San Diego Reefer - Starting a Temperate System

I added some gorgonians:


California Golden Gorgonian (Muricea californica)


Brown Gorgonian (Muricea fruticosa)

Nice....where did you get them ?

I collected these while snorkeling off the coast of San Diego. They were growing on some rocks about 10 feet deep. I made clean cuts (a sharp dive knife was essential) and the mother colonies were quite large, so they should be fine.

When I got them home I found a cryptic hitchhiker crab that looks like some kind of spider or decorator. After I put him in the tank he returned to the Brown gorg - home, sweet home.

Make sure where you are collecting it is ok to take specimens. The last thing you want is the California Dept of Wildlife up your ass.

Read up here for which ever county you are collecting in
Existing Marine Protected Areas in California: Regulations

This is also kind of cool, it gives maps and locations of all the California marine parks and reserves:
Existing Marine Protected Area Maps and Coordinates

Yeah, I checked all the MPAs before I went out. The closest one to me is near La Jolla and I was way south of there.

Word Also I FOUND THIS DISCUSSION on TONMO.COM that goes over the legality of collecting octopus in and around San Diego. Good info and a good outcome for us

Thanks for that legal map! Of course I pretty much know all the MPA's already .