narrows. I'm actually going Lingcod fishing at a reef on Sucia Island this weekend.