[HoustonFishFanatic]

Just whenever. My brother works up in Nacogdoches, and this place is about 20 minutes from his house. He has to be on official duty to take us there as an escort, but I'll take that kind of "Wetland Training" all year long.

We don't have any plans to go anytime soon, but we can go pretty much anytime you want. I think the forest is booked up during hunting season, but I can find out if you have a date in mind.

-Dave

Dave, you think it would be possible to make a trip there before it gets too cold?

 

[davemonkey]

Dave, you think it would be possible to make a trip there before it gets too cold?

Sure. Let me get with mudboots and see what his schedule is like. I won't know mine until I get back from vacation (next Monday).

 

[kwc1974]

would liek to go again just so I can take pics this time. Gotta be careful with us B, we were so hardcore that we collected in the cold rain. And then hiked back through the briar patch.

 

[davemonkey]

HAHA! (He's being serious though, we really did go in the cold rain ALL DAY and hicked back through thick briars/vines/etc...at least we had hot fajitas waiting for us afterwards ). Next time I'll bring some flagging so we keep our original trail.

I talk to mudboots and he said we can "right now", or this coming Monday, next Friday, and pretty much any Mon or Fri thereafter. So, pick a date and we'll work it out. And keep an eye on weather so we can use our cameras next time.

-Dave

 

[HoustonFishFanatic]

HAHA! (He's being serious though, we really did go in the cold rain ALL DAY and hicked back through thick briars/vines/etc...at least we had hot fajitas waiting for us afterwards ). Next time I'll bring some flagging so we keep our original trail.

I talk to mudboots and he said we can "right now", or this coming Monday, next Friday, and pretty much any Mon or Fri thereafter. So, pick a date and we'll work it out. And keep an eye on weather so we can use our cameras next time.

-Dave

Rain, Cold, Heat does not worry me much.........when it comes to collecting.
I have this Friday off. The next one will be Nov 6th.

 

[mudboots]

Playin' in the mud is what it's all about, just don't follow Dave when he tries to step into holes that others have determined are way too deep!!! Did you ever get the swamp smell out of those jeans? Anyway, even if we get sprinkled or rained on Melinda is always more than happy to make sure we've got some hot coffee or whatever you want waiting at the house (just 10 minutes or so away).:tea:

 

[kwc1974]

Playin' in the mud is what it's all about, just don't follow Dave when he tries to step into holes that others have determined are way too deep!!! Did you ever get the swamp smell out of those jeans? Anyway, even if we get sprinkled or rained on Melinda is always more than happy to make sure we've got some hot coffee or whatever you want waiting at the house (just 10 minutes or so away).:tea:

Yeah Dave went right in......after you Darren ound:

 

[davemonkey]

Yeah Dave went right in......after you Darren ound:

It was all part of my plan....ummm...to show you what NOT to do...

 

[davemonkey]

I went out fish-collecting to put some Gambusia sp in my pico-tank at my office (something EASY and hardy). I got two of them, but I also found a ghost shrimp and 3 banded pygmy sunfish. This is the first time I've seen the pygmy sunfish in the wild, so I was quite excited.

To give you a size comparison, the main plants you see are Anubias 'petite' and Dwarf Lileaopsis. The first pic is the Gambusia sp, the other 3 are the sunfish.

 

[mudboots]

Awesome find Dave! Is that as big as they get? If so they'd make a great native substitute for species such as the dario and badis, though the color comparison is pretty grim.

If they ever happen to breed for you let me know; I'd be interested in a swap or something.

 

[davemonkey]

From what I read, they only get about 1.5 inches. From the looks, I believe I have 1 male and 2 females (or the other way around). They look very much like the Dario dario except mostly brown instead of red.

 

[mudboots]

Next time you're out see if you can find some Elatine species. I had an awesome area that was full of it but we got a bit of a cold snap and it's gone. I was fortunate enough to collect just a little, so hopefully I can get it keyed eventually. It's really nice stuff.

 

[davemonkey]

Next time you're out see if you can find some Elatine species. I had an awesome area that was full of it but we got a bit of a cold snap and it's gone. I was fortunate enough to collect just a little, so hopefully I can get it keyed eventually. It's really nice stuff.

Darren,
Keep that Elatine alive at all costs! If you need help finding a place for some, I have room in my pico at the office.

