Critter collecting in Port Aransas?

[Tired]

I'm planning to go to Port Aransas (along the Texas gulf coast) this spring for the songbird migration, and I thought maybe I could pick up some critters for my tank upgrade while I'm down there. I've seen green porcelain crabs in the past, and I know there are periwinkles and the like. If it's sargassum season, there might be some cool shrimp available to grab, and there are always grass shrimp in the seagrass areas.

 

In terms of legality, I'm going to need a fishing license with a saltwater endorsement, and I can't sell anything I collect. Easy enough. There's a bag limit of 15 univalve snails a day, including no more than 2 each of half a dozen big, flashy-shelled species that I'm not interested in. Those laws were probably written for people collecting for shells, not with periwinkles and nerites in mind, but oh well. I don't need many. 

 

Porcelain crabs and grass shrimp both seem to fall under the "other" category of shellfish. I can only catch them by hand, or by devices that are lawful to use with fish, crabs, oysters, or shrimp. That means I can use oyster tongs, oyster dredges, crab line, crab trap, net, folding panel trap, sand pump, umbrella net, cast net, seine, bait-shrimp trawl, and a handful of other things that are mostly completely ridiculous to use in 1-2 feet of water. I'd probably go with a combo of flipping rocks to grab them, a net, and maybe a seine if I can get someone to help me. There don't seem to be any listed bag limits on "other" shellfish, and I doubt I'd exceed them anyway- I'm thinking maybe a couple of each. 

 

There's currently a ban on critter collection along South Padre Island, which is fine- wasn't planning on going there anyway. Though it is excellent for shell collecting. 

 

I used INaturalist to see a list of what potentially interesting species people have seen around the area.

I'm definitely interested in Interrupted Periwinkles and Quiet Periwinkles (Echinolittorina interrupta and Echinolittorina placida), and I know where to find loads. They hang out on the supports of piers. I'm not entirely sure how to tell them apart, it looks like they were only recently found to be 2 species, and I don't think there are many (if any) practical differences anyway. They're both tiny, cute little periwinkles. I think these are what ReefCleaners sells as Zig Zag Periwinkles, and if so, I have some already. Wouldn't mind more. 

There are also Zebra Periwinkles (Echinolittorina ziczac), whose Latin species name I quite like. They should be about the same idea, though I think they can get a little bigger. 

Looks like Port Aransas has some Virgin Nerites (Vitta virginea), which are always nice. Not sure where to get them, but it's worth keeping an eye out- love the color variations they can have. And there are Lightning Nerites, which aren't as flashy but are still kinda interesting-looking. Maybe I can find these both around the seagrass areas. 

A few people have found Dark Ceriths (Cerithium atratum) there. I think these are just cerith snails like people already tend to have, same species and everything, but it could be neat to catch a couple of my own. 

I've personally seen Green Porcelain Crabs (Petrolisthes armatus) down there, and apparently Spotted Porcelain Crabs (Porcellana sayana) are also present. I'd love to get a couple of each, but we'll see if I wind up finding any, and if I'm confident enough that the tank will support them at the time.

There are a bunch of different species of shrimp called "grass shrimp". I don't think I trust any of them; I remember from freshwater tanks that some grass shrimp/ghost shrimp will try to snag and eat small fish, and I assume the same applies to their saltwater counterparts. Unless anyone can recommend a definitely safe, easily identified species. I'm also not going after the couple species of Lysmata peppermint shrimp, as those will potentially eat my corals. I am interested in Arrow Shrimp (Tozeuma carolinense), which I think lurk around in seagrass, but I can't find any info on them online. Anyone know about those? 

If the sargassum is in season, that'll bring in Brown Grass Shrimp (Leander tenuicornis) and Sargassum Shrimp (Latreutes fucorum). I tried to keep a mix of these years ago, without much luck, but it was long enough ago and I was young enough that it's entirely possible that I just did something wrong. I doubt these guys would eat corals, since where would a sargassum-dwelling animal learn that corals are food? So they might be worth a shot. Maybe in a HOB 'fuge in case they're snippy. 

 

Anyone have any suggestions of a nano-suitable critter that I should try to catch? It has to be safe with pico fish.