55 AGA Cold Water Tank - New England Coast Tank

[anemone fan]

Seeing how I work in a lab at UNH working with cold-water species I thought that it would be a great idea to show the masses some of the animals that reside here (whether they be introduced, invasive, or native) and describe a little about the organism. Here it is.

 

Updates:

Hey all, just purchased a chiller for our lab's (anemone fan and rbengal) 55 gallon display tank to keep it and a brisk 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Starting up a cold water tank, oh yeah. Natural rocks and animals caught via intertidal trips and SCUBA are going to be the norm. This tank used to be a room temperature tank (no heater/chiller) with a few species of anemones and some snails, but nothing exciting. It is now being converted to a cold-water tank so that more species can be taken care of. Subscribe if you want to see a really cool tank develop.

 

FTS: 1/11 (2.5 Months)

 

Inverts Involved:

Sagartia elegans var. rosea (Magenta Sea Anemone)

Diadumene lineata (Orange-Lined Sea Anemone)

Metridium senile (Frilled Sea Anemone)

Littorina littorea (Common Periwinkle)

Mytulis edulis (Blue Mussel)

Botryllus schlosseri (Golden Star Tunicate)

Pagurus pollicaris (Flat-Clawed Hermit Crab)

 

Verts Involved:

2 Tautogolabrus adspersus (Cunner)

 

Equipment:

Mini-Jet 606 (to feed chiller) (Planning on more for water movement)

2 Korallia Evolution 1050

Standard 55 AGA Light and Hood (Planning on an improvement for algae growth)

Tetra Whisper EX70 (for manual filtration)

TECO TR5 Chiller

 

STAY TUNED...MORE TO COME SHORTLY...THANKS FOR WATCHIN'

[anemone fan]

Animal Photos:

 

Sagartia elegans var. rosea (Magenta Sea Anemone)

Phylum: Cnidaria (animals with cnidocytes (stinging cells))

Class: Anthozoa (Cnidarians without a medusa-stage (doesn't swim ever))

Order: Actinaria (True Sea Anemones)

 

Description:

Gets to approximately 1.5" across with coloration as seen. Native intertidal to subtidal in Europe as well as being invasive in Hawthorne Cove Marine in Salem, MA. Feeds on zooplankton and reproduces through asexual reproduction by pedal laceration.

 

Comments:

Better pictures to come, just thought it would be nice to see something in the tank. Crap is still settling in the tank so you can see some detritus on the rock, everything will be cleaned up sooner or later.

 

 

Diadumene lineata (Orange Lined Sea Anemone)

Phylum: Cnidaria (animals with cnidocytes (stinging cells))

Class: Anthozoa (Cnidarians without a medusa-stage (doesn't swim ever))

Order: Actinaria (True Sea Anemones)

 

Description:

Gets to approximately 2" across with coloration as seen. Native intertidal to subtidal in Japan as well as being invasive all over the world. Feeds on zooplankton and reproduces through asexual reproduction by pedal laceration and longitudinal fission.

 

Comments:

They seem to not appreciate the cooler temperatures (these animals came from an estuary where it was about 15 degrees warmer. They will probably start spreading like wild-fire once they get used to the dropping temperature.

 

 

Metridium senile (Frilled Sea Anemone)

Phylum: Cnidaria (animals with cnidocytes (stinging cells))

Class: Anthozoa (Cnidarians without a medusa-stage (doesn't swim ever))

Order: Actinaria (True Sea Anemones)

 

Description:

Gets to approximately 6" across with extremely varied coloration (white, brown, grey, orange column with splotching allowed and varied tentacles of the same color (can be mismatched)). Native intertidal to subtidal in Atlantic as well as Pacific northern cold water. Feeds on zooplankton and reproduces through asexual reproduction by pedal laceration.

 

Comments:

We have a few in lab right now of varying colors, but they aren't happy when they get ripped off floating docks so they still are looking pretty pissed off. They will heal and grow large, and we will definitely be getting more. I want to represent all the color varieties we have locally.

[anemone fan]

Reserved for more animal information...

[animalmaster6]

Awesome thread!

 

Love New England's marine life. Got any info on the fish around here:?

[anemone fan]

Fish will be in the tank, still figuring out which species. Choices of cunner, rock gunnels, lumpfish and a few others. I know stuff about fish from the New England Coast.

[animalmaster6]

Do you know any good places to view fish in the tidepools? I'm still trying to find them but no luck

 

I vote gunnels and lumpfish. They are really cool.

[anemone fan]

Fish are tough to find in tide pools, smart fish don't get caught there. You are more apt to see lumpfish on a floating dock as they search kelp blades for pods. Rock gunnels are in the tide pools, but are more common deeper. Try Ordiorne's Point in Rye, NH for rock gunnels, I usually find one there every time I go. Unless you have the facilities to be taking care of these animals, aka chiller and plenty of food for them (think mandarin goby and its need for live food), don't get them, they will die. I work in a marine lab and we are constantly going to the coast and I can get live-food all year long.