Also, we should make a "Wetland Training" session out at that artificial wetalnd (where I got the pygmy sunfish and the new plants). It is a GREAT wetland site with several seasonal pockets and 2 large permanantly flooded areas. The plant community is mostly just a few species, but there TONS of plants in fewer numbers, most that I have not ID'd. (On a serious note, it really is a good training location for anyone in the Liberty resource area needing the training. )

 

[mudboots]

If all else fails I am ALWAYS ready to burn some leave!

 

[Pyrotrons]

Hi All,

I've been lurking for quite some time. I'm brand-new to this type of thing, and I must say I've REALLY enjoyed absorbing the information and watching all of your posts. It's been very informative.

To my post: OK, this is probably nothing that everyone here hasn't seen before, but I figured I'd post up just in case :wink:. I realize that seeing some of these species may cause eye-rolling and/or elevated blood pressures and/or the urge to click the red "x" at top right. But hopefully I've stumbled across something cool in my trips.

From Cullen Park (Hwy-6 near I-10) on 12DEC2009:

(I think this is some kind of Ludwigia...perhaps the same as DaveMonkey has identified earlier on this same thread?)

I stayed away from this terrestrial plant :

Is this "Alligator Weed"?

From Huntsville State Park (Lake Raven) on 19DEC2009:

Giant Salvinia?

Hydrilla?

Parrot's Feather?

(This is, of course, coming off of the surface of water)

From Brazos Bend State Park on 29DEC2009:

Unknown #1.

Random view of the lakeshore

Unknown #2. I'm pretty sure this is aquatic.

Terrestrial/Arboreal Fern. The plants on the surface of the water look like really big Pennywort's...except they're emerging several inches above the water and form really huge mats. Is it Frogsbit?

Another plant I haven't identified, that looks cool, but is dead

Thanks to all of you for a great forum!!!​

 

[Pyrotrons]

Houston Area Collecting Trip Anyone???

Hi All,

Any of you up for going on a collecting trip?? Or maybe just a trip to be out in the woods for a while?

I could go RIGHT NOW, tonight, tomorrow morning, tomorrow night...this weekend...I'm open

Send me a PM if you're available. Otherwise...allow me to throw out a preliminary date so some of us can plan for it:

Saturday, January 8th, 2009​

I recently quit my job so have lots of time, and am anxious to go out and really learn some of the things that I've been wanting to. I can only identify a handful of aquatic plants so far, and am still a bit sketchy even on those. Ha, I keep finding that all the plants that I think are "really cool and awesome" are the ones that are "highly invasive and unwanted". Ughh. But I'm sure I've found a Ludwigia, and definitely Bacopa Monnieri, that are thriving in my aquariums ; ) I also have the kind of Pennywort that is the full "parasol" with no split on the edge. It's doing well too. I'm very happy.

Anyhow, perhaps a couple...or all of you...could lend a hand and we can go slogging around in a creek somewhere

I have a small grill too, we could make some hotdogs while we're out there, lol.

Hope there's some takers on the trip!! Nothing's concrete. Let's figure out sometime when we can all go...

 

[davemonkey]

Pyrotrons,

Those are great pictures. The unidentified #1 looks like Alligator weed to me. All those plants are great finds. A field trip sounds fun, but I just accepted an Inspection Detail for a watershed project, so I booked up through the end of February.

Although, Sunday afternoons might be do-able. Give me until after the new year to hash out my schedule and I'll PM you.

 

[Tausendblatt]

COOL, Pyrotrons. I have not located most of those...

The red stuff in "random view of lake shore" is Azolla, mosquito fern. I have seen the green version, but there is a red variety.

Never seen hydrilla...

 

[Pyrotrons]

Thanks for that, Tausendblatt. The (now-confirmed) Azolla was covering a significant percentage, 20% maybe, of Elm Lake at Brazos Bend State Park, TX. In the picture with the terrestrial/arboreal fern hanging on the tree limb above the water, it is 100% on the surface along with some other kind of emergent plant.

(By the way, I later identified those ferns as "Resurrection Ferns", due to their ability to spring back to life after extreme drought conditions.)

Hydrilla: Oh man, there's enough of it at Huntsville State Park (An hour North of Houston, TX on I-45) right now to cover a football field 6" deep!! Terrible...beautiful...stuff

 

[mudboots]

I love the pic of the resurrection fern. I've got some in an emmersed set up that does very well, except that I have some insects in there that eat it just as fast as it grows, so it never really looks all that great.