Costa Rican Collecting
Moderator: Mustafa
Costa Rican Collecting
I will be going to Costa Rica in the near future to collect some Macrobrachium spp. (and quite possibly several other genera). Does anyone have any suggestions as regards collecting techniques or the particulars of transportation?
Macrobrachium species usually stay under rocks during the day in their natural habitats, so you will have to turn around a bunch of rocks and look for them. You will see some of the running about, but most of them will be hiding. A pretty large net would be advantagous here. You just chase them into the net with your hand and lift the net out of the water. As for transportation...you will have to pack them into 2-3mm fish bags singly.
Hi Veneer,
Not sure how the professionals do it, but when looking for steam insects and such for stream quality assessments in my Environmental Technology course we use a D-net.
This is a net that has a flat side and then comes to a half circle to where the handle is. What we do is delineate and area with the bottom part of the net ... 30 cm X 30 cm. Position the net down stream of your 30 X30 site and them pick up rocks and then (near the entrance of the net) gently role them around in your hand to remove anything that may be there.
For the bottom try to scare things into the net by what ever mean you have available you should get some interesting results.
But, go with what ever method works for you.
Best of luck,
TKD
Not sure how the professionals do it, but when looking for steam insects and such for stream quality assessments in my Environmental Technology course we use a D-net.
This is a net that has a flat side and then comes to a half circle to where the handle is. What we do is delineate and area with the bottom part of the net ... 30 cm X 30 cm. Position the net down stream of your 30 X30 site and them pick up rocks and then (near the entrance of the net) gently role them around in your hand to remove anything that may be there.
For the bottom try to scare things into the net by what ever mean you have available you should get some interesting results.
But, go with what ever method works for you.
Best of luck,
TKD
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chlorophyll
- Shrimp
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I don't know what type of habs you intend to collect at.... but recently (springtime) I visited an estuary where juvenile Macrobrachium specimens could be abundantly caught just by running a sturdy hand net along any banks, shallowly scraping through the mud. These were either M. lar, M. grandimanus, or both. Not sure.. and at the time, for some reason it completely slipped my mind to take some home with me!
I was just having fun mucking around
I was just having fun mucking around
Of the following nets, which would you believe to have the greatest potential utility in my case?
"Telescoping Pond Net"
ento HD 12" Pond Net, 32" H
Tetra Hex Shaft Pond Net
Pond Net Rectangular Aluminum Large
Laguna Collapsible Pond Net - Fine Mesh
"Telescoping Pond Net"
- Telescoping handle gives you an almost 7-foot reach.
- 16 - 1/2" wide front scoops up debris like a snow shovel.
- Fine mesh strains silt and string algae.
- Soft front edge is gentle on fish and frogs.
ento HD 12" Pond Net, 32" H
This is the ultimate frogging and turtle catching net! Designed with extra tough netting, a long reach hardwood handle and a stiff wire hoop so you can easily scoop down into the muck where these critters live..
Made in the USA!
Features include:
- 12" dia.Spring steel hoop
- Extra long 32" x 3/4" diameter, hardwood handle
Tetra Hex Shaft Pond Net
This Tetra Hex Shaft Pond Net is used to retrieve fish or remove leaves and debris. 14" diameter ring x 16" deep net with telescoping handle that extends from 4'-6'4". Hexagonal construction makes shaft very sturdy even at full extension. Easy to view in the water or in the grass beside the pond.
Weight: 2.00 lbs.
Pond Net Rectangular Aluminum Large
Coarse mesh pond net 15-3/4 x 13-3/4 with foot telescoping aluminum handle. 10 inch deep net. Handle extends the net to a full 6 foot length and telescopes down to 4 feet. Rubber tipped handle for good grip.
Laguna Collapsible Pond Net - Fine Mesh
- Triangular shape
- Net size: 16" long (41 cm) x 18" wide (46 cm)
- Handle size: 22" (54 cm) collapsed, 36" (91 cm) fully extended
- Polybag size: 24" (60 cm) x 7" (18 cm)
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chlorophyll
- Shrimp
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- Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:22 am
- Location: Hawaii - USA
If you don't envision really needing a really fine mesh, I would go with the Ento or Tetra Hex. The fine mesh stuff tend to rip too easily for my taste.
Can't really tell but the ento appears to have a reasonably fine mesh anyway. Good old-fashioned reliable wooden handle. I'm not sure how much I trust the telescopers, but the Tetra Hex does have great reach and claims to have a design that makes it extra sturdy.
For the mud scraping technique I mentioned, I think the ento would be most reliable, if you're going to be wading in the water or right up upon the banks where extremely long reach won't be necessary.
Can't really tell but the ento appears to have a reasonably fine mesh anyway. Good old-fashioned reliable wooden handle. I'm not sure how much I trust the telescopers, but the Tetra Hex does have great reach and claims to have a design that makes it extra sturdy.
For the mud scraping technique I mentioned, I think the ento would be most reliable, if you're going to be wading in the water or right up upon the banks where extremely long reach won't be necessary.
