Here is a small start to photos from the beach collection day.
First is a guy we did NOT collect but actually released back into the Gulf. We found 2 of them, one inside a pin shell and the other in a small branchy sponge. As I understand it, this is about full size for these guys and the only live 18 to 24 months. Some day I may do a screen cover for my 65g shallow/local reef and then try keeping one of these!
This is a purple gorgonian and they do manage to survive on the beach for a while out of the water. Snowbird and vacationing shell collectors often pick these up as souvenirs. But we managed to find 10+ of them that were smaller and yet still nice full fan shaped. This one has something attached to it. I didn't know what it was so I passed on a couple but my friend took one. In his tank they opened up and at first he/we thought they were feather dusters. But on closer examination we think they are some thing else... but what?
Here is a decorator crab I thought might go in my 65g shallow reef tank which I'm making into a Gulf and Keys only local tank. But I decided to put it in my display refugium instead. There is only the Hawaiian Red Reef Lobster in the tank along with some macro algae and a couple simple gorgonians and leather corals. The big white thing with orange spots on it's back is a tunicate. It's 'attached' to the back legs by hooks. It moves pretty quickly and jumps from spot to spot looking like an astronaut doing a space walk on the moon... it's hysterical. It can also jump off tall things (there is a 16" tall gorgonian) and the front of the tunicate opens up slightly because it's attached at the back, and works like a parachute so the crab floats down rather slowly.
The good news is I have a bit of a hairy algae issue in this tank because the lobster won't eat it, but will eat any fish or small snails I put in the tank to eat it. The decorator crab has been ripping the hair algae off things and eating it like it hasn't had food in a week! We'll see how it does long term.
