absolutely gorgeous tank. I am trying to talk my wife into a snorkeling trip this summer. Florida is where I'd like to go. Hope to see one of the baby octopus, and a shark. Not a big one but like meduium sized. I might be contacting you in a couple months to get the scoop on the best snorkelling spots in FL
Thanks, the tanks are starting to grow out and look better every month.
If you want to do a snorkeling vacation here in Florida, the best time of year is May and June, before the rainy season and hurricane season get started. July thru Sept are just fine, as long as your snorkel schedule is flexible due to common early morning or afternoon thunderstorms. They happen 33% of the days. Hurricanes are totally unpredictable, but September is the month that gets more hurricanes than any other. But there is lots of advance notice to hurricanes, so it's easy to get out of the way... if you pay attention.
Feel free to email me if you want to discuss it more. My email is: (
[email protected]) I'm happy to share any info I can, places to stay, restaurants, snorkel sites off the beach, snorkel sites by charter boats, things to do if the weather gets in the way, and anything else. BTW, motel/hotel reservations can get quite hard to come by, so planing ahead by at least 30 days, 60 days is better. And there are lobster seasons you really want to avoid as the Keys get packed with people and boats!
Small octopus aren't very common. I'd say we see one every 10 to 20 snorkels. They are the masters of camouflage and really super easy to miss. Even when we see one, it's amazing how well they can blend into the surroundings.
Sharks are a bit more common than octopus. We see smaller ones, usually nurse sharks, occasionally when we snorkel shallows (like off the beach). They are almost harmless unless really harassed. We've seen bigger and different ones a bit more often on deeper water, charter boat snorkels out at the big reefs. They are fun to see, but we try to keep our distance once we've spotted one.
There are really 2 different kinds of snorkeling IMHO. Most people (without aquariums) want to go out to the big reefs and see the big corals and lots of tropical fish. And those are very cool to do. But they are in preserves and you are not allowed to touch anything! Then there is the shallow water, off the beach, get more involved, feel free to handle stuff; snorkels. There isn't much stone coral at all, some zoas if you are in the right place and a bit lucky. But there are lots and lots of gorgonians, big and small sponges of all colors, and lots of small critters if you know how to look. We find lots of different kinds of snails and crabs, occasionally a small mantis shrimp, sea cucumbers, sea stars, feather dusters, urchins, upside down jellyfish, tunicates, chitons, fire worms, spaghetti worms, small clams, moray eels and more. Some spots will even have quite a few juvenile tropical fish.
Sound like fun? Feel free to contact me.
Ron