[animalmaster6]

Fish are tough to find in tide pools, smart fish don't get caught there. You are more apt to see lumpfish on a floating dock as they search kelp blades for pods. Rock gunnels are in the tide pools, but are more common deeper. Try Ordiorne's Point in Rye, NH for rock gunnels, I usually find one there every time I go. Unless you have the facilities to be taking care of these animals, aka chiller and plenty of food for them (think mandarin goby and its need for live food), don't get them, they will die. I work in a marine lab and we are constantly going to the coast and I can get live-food all year long.

Thanks for the recommendations.

 

And don't get me wrong, I am 100%, completely aware of the extreme care of the animals and I've been studying these animals around here for months now. I am not planning on keeping them now because of there needs. I just like to enjoy watching them in the ocean or at aquariums

 

Have you been to the Wood's Hole Aquarium? I love it there. Really cool place!

[rbengal]

Just thought I would add today that we have a dive scheduled for (hopefully) Tuesday of next week. The plan is to get some bigger rocks for the back that way we have sort of a rock wall.

 

I would personally like a small mussel bed as well as barnacles in the tank, but we'll see. We are going to have a lot of filter feeders in there no matter what I think.

[animalmaster6]

You specifically trying to get rock with critters in it?

[anemone fan]

You specifically trying to get rock with critters in it?

 

Yes, the plan is to get rock with sweet stuff on it. The issue is our adviser (we are grad students) keeps throwing random creatures in the tank, which we don't have facilities to take care of or want to take care of, and I'm getting kinda pissed. For example, he threw in a very invasive sheet tunicate that at some point will take over the tank, a smelt (6" ugly fish which we don't have food for), a blood star which eats sponges which we don't have and many algae which we don't have the lights for. Not to mention he is talking about turning it into a experiment tank so it may be over for the thread in the first place.

[animalmaster6]

Yeah that's the problem with small New England biotopes. Most of the fish get to big

[Lalani]

Watching.

Let me know if you want this thread moved to the biotope forum.

[animalmaster6]

Just went to the beach today in Plymouth, MA. Found some really interesting 2" thick "peanut worm" like worms. Any idea on the genus? They were under the rocks burried in muddy sand.

[anemone fan]

Just went to the beach today in Plymouth, MA. Found some really interesting 2" thick "peanut worm" like worms. Any idea on the genus? They were under the rocks burried in muddy sand.

 

Arenicola marina aka lugworm I think. Got a picture to confirm? Going to need more descriptors.

[animalmaster6]

Arenicola marina aka lugworm I think. Got a picture to confirm? Going to need more descriptors.

Looks similar to it. Unfortunetly I don't have a pic but I'm going to start a tidepool/coast ocean thread where you post pics of tidepooling or any creatures you found. I hope to describe the worm better there.

 

This was the only place I've seen them but there were lots of them. They were about an inch thick and retreated cautiously into their burrows (the same width as their body) when I poked at them (carefully of course). They had a mouth similar to the one you posted and I could only see the front of it because it was in its burrow.

[anemone fan]

New animals have been added since my last update, pictures to come soon, check out the list!

[animalmaster6]

Nice! Tunicates

[anemone fan]

Just a few pictures, some animal profiles to come soon.

 

Diadumene lineata

Botryllus schlosseri

Botrylloides violaceus

Metridium senile

Tautogolabrus adspersus aka Cunner

Tautogolabrus adspersus aka Cunner

Sagartia elegans

Diadumene lineata

Rock covered in Diadumene and Sagartia

FTS

[animalmaster6]

Cool stuff. Where do you find the various larger anemones? I believe I've seen Diadumene and Sagartia before on a jetty before.

[rbengal]

We mostly find Metridium on pilings and floats at Marinas.

[animalmaster6]

Hmm. That will have to be on my list of things to search for. I've never seen Metridium.

[anemone fan]

Cool stuff. Where do you find the various larger anemones? I believe I've seen Diadumene and Sagartia before on a jetty before.

 

Have you really seen Sagartia anywhere other than at Hawthorne Cove Marina, if you have you gotta tell me where!!!!

[animalmaster6]

Have you really seen Sagartia anywhere other than at Hawthorne Cove Marina, if you have you gotta tell me where!!!!

Are they the tiny little white anemones. If so I've saw them all over a jetty's in Rhode Island.

[anemone fan]

1/13/11:

Pictures from the 11th inbound...as always ENJOY and ask questions.

 

A Sagartia elegans tucked in a Mytulis edulis clump

7" wide Metridium senile climbing up the back wall (this one will probably go back to the coast soon, way to large.

Another Metridium

The big cunner (5") begging for some food.

Botrylloides growth

Hiding hermit

East side: where the big cunner hides out

West side: where the small cunner hides out

Ulva growing on the outtake of the chiller

Whole lot of nems

Another cunner not actually in the the 55, but in one of our recirculating systems in an experiment, he has become very used to being fed

A culture of Sagartia

Current FTS