ricordia's

[BigJay]

Hittin the key's this weekend with the fam and I am taking my snorkel gear in tow and debating on wether or not to take the dive tanks. Are ricordeas fairly common in the keys? What depth can they be found?Do I have any chance near shore? I've dove the keys before but I don't remember ever seeing ricordias but then again I wasn't specifically looking.

 

[BigAl07]

I Can't answer ANY of your questions but I Can say:

A) I am VERY jealous of you
B) Be VERY careful about "harvesting"... I don't know the laws but I wouldn't risk breaking them just for fun

C) I'm JEALOUS

 

[BigJay]

having boated, snorkeled, and dove in Florida all my life I am pretty familiar with the rules even though they seem to change daily any more. I'm not 100% sure I am going to try to collect anything this trip but I want to go looking. I know there are a couple of licensed collectors in the Keys and they sell them bloody cheap so there has to be a pretty good supply of them there.
I actually went snorkeling this weekend in the gulf and picked up some new macros for the tank. Red grape, spider algae to mix in with the chaeto and a species of gracilara that John Maloney had to identify for me.

 

[reefer4200]

I Can't answer ANY of your questions but I Can say:

A) I am VERY jealous of you
B) Be VERY careful about "harvesting"... I don't know the laws but I wouldn't risk breaking them just for fun

C) I'm JEALOUS

I know that taking the ric. rocks from fl. is against the law...however u are allowed to take the polyps off the colony i believe. Just not the WHOLE rock...

and i am jealous too!!!

 

[BigJay]

oh and come down here any time Al. We can check out the gulf, the atlantic or go airboating in the everglades.

 

[seafansar]

Look on the Florida Game and Fish website to look up collection rules.

I've snorkeled the Key's several times, but I've never seen a ric. They are in deeper water and I'm not sure how common they are. There is one person on RC who knows were some are off the Lower Keys, but he's not sharing his secret.

 

[BigAl07]

oh and come down here any time Al. We can check out the gulf, the atlantic or go airboating in the everglades.

Are there an "Sea Plane" trips out that way? I'd love to catch a sea plane and have it "ferry" us way out there for some diving & snorkeling. I'll do anything that allows me to FLY some Sea Planes ROCK!!

Allen

 

[BigJay]

only been on a plane with floats in Alaska. There are express planes from my neck of the woods to Key West but I don't know of any floaters.
Thing about the keys is once you get off the reef it plunges from 100' to over 1000' in a very short distance. Come to think of it I've never dove the edge of the reef. But you have depending on where you are about 5 miles of shallow reef to dive anywhere in the keys so no need to fly anywhere. A lot of people dive and snorkel just off the side of the road.

 

[BigJay]

Look on the Florida Game and Fish website to look up collection rules.

I've snorkeled the Key's several times, but I've never seen a ric. They are in deeper water and I'm not sure how common they are. There is one person on RC who knows were some are off the Lower Keys, but he's not sharing his secret.

I've got them. Several friends and family in FWC and sherriff's department marine patrol. But the Key's are a different animal so I'll be checking in when I get there on whats what.
I'll be going all the way down to Bahia Honda and some friends of mine have boats in Big Pine key. So if its the lower keys where they are I might have a chance to check it out.
Taking the family to see Bahia Honda beach so I don't know how much they'll put up with me snorkeling and diving.

 

[BigAl07]

Sounds like a PLAN to me Drive & dive.... life is GOOD

 

[Witfull]

if legal,,,ill take a few~

 

[BigJay]

I'll let you know if I come back with anything witt. I might snag an atlantic jawfish while I am down there. Those things are everywhere.

 

[Witfull]

oh,,,im a gorgonian freak too....most of those are leagal.....hint hint~

 

[BigJay]

lol. You drive the getaway vehicle. :wit:

 

[Witfull]

i know a few folks that collect in tampa all the time.....take the animal,,,leave the rock is the general rule.

 

[BigJay]

I know the sea fans are a no no. I know absolutely nothing about gorgonians.

Venus sea fan (Gorgonia flabellum), common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina) these 2 are on the no no list.

 

[Witfull]

purple or tan...stick looking things~

 

[BigJay]

allright I'll take a look at the atlantic species and if I see any I'll try and get them for you.

 

[seafansar]

I found a corky finger gorgonia washed up on the beach in the Keys. I've had it for about 6 months now and it's doing great.

I went collecting with my dad off of Big Pine Key (we actually used to live there when I was like 5 yrs old) and we got a few nice things. We caught mostly fish: angles, blennies, and some other ones. There are really nice wrasses down there, but good luck catching one. Oh and you can find hundreds of blue legged hermits in the tidal pools.

If you find any rics, send me a pm. My dad's going to the Keys again in a month or so.

 

[BigJay]

Oh and you can find hundreds of blue legged hermits in the tidal pools.

If you find any rics, send me a pm. My dad's going to the Keys again in a month or so.

no kidding? Never seen a blue legged hermit in the keys. I've only been there about 1000 times too.. sheesh. Of course alot of my trips were drunken escapades to key west but I have definetly spent a lot of time in the water there.

i used to trailer my boat down every year for an annual guys fishing trip to islamorada.Oh the good ol days when money didn't matter